Ethernet Industry Collaborating on Next Phase of Epic Migration to 25Gb, 50Gb and 100Gb

ALISO VIEJO, Calif., April 14, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- QLogic Corp. QLGC, a leading supplier of high performance network infrastructure solutions, today unveiled the 2550100 Alliance: a group of server, storage, networking and software companies working together to systematically bring solutions to market based on new 25Gb, 50Gb and 100Gb Ethernet technology. The development of 25Gb, 50Gb and 100Gb products was driven by hyperscale cloud providers who needed a more economical solution between 10Gb and 40Gb.

Ethernet Adapter & LOM Shipments: Years to Surpass Two Million Ports

Because of the compelling benefits of 25Gb economics, shipments of 25Gb solutions to hyperscale and enterprise organizations is forecasted to reach one million ports faster than previous generations of high performance Ethernet. The goal of the 2550100 Alliance is to make it easy for vendors, channel partners and IT organizations to learn, evaluate and implement 25Gb, 50Gb and 100Gb products. Information about alliance members, program details and how to join is conveniently located at www.2550100.com.

"25Gb, 50Gb and 100Gb represents multiple breakthroughs for the Ethernet industry," said Ahmet Houssein, senior vice president and general manager, Ethernet Products, QLogic. "25Gb brings economy to high performance networking, 100Gb puts Ethernet at parity with InfiniBand, while the underlying chips and protocol stack are designed to meet the needs of both hyperscale and enterprise customers."

2550100 Forecast: Fast Time-To-1 Million Ports

According to a forecast by Crehan Research, shipments of 25Gb adapter and LOM ports will reach one million in less than half the time of 10Gb, the technology currently used for high performance server connectivity.

"In contrast to the early ramp of 10GbE, today's server platforms are already capable of driving much higher bandwidth than is currently available on the market. Hence, the network has become a real bottleneck, especially in hyper-scale data center environments," said Seamus Crehan, president of Crehan Research. "Given that 25GbE, 50GbE and 100GbE can alleviate this bottleneck in a very cost-effective manner, we are forecasting a much faster adoption curve."

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The 2550100 Alliance

Complementing the work of the 25 Gigabit Ethernet Consortium and Ethernet Alliance to promote standards, the 2550100 Alliance was formed to facilitate collaboration in bringing solutions to market. The backbone of the 2550100 Alliance is a set of programs designed to: 1) Assist hardware and software vendors with early access to 2550100 networking products, and to work together efficiently to develop solutions; 2) Assist channel partners with online and hands-on training, and with early access to 2550100 networking products, so they may guide their customers through the migration and 3) Assist IT professionals with education, hands-on training, and early access to 2550100 networking products needed to evaluate and deploy the new technology.

Charter members of the 2550100 Alliance, include: Amphenol, Cavium, DataCore, Finisar, Hitachi Data Systems, Huawei, Ixia, Lenovo, SUSE, Telesoft Technologies, X-IO, Zadara and more.

Why QLogic?

The most advanced networks demand sophisticated capabilities, and for 20 years QLogic has consistently delivered performance, innovation, flexibility, reliability and control for these environments. Breakthrough application performance gives customers faster time-to-data. Innovation delivers new capabilities, greater efficiency and maximum performance. Unprecedented flexibility connects mission-critical applications to any storage network, and robust infrastructure management capabilities put network controls in the hands of customers.

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QLogic – the Ultimate in Performance

QLogic QLGC is a global leader and technology innovator in high performance server and storage networking connectivity products. Leading OEMs and channel partners worldwide rely on QLogic for its server and storage networking solutions. For more information, visit www.qlogic.com.

Disclaimer – Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains statements relating to future results of the company (including certain beliefs and projections regarding business and market trends) that are "forward-looking statements" as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or implied in the forward-looking statements. The company advises readers that these potential risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: potential fluctuations in operating results; gross margins that may vary over time; unfavorable economic conditions; the stock price of the company may be volatile; the company's dependence on the networking markets served; the ability to maintain and gain market or industry acceptance of the company's products; the company's dependence on a small number of customers; the company's ability to compete effectively with other companies; uncertain benefits from strategic business combinations, acquisitions and divestitures; the ability to attract and retain key personnel; the complexity of the company's products; declining average unit sales prices of comparable products; the company's dependence on sole source and limited source suppliers; the company's dependence on relationships with certain third-party subcontractors and contract manufacturers; sales fluctuations arising from customer transitions to new products; seasonal fluctuations and uneven sales patterns in orders from customers; changes in the company's tax provisions or adverse outcomes resulting from examination of its income tax returns; international economic, currency, regulatory, political and other risks; facilities of the company and its suppliers and customers are located in areas subject to natural disasters; the ability to protect proprietary rights; the ability to satisfactorily resolve any infringement claims; a reduction in sales efforts by current distributors; declines in the market value of the company's marketable securities; changes in and compliance with regulations; difficulties in transitioning to smaller geometry process technologies; the use of "open source" software in the company's products; system security risks, data protection breaches and cyber-attacks; and the company's ability to borrow under its credit agreement is subject to certain covenants.

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