3Par Announces Support for Microsoft's Latest Server Operating System

By VSM News Staff
published: Wednesday, April 16 2008

3Par Supports Microsoft Windows Server 2008, SQL Server 2008.

Fremont, CA, April 16, 2008 -3PAR® (NYSE Arca: PAR), the leading global provider of utility storage, announced today support for Microsoft's latest server operating system, Windows Server 2008, designed to power the next-generation of networks, applications, and Web services. 3PAR also announced support for Microsoft SQL Server 2008. As a Microsoft Certified Partner, 3PAR has worked with Microsoft to ensure that 3PAR InServ® Storage Servers are tested and approved for use with Windows Server 2008 and SQL Server 2008.

"3PAR already provides a reliable and easy-to-use consolidated storage platform for our Windows Server environment," said Glenn Berry, Database Architect for NewsGator Technologies. "With 3PAR's support of Windows Server 2008 and SQL Server 2008, we can now combine Microsoft's most advanced operating system and database technology with our 3PAR Utility Storage platform to run our business with complete confidence."

IT professionals report increasing pressure from rapidly changing technology, rising costs and security concerns, and expanding business needs. 3PAR Utility Storage is a highly virtualized tiered-storage array designed to address these pressures by reducing the cost of allocated storage capacity, storage administration, and SAN infrastructure. Windows Server 2008 provides features to automate daily management tasks, tighten security, improve server utilization efficiency, and increase availability. Together, Windows Server 2008 and 3PAR Utility Storage deliver complementary benefits for joint customers.

"We are excited about the release of Windows Server 2008 and SQL Server 2008, and are pleased to work with Microsoft Certified Partners such as 3PAR to make the combination a great experience for our joint customers," said Bill Laing, general manager for the Windows Server division at Microsoft.

3PAR support for Windows Server 2008 includes:

• Native Multipath input/output (I/O) to deliver intelligent I/O routing through multiple paths between a host server and the InServ Storage Server for greater availability and load balancing.
• Choice between Fibre Channel and iSCSI host server connectivity deployed with the 3PAR InServ Storage Server.
• Rapid server provisioning. With remote boot support for Windows Server 2008 and 3PAR Virtual Copy software, enabling customers to improve the time-to-market of Windows Server 2008 server deployments and conserve storage capacity by booting hosts from Virtual Copy snapshots associated with "golden," centrally managed boot images.
• Support for SQL Server 2008, enabling customers to complement the latest version with the ready scalability and thin efficiency of 3PAR Utility Storage.

"IT executives preparing for the arrival of Windows Server 2008 need to know that their storage and information management asset are ready to support this new environment," said Richard Villars, Vice President of storage systems research at IDC. "Solutions like 3PAR Utility Storage that provide full support for Windows Server 2008 will allow companies to more quickly and confidently deploy or upgrade important servers and applications."

"Many of our customers already report benefits of increased agility and resiliency by using 3PAR Utility Storage in large Windows Server and SQL Server environments," said David Scott, President and CEO of 3PAR. "3PAR's support for these new platforms demonstrates our commitment to providing the latest offerings that benefit our Windows customers."

As a Microsoft Certified Gold Partner, 3PAR works with Microsoft to ensure that 3PAR Utility Storage products are tested and approved for use with Microsoft  products. As a member of the SQL Server Always On Technologies program, the 3PAR InServ Storage Server has been reviewed to meet SQL Server Storage Solution requirements. In addition, 3PAR has access to new Microsoft product releases, development tools, technical resources, and marketing programs. These resources allow 3PAR to more quickly integrate, test, and support new Microsoft product releases and to better serve mutual customers.

About 3PAR

3PAR® (NYSE Arca: PAR) is the leading global provider of utility storage, a category of highly virtualized, tightly-clustered, and dynamically-tiered storage arrays built for utility computing. Organizations use utility computing to build cost-effective virtualized IT infrastructures for flexible workload consolidation. 3PAR Utility Storage gives customers an alternative to traditional arrays by delivering resilient infrastructure with increased agility at a lower total cost to meet their rapidly changing business needs. As a pioneer of thin provisioning--a green technology developed to address storage underutilization and inefficiencies--3PAR offers products designed to minimize power consumption and promote environmental responsibility. With 3PAR, customers have reduced the costs of allocated storage capacity, administration, and SAN infrastructure while increasing adaptability and resiliency. 3PAR Utility Storage is built to meet the demands of open systems consolidation, integrated data lifecycle management, and performance-intensive applications. For more information, visit the 3PAR Website at: www.3PAR.com.

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