Adaptec's Leadership in RAID Technology Leads to Design Win From Top-Tier Motherboard and Server Supplier

Adaptec, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADPT), a leader in storage solutions, and Supermicro Computer, Inc., a leading manufacturer of high-quality motherboard and server solutions, today announced the availability of the industry's first Serial ATA II (SATA II)-enabled motherboards configured for Zero Channel Raid (ZCR), which Supermicro is now selling in many SATA II hardware RAID server configurations. Powered by Adaptec's new SATA II ZCR controllers and industry-leading RAID software, these server solutions are designed for high-density storage and offer enterprises a cost-effective upgrade path to RAID 5, high-speed throughput, enhanced data protection, and greater scalability.

"SATA integration in enterprise storage is poised for continued growth in 2005, increasing to an expected 17% (or over 300,000 TB) of all storage terabytes shipped worldwide," said Dave Reinsel, program director of storage research at IDC. "As the popularity of SATA drive arrays continues, especially in iSCSI SAN applications, product solutions like Adaptec's SATA II ZCR combined with Supermicro's motherboard systems provide the flexibility necessary to optimize customer's hardware assets."

SATA II is the latest update of the next-generation storage SATA I/O standard, doubling throughput support from 1.5Gb/s to 3Gb/s. The combination of SATA II and ZCR, a RAID technology that leverages the system's onboard SATA II chip to reduce the cost and size of RAID data protection functionality, enables enterprises to reach a whole new level of price/performance for their storage solutions. Supermicro, with its new motherboards and server solutions, is providing VARs with a simple upgrade path to hardware-based RAID. As a result, VARs can now offer additional flexibility in the high-density server storage market with a SATA II I/O motherboard that can be quickly upgraded to the lower cost format and smaller form factor that only Adaptec's ZCR can provide. For example, Supermicro's SS6014P-TR 1U server offers redundant power supplies and air cooling systems along with four hot-swap SATA II drive bays. With the Adaptec ZCR, the SS6014P-TR delivers much higher availability and reliability than any other 1U server today.

"Providing VARs with a flexible, easy-to-implement solution to address the broadening SATA II opportunity is critical for their success in today's highly competitive market," said Charles Liang, Supermicro president. "Now, we offer SATA II RAID solutions with our 1U, 2U, 3U, and 4U server boards and NAS systems based on Adaptec RAID technology. We selected Adaptec as the standard for this integrated solution because of their in-depth understanding and clear leadership in RAID technology. We felt Adaptec's leadership in RAID matched Supermicro's leadership in motherboards, thus providing VARs with the best solution available."

"Today's users need RAID storage for maximum data protection as well as the increased performance features and higher transfer rates offered by SATA II," said Ahmet Houssein, vice president and general manager of Adaptec's Storage Business Group. "Now, VARs can deliver cost-effective, state-of-the-art RAID performance and protection with SATA II, the latest entry-level I/O technology for servers. The combined strength of Adaptec's RAID technology leadership and Supermicro's motherboard expertise and expansive server customer base makes this a powerful choice for enterprises focused on price performance solutions."

Adaptec RAID Software
The Serial ATA II (SATA II) Zero Channel Raid (ZCR)-enabled motherboards, which Supermicro is now selling in four SATA II hardware RAID server configurations, are based on Adaptec's hardened RAID core - the most robust and reliable data protection software available today. A thoroughly tested, proven, and trusted software solution that has been deployed in millions of business-critical installations around the world, Adaptec RAID is incorporated in products sold by the majority of the leading server and storage vendors today. Adaptec's extensive RAID product line enables original equipment manufacturers, resellers, and integrators to meet a wide variety of current and emerging customer requirements, while Adaptec's unified set of software management tools dramatically simplifies product configuration, installation, and management.