News and Events

2006

FORCE10 NETWORKS ENABLES BLUEARC TO SET NEW WORLD RECORD FOR STORAGE PERFORMANCE AND INFORMATION RETRIEVAL

MILPITAS, Calif., March 7, 2006 — Force10 Networks® today announced that its S-Series family of data center switches provided the reliable, high density Gigabit Ethernet platform that enabled BlueArc Corporation to double the previous world record for network storage server performance in a single server configuration. In the Standard Performance Evaluation Corporation’s (SPEC) system file server test, which is most relevant for transaction processing, databases, rendering and email, the BlueArc Titan 2200 and the Force10 S50 set a new bar for storage performance.

"Force10's S50 switches were a key component of BlueArc's world record SPECsfs results, enabling the highest levels of data throughput," said Steve Daheb, vice president of marketing for BlueArc. "With customers demanding ever-faster access to massive amounts of data in all aspects of their infrastructure, partners like Force10 are a key asset to achieving ultimate performance."

The Force10 S50 played an integral role in the test bed configuration, allowing BlueArc to demonstrate the industry’s highest input/output operations per second according to SPEC's System File Server 3.0 benchmark test, which evaluates the speed and request-handling capabilities of network file server (NFS) computers like the Titan 2200. The Force10 S50 anchored the testing configuration, providing the high density connectivity needed to perform the test as well as the core-like resiliency to ensure the test was not interrupted. With 48 line-rate Gigabit Ethernet ports and two optional 10 Gigabit Ethernet uplinks, BlueArc was able to design a high performance test bed to demonstrate the industry-leading speed of its system.

With traffic in data centers increasing dramatically and new regulations requiring companies to store more information for longer periods of time, it is essential that enterprises can quickly store and retrieve data. In this new data center ecosystem, enterprises need not only storage servers with high input/output operations but also a high performance switch that connects users to the company’s data storage. The BlueArc SPEC tests provide further proof of this important relationship.

“Enterprise data centers are increasingly becoming more sophisticated and require the innovative, advanced infrastructure solutions that both Force10 and BlueArc deliver,” said Andrew Feldman, vice president of marketing for Force10 Networks. “Setting a new performance standard for the SPEC file server test is a validation of the engineering innovation and capabilities Force10 and BlueArc have brought to the market.”

The Standard Performance Evaluation Corporation is a non-profit corporation formed to establish, maintain and endorse a standardized set of relevant benchmarks that can be applied to the newest generation of high performance computers. SPEC develops benchmark suites and also reviews and publishes submitted results from member organizations and other benchmark licensees.

For more details about the SPECsfs benchmark and a current list of validated results, please visit www.spec.org/sfs97r1/results/sfs97r1.html.

Contact:
Peter Ruzicka
Force10 Networks Inc.
408-965-5151
pruzicka@force10networks.com

Contact:
Jennifer Arculeo
Force10 Networks Inc.
408-965-5194
jarculeo@force10networks.com

About Force10 Networks
Force10 Networks is the pioneer in building and securing high performance networks. Based on a revolutionary system architecture that delivers best-in-class resiliency and massive scalability, Force10’s TeraScale E-Series switch/routers ensure predictable application performance, increase network availability, and reduce operating costs. Today, many of the world’s largest Gigabit Ethernet and 10 Gigabit Ethernet networks depend on Force10 Networks. For additional information, please visit www.force10networks.com.

Force10 Networks and E-Series are registered trademarks, and P-Series, S-Series, TeraScale and FTOS are trademarks of Force10 Networks, Inc. All other company names are trademarks of their respective holders.