News release

Compaq StorageWorks Uncaps the Power of Virtually Boundless Storage

Compaq Computer Corporation (NYSE: CPQ) announced today that it is now shipping "Enterprise," the new benchmark for high-end, enterprise-class storage systems.

The StorageWorks Enterprise Virtual Array—called Enterprise—is the company's new virtual RAID solution that removes the limitations of traditional storage architectures, superseding monolithic systems such as those being sold by EMC, IBM, and Hitachi Data Systems.

Enterprise exceeds the demands of today's robust storage requirements with support for strategic growth platforms and applications, Universal Network Storage, disk-based backup and recovery, rich media optimization, global storage networking, ultra-high performance, availability and scalability, and simplified management.

Mark Lewis, vice president and general manager of Compaq's Enterprise Storage Group, said: "The StorageWorks Enterprise Virtual Array enables growing organizations to lower the total cost of storage ownership by doubling storage utilization and effective capacity, stretching virtual pool capacity beyond physical capacity, multiplying storage management productivity, reducing application downtime, and supporting NAS data in a common Universal Network Storage pool that is more easily managed than disparate storage islands."

John Webster, senior analyst and IT advisor at Illuminata, said: "With the introduction of Enterprise, Compaq has taken the required attributes for production data-center-class storage arrays and effectively combined them with cost-effective modularity and virtualized manageability, producing a superior offering of price and performance."

"The fact that Enterprise was designed to help customers manage explosive growth of business critical data with fewer physical and human resources has led to advance Enterprise orders totaling more than 250 terabytes," said Roger Archibald, vice president of Compaq's Enterprise Storage Array Division. "This represents a phenomenal expression of customer confidence in Enterprise and reflects enormous enthusiasm for its unique, industry-leading features."

Enterprise in the Real World

"Deutsche Post World Net was glad to get the opportunity to test the new Compaq Enterprise Storage System," said Horst Gosch, director of DPWN's Competence Center. "The simplified administration and configuration is most impressive. We believe that the announcement of Enterprise will further elevate Compaq's position as the leading global SAN provider."

Enterprise Unique Features

Unique Enterprise features include optimization for global storage networking, VersaStor Technology that enables Vraid, Vsnaps and Snapclones, LiteTouch Management, and Top Gun performance, availability and scalability. Together, these powerful features set a new benchmark for enterprise storage value.

• Enterprise is ready now for global storage networking, the emerging enterprise storage deployment model.
• Vraid elevates storage management to the virtual pool level to dramatically increase utilization levels and effective capacity.
• Vraid automated storage management tasks such as performance tuning and capacity reconfigurations tremendously simplify administration.
• Vsnaps deliver virtually capacity-free, point-in-time copies that can be taken in seconds and archived to disk for super-fast recovery. Vsnaps enable virtual capacity of the system to far exceed its physical capacity.
• Snapclones combine the flexibility of Vsnaps with physical clones in an automated fashion to streamline data intensive operations such as data mining, application development, and archive to tape.
• LiteTouch Management greatly simplifies storage and device management using Enterprise's virtualization features and SANworks Storage Utility Management Suite.
• Top Gun availability is achieved with traditional, proven enterprise-class availability features plus a new design that eliminates backplanes and provides greater tolerance for multiple disk failures. Vraid and Vsnaps eliminate the need for planned downtime to complete storage reconfigurations and backups. Vsnaps and SAN-based data replication reduce unplanned downtime for recovery operations by enabling recovery directly from disk, either locally or remotely.
• Top Gun performance has been measured at up to eight times the performance of StorageWorks Modular Arrays, which provide competitive, scalable performance compared with monolithic storage arrays available today.

Enterprise User Benefits

Enterprise's revolutionary architecture can deliver the following benefits to users of enterprise-class storage:

• Overall storage utilization can be increased up to 2x compared with distributed storage models.
• Effective storage capacity can be increased up to 2x or more compared with monolithic architectures that require capacity management at the volume or LUN level and do not provide capacity-free snapshots.
• IT can manage up to 15x more capacity without adding staff.
• Downtime of critical applications can be reduced up to 50%.
• NAS and SAN data can be combined in a single pool.
• Capacity, transactions, throughput, and geographical distance can be scaled independently and linearly.
• Data mining, application testing, and tape archive will no longer require up-front data synchronization.
• IT can achieve the lowest total cost of ownership available.

Enterprise comes with a full 3-year warranty.

For more information, please visit www.compaq.com/products/storageworks/

About Compaq StorageWorks

Compaq StorageWorks, the number one global storage solutions supplier, is the leader in the development and delivery of the enterprise SAN. Recognized for its vision and ability to execute, StorageWorks is committed to driving radical simplification and investment protection for enterprise and SMB customers. By continuing to extend its Enterprise Network Storage Architecture (ENSA) in key areas such as virtualization, automation, universal network storage and life cycle data management, StorageWorks enables customers to efficiently manage complex, mixed storage environments. More information is available at www.compaq.com/storage.

About Compaq

Founded in 1982, Compaq Computer Corporation ("Compaq") is a leading global provider of enterprise technology and solutions. Compaq designs, develops, manufactures and markets hardware, software, solutions and services, including industry-leading enterprise storage and computing solutions, fault-tolerant business-critical solutions, communication products, and desktop and portable personal computers that are sold in more than 200 countries. Information on Compaq and its products and services is available at http://www.compaq.com.