Router connects InfiniBand to Fibre Channel storage.

Press Release Summary:



Providing seamless connectivity between 20 Gbps InfiniBand and 4 Gbps Fibre Channel, Voltaire SR4G High Performance Storage Router provides 1,500 Mbps of storage throughput. Eliminating need for Fibre Channel HBAs, router uses iSER (iSCSI Extensions for RDMA) to connect to storage, and enables IP-based management for all server I/O needs. GridVision management software centralizes management of unified fabric resources and storage connectivity.




Original Press Release:



Voltaire Introduces High Performance Storage Router for Unified Fabrics



Improves Access to Existing Fibre Channel Storage By Up to 200% Eliminating Need for Fibre Channel HBAs

BILLERICA, Mass. and HERZELIYA, Israel - October 29, 2007 - Voltaire Ltd (NASDAQ: VOLT), a leading provider of grid backbone solutions, today announced the expansion of its data center solutions portfolio with a new high performance storage router.

The Voltaire SR4G High Performance Storage Router improves the performance of applications accessing Fibre Channel storage and simplifies connectivity of InfiniBand fabrics to existing Storage Area Networks (SANs) to eliminate I/O bottlenecks, reduce data center costs and improve storage flexibility.

By providing seamless connectivity between 20 Gigabits/second InfiniBand and 4 Gigabits/second Fibre Channel, a single Voltaire SR4G High Performance Storage Router provides 1500 MB/second of storage throughput and enables a single server to gain up to a 200% improvement in throughput over a 4 Gigabits/second Fibre Channel connection. Storage intensive applications such as large databases, digital media and entertainment, and oil and gas exploration software can now use 20 Gigabits/second InfiniBand performance without leaving existing Fibre Channel storage behind.

The Voltaire SR4G High Performance Storage Router connects InfiniBand to Fibre Channel storage which eliminates the need for Fibre Channel HBAs in each server. This provides a significant cost savings and helps facilitate the use of denser blade and rack servers with smaller footprints and power requirements, which further reduces costs and complexity.

"Based on our testing, we believe this is the best performing storage router on the market today and makes deploying InfiniBand to improve performance of storage intensive applications a 'no brainer'," said Asaf Somekh, Vice President of Strategic Alliances, Voltaire. "With more than 90% of data centers relying on Fibre Channel storage, this product is in line with our strategy of offering a smooth migration path for unified fabrics rather than requiring a forklift approach to re-architect the data center."

The Voltaire SR4G High Performance Storage Router connects Fibre Channel SANs to a unified fabric. Unified fabrics provide seamless, high performance networking services between InfiniBand, Fibre Channel and Ethernet over a single high performance connection with multiple virtual interfaces replacing actual physical adapters. Voltaire's GridVision management software centralizes the management of unified fabric resources and storage connectivity.

"There is a lot of activity in the industry right now around FCoE and converged Ethernet fabrics, but these solutions are still a few years away from being production-ready," said Arun Taneja, analyst, the Taneja Group, an analyst and consulting group focused on storage and storage-centric server technologies. "If you need to solve a problem today that requires a high performance, low latency protocol there is really only one answer: InfiniBand. Voltaire's SR4G High Performance Storage Router provides an easy way for Fibre Channel users to try out the performance that 20 Gigabits/second InfiniBand delivers."

The Voltaire SR4G High Performance Storage Router uses iSER (iSCSI Extensions for RDMA) to connect to storage. iSER brings significantly greater performance to iSCSI and leverages the protocol's existing comprehensive management capabilities, allowing heterogeneous storage environments to utilize a single protocol and management infrastructure. By using iSER to connect to storage, the Voltaire SR4G High Performance Storage Router delivers an iSCSI solution with unmatched performance and enables simple IP-based management for all server I/O needs.

AvailabilityThe Voltaire High Performance Storage Router will be generally available in January 2008.

About Voltaire
Voltaire (NASDAQ: VOLT) designs and develops server and storage switching and software solutions that enable high-performance grid computing within the data center. Voltaire refers to its server and storage switching and software solutions as the Voltaire Grid Backbone(TM). Voltaire's products leverage InfiniBand technology and include director-class switches, multi-service switches, fixed-port configuration switches, Ethernet and Fibre Channel routers and standards-based driver and management software. Voltaire's solutions have been sold to a wide range of end customers including governmental, research and educational organizations, as well as enterprises in the manufacturing, oil and gas, entertainment, life sciences and financial services industries.

Founded in 1997, Voltaire Ltd. is headquartered in Herzeliya, Israel, and has its U.S. headquarters in Billerica, Massachusetts. More information about Voltaire is available at www.voltaire.com or by calling 1-800-865-8247.

All Topics