PMC-Sierra Successfully Demonstrates Multi-Vendor 4G FC System Level I

PMC-Sierra Successfully Demonstrates Multi-Vendor 4G FC System Level Interoperability at Intel Developer Forum

    Business Editors/Technology Writers
    Intel Developer Forum Spring 2005


    SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 16, 2005--

PMC-Sierra's 4G FC Loop Switch Product Family Accelerates Adoption of 4Gbit/s FC into SAN and NAS Storage Systems
    PMC-Sierra, Inc. (Nasdaq:PMCS), demonstrated successful system interoperability between its 4Gbit/s Fibre Channel (FC) Loop Switch product family and multiple FC initiator, fabric switch, and FC hard disk drive vendors at the recent Intel Developers Forum in San Francisco, Calif. from March 1-3, 2005. This successful interoperability demonstration, organized by the Fibre Channel Industry Association (FCIA), further affirms the industry's readiness to meet end customer demands for flexible, higher capacity, and reliable Fibre Channel storage systems. The multi-vendor interoperability included: 4Gbit/s Fibre Channel Loop Switch products from PMC-Sierra; 4Gbit/s HDDs from Hitachi and Seagate; Initiators from Emulex and Agilent Technologies; and Fabric Switches from Brocade.
    "Hitachi has collaborated with PMC-Sierra and others in the past year to demonstrate the benefits of 4Gbit/s Fibre Channel for storage area networks and other advanced enterprise applications. The interoperability demonstration at IDF was another important milestone as the industry prepares to deliver critical system components to OEMs in 2005," said Doug Pickford, Director, Product Strategy and Planning, Hitachi Global Storage Technologies. "4Gbit/s Fibre Channel will usher in new levels of performance, reliability and availability for large enterprise customers."
    "The move to 4 Gbit/s Fibre Channel speeds coincides with the demands by IT professionals for more highly-scalable, versatile, and cost-effective storage systems," said Henry Fabian, Seagate Executive Director, Global Product Marketing. "Fibre Channel momentum in the industry is strong, and as the leader in serial interface technologies, Seagate looks forward to continuing to provide Fibre Channel storage solutions for a range of applications from nearline to the most demanding enterprise servers."
    "Agilent Technologies, the first to introduce 4Gb Fibre Channel controllers with PCI-X and PCI Express, is pleased to support the industry demonstration of 4Gb Fibre Channel technology at the Intel Developer's Forum," said Erik Ottem, Director of Marketing for the Input Output Solutions Division in Agilent's Semiconductor Products Group. "This demonstration further highlights the performance, interoperability and maturity of Fibre Channel networks and the promise they deliver for current and future storage networking solutions."
    "PMC-Sierra continues to collaborate with key industry leaders to develop 4GFC products that ensure the continued success of Fibre Channel in the enterprise storage market," said Mark Stibitz, Vice President and General Manager, Enterprise Storage Division at PMC-Sierra. "Our FC loop switch product family increases system performance and aggressively reduces total system cost, enabling OEMs to quickly transition from 2G to 4G Fibre Channel systems."
    "The Fibre Channel (FC) demo at the Spring 2005 IDF showed that key vendors are ready to provide higher FC performance now," said Werner Glinka, Chairman of the FCIA. "Whether through plugfests or technology demonstrations, the FCIA provides the framework that insures product interoperability and compatibility with existing products for the FC industry."

    About PMC-Sierra's 4G FC Products

    PMC-Sierra's 4Gbit/s FC loop switch family includes the following devices:

--	PM8379 CTS 20x4G - 20 port cut-through loop switch with additional FC management port
--	PM8378 CTS 18x4G - 18 port cut-through loop switch
--	PM8375 CTS 4x4G - 4 port cut-through loop switch
--	PM8393 SMC - Storage enclosure management processor

    About PMC-Sierra Storage Products

    PMC-Sierra(TM) offers cost-optimized products featuring best-in-class signal integrity, flexibility and diagnostics for increased system performance and management. The company provides 1G, 2G and 4G Fibre Channel disk array and system interconnect products for SAN/NAS storage and switch fabric applications. PMC-Sierra also provides 3G interconnect products for SAS and SATA storage systems. For more information, visit www.pmc-sierra.com/storage.

    About Intel Developers Forum (IDF)

    IDF is an industry-wide event that brings developers and technology and business decision-makers together for three days of face-to-face, hands-on, in-depth give-and-take about where technology is heading and how it's going to change the ways people live and work. http://www.intel.com/idf/us/spring2005/systems/index.htm.

    (C) Copyright PMC-Sierra, Inc. 2005. All rights reserved. PMC-Sierra, PMCS, PMC, and "Thinking you can build on" are trademarks of PMC-Sierra, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of the respective owners.

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CONTACT: PMC-Sierra and Europe Editorial Contact: Susan Kirk, 604-415-6065 susan_kirk@pmc-sierra.com or US Editorial: Julie Crabill, 650-429-2732 julie.crabill@edelman.com or China Editorial: Jo Soo, +011 852 2837 4744 jo.soo@edelman.com or Japan Editorial: Toshiyuki Okazaki, +011 81.422.50.1280 okazakit@loomisgroup.com

KEYWORD: CALIFORNIA CHINA JAPAN INTERNATIONAL ASIA PACIFIC INDUSTRY KEYWORD: HARDWARE SOFTWARE TELECOMMUNICATIONS NETWORKING TRADESHOW PRODUCT SOURCE: PMC-Sierra, Inc.

Copyright Business Wire 2005