ATTO Technology and Hitachi GST Demonstrate 6Gb/s SAS Interoperability for High-Performance Storage Environments
Tues 14 April, 2009

6Gb/s SAS Industry Leaders Deliver Compatible, High-Performance
Storage Solutions for OEM and Worldwide Distribution Channels

Amherst, NY and San Jose, CA (April 14, 2009) – ATTO Technology and Hitachi Global Storage Technologies (Hitachi GST) today announced interoperability of their respective 6Gb/s Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) products designed for use in high-performance server and storage applications. The combination of ATTO ExpressSAS Host Bus Adapters with Hitachi Ultrastar C10K300 hard drives deliver fast 6Gb/s data transfers for high I/O enterprise environments. The new 6Gb/s SAS interface delivers 100 percent faster data throughput than previously available using a 3Gb/s SAS interconnect. The companies began working together early in the development of 6Gb/s SAS to share design implementations and debug information, as well as conduct extensive testing to ensure an interoperable solution that delivers compatibility and overall system performance.

ATTO 6Gb/s ExpressSAS host adapters are available in five models, in both 8- and 16-port configurations, providing 600MB/s connectivity per port with support for up to 512 physical devices; and, are a perfect compliment to the dual-ported Hitachi Ultrastar C10K300 hard drives offered in 147GB and 300GB capacities. Both ATTO and Hitachi designed their products with advanced technology that addresses the need for low latency environments, enabling customers to access data more quickly and efficiently.

The established relationship between ATTO and Hitachi GST ensures a solid foundation for stable and consistent interoperability across product offerings. This interoperable solution offers connectivity for a wide range of enterprise-class applications, including data warehousing, data-intensive content-on-demand, multi-stream video, and disk-based backup. The impressive transfer rate of the new SAS interface operating at 6Gb/s is ideal for meeting these challenges.

The new serial interface also offers backward compatibility with existing 3Gb/s products to provide customers with exceptional configuration flexibility, investment protection, and a simplified path for users to migrate to 6Gb/s platforms. ATTO ExpressSAS HBAs and Hitachi hard drives are now shipping to OEM and distribution customers worldwide.

“ATTO and Hitachi GST have industry-proven experience in developing high-performance solutions for the digital media and IT markets. This introduction of 6Gb/s technology, combining ATTO ExpressSAS with Hitachi Ultrastar drives, provides customers with an ideal solution for high-bandwidth storage applications," said Timothy Klein, President and CEO at ATTO Technology. "Together, Hitachi and ATTO have delivered a fast and robust SAS storage solution.”

“We are pleased to collaborate with ATTO Technology to demonstrate interoperability between our respective products and underscore the numerous benefits of the new serial interconnect,” said Brendan Collins, vice president, Product Marketing, Hitachi Global Storage Technologies. “The 6Gb/s SAS interface delivers outstanding performance that is well-suited to meet the requirements of today’s most demanding enterprise server and storage applications. Our first 6Gb/s SAS product, the Hitachi Ultrastar C10K300, is delivering impressive performance benchmarks and receiving an extremely favorable response from customers.”

About ATTO Technology, Inc.
ATTO Technology, Inc. is a global leader of storage connectivity and infrastructure solutions for data-intensive computing environments. ATTO provides a wide range of end-to-end solutions to help customers' better store, manage and deliver their data. With a focus toward markets that require higher performance, ATTO manufactures host adapters, RAID adapters, bridges, RAID storage controllers, and management software. ATTO solutions are based on providing a high level of connectivity to all storage interfaces including SCSI, SATA, Internet SCSI (iSCSI), Gigabit Ethernet, SAS and Fibre Channel. ATTO distributes its products worldwide to Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), systems integrators, VARs and authorized distributors. ATTO Technology was established in 1988 and is headquartered in Amherst, NY. For more information, please visit: attotech.com.

About Hitachi Global Storage Technologies
Hitachi Global Storage Technologies (Hitachi GST) develops advanced hard disk drives, enterprise-class solid state drives, and innovative external storage solutions and services used to store, preserve and manage the world’s most valued data. Founded by the pioneers of hard drives, Hitachi GST provides high-value storage for a broad range of market segments, including Enterprise, Desktop, Mobile Computing, Consumer Electronics, and Personal Storage. Hitachi GST was established in 2003 and is headquartered in San Jose, CA. For more information, please visit: www.hitachigst.com.

About Hitachi, Ltd.
Hitachi, Ltd., (NYSE: HIT / TSE: 6501), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is a leading global electronics company with approximately 390,000 employees worldwide. Fiscal 2007 (ended March 31, 2008) consolidated revenues totaled 11,226 billion yen ($112.3 billion). The company offers a wide range of systems, products and services in market sectors, including information systems, electronic devices, power and industrial systems, consumer products, logistics, materials and financial services. For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company's website at http://www.hitachi.com.

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