Emulex Corporation is offering a new Fibre Channel host bus adapter (HBA) designed specifically for use in IBM eServer BladeCenter environments. The LP1005DC HBA is a dual channel, high performance SAN connectivity solution that is fully driver compatible across Emulex's entire line of HBAs. Creating the new HBA, Emulex used IBM's BladeCenter Open Specification program, providing complete control over the adapter's design and testing.

Emulex's HBA will now become an integral part of the BladeCenter ecosystem, according to IBM. This can prove to be a huge boon to Emulex, which was named one of Forbes Magazine's 25 Fastest Growing Technology Companies. Over 500,000 HBAs have been shipped into IBM server environments.

"The Emulex LP1005DC enables IBM customer installations that have already standardized their data centers on Emulex HBAs to continue utilizing the reliable and proven Emulex infrastructure solutions they have come to rely on - and now demand,'' said Mike Smith, executive vice president of worldwide marketing for Emulex. "Utilizing the BladeCenter Open Specification enabled Emulex to control the entire design and testing process internally, which dramatically reduced our time to market - enabling the company to meet the demands of our large installed base within IBM environments.''

IBM expects that added availability into eServer BladeCenter will encourage Emulex customers to use BladeCenter solutions in their existing SAN environments. About 100 companies have been designated "BladeCenter Business Partner(s)" by IBM.   Inclusion into the program, which began September, 2002, provides access to a number of IBM solutions, along with active support from IBM.

"As an IBM BladeCenter Business Partner, Emulex has leveraged our design specification to develop a mezzanine HBA designed to provide high performance SAN connectivity for our market-leading IBM BladeCenter connecting to storage networks,'' said IBM eServer BladeCenter vice president, Jeff Benck. He added, "Emulex leveraged the BladeCenter open specification program to create an enterprise solution that expands the portfolio of available options clients can leverage with BladeCenter."

Emulex was able to extend its extremely flexible firmware-based architecture, which does not need hardware updates when software is altered, to its latest LP1005DC HBA. Open access to BladeCenter let Emulex view customer requirements for Emulex-based SAN connectivity within a BladeCenter solution.

The Emulex LP1005DC also leverages Emulex's centralized HBA management suite, HBAnyware. HBAnyware is driver-based technology that enables the discovery and complete management of HBAs within the SAN, reducing total cost of ownership and planned downtime while enabling sophisticated management capabilities such as remote firmware upgrades from a single console anywhere in a SAN.