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, a global supplier of intelligent storage area network (SAN) products, today announced the certification of its Slingshot family of 2Gb Open Fabric switches by Rorke Data, Inc., a subsidiary of Bell Microproducts Inc..Rorke Data unveiled the Slingshot-based 2Gb fibre channel network infrastructure at the annual Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) 2001 meeting being held in Chicago, November 25-30, 2001.
“Our Slingshot switches are a perfect fit for Rorke Data’s focus on the Medical Imaging and Digital Audio/Video vertical markets,” said Clark Foy, vice president of sales and marketing for Gadzoox Networks. “The switches provide the high throughput needed and the broad interoperability required, while enabling Rorke to deliver outstanding value in these vertical markets.”
Prior to achieving certification, the Gadzoox Networks Slingshot switches met Rorke Data’s interoperability requirements through extensive testing in multiple configurations within the context of vertical market applications such as diagnostic imaging, video editing and streaming media. The Slingshot switches successfully tested compatible and interoperable with existing 2Gb Fibre Channel HBAs, drivers, storage and software, as well as backward compatibility with legacy 1Gb Fibre Channel products and installations.
The certification also included benchmark and application data-rate testing required by Rorke Data to meet the extreme high-bandwidth network speeds necessary for native digital content workflows, such as PACS (Picture Archiving Communications Systems) & RIS (Radiology Information Systems).
The Slingshot family of 2Gb Fibre Channel switches, the Slingshot 4210 and 4218, boast features like flexible, self-healing trunks, auto-sensing and auto-speed negotiating ports, and the industry’s highest port density. The Slingshot 4210 and 4218 scale 25 percent higher than switches from competitors at half of the price. The Slingshot Family is based on the newest open fabric standard, FC-SW-2, which enables users to confidently build a heterogeneous SAN fabric. The line costs less than $1,000 per port.
