Audi Implements Flexible, Available Storage Area Network With Brocade Silkworm Fabric Switches

Leading Auto Manufacturer Increases Data Availability and Reduces Costs For Car Design and Assembly Using Brocade SAN

SAN JOSE, Calif., Aug. 18 -- Brocade Communications Systems, Inc. (Brocade(R)) , the world's leading provider of infrastructure for Storage Area Networks (SANs), announced today that Audi has deployed Brocade SilkWorm(R) fabric switches to provide the foundation for the auto manufacturer's mission-critical data administration and archive system. Brocade SAN infrastructure minimizes the total cost of data storage administration and helps ensure that Audi engineers and designers have continuous access to technical data and information regarding Audi car bodies and engines.

In May 2002, Audi created its Hyper-KVS data archive solution, used to store, research and retrieve CAD and CAM data critical to auto body and engine design and assembly. To benefit from the enhanced performance promised by this new data solution, Audi needed to assure high availability and flexible scalability in order to manage the high volumes of CAD and CAM data being created and stored. As the data within the Hyper KVS solution began to grow rapidly, Audi chose to deploy a Brocade SAN because of its high performance data transfer rates, high availability, and scalability that can easily accommodate Audi's projected data growth over next two years.

"Implementation of a SAN in the Hyper-KVS environment allowed us to provide users with maximum service availability and quick and easy access to archived data," said Michael Bartsch, Project Manager for Hyper-KVS systems at Audi. "Brocade possessed all the right attributes to accomplish this task. We see SANs as very important technology for IT in our organization, and we will invest increasingly in this area in the future."

"The Brocade SilkWorm 3200 is an ideal choice for customers that need a low cost, flexible solution that offers support for multivendor SAN environments," said Tom Buiocchi, Brocade Vice President of Marketing. "We are pleased that Audi has selected Brocade to more easily manage its rapidly growing storage needs."

About Audi AG

Audi is an international developer and manufacturer of high-quality cars. In 2001 the company sold more than 726,000 Audi models. The revenue of the Audi Group totalled around EUR 22 billion. The Audi Group has more than 50,000 employees, and is 99 percent owned by Volkswagen AG.

About Brocade Communications Systems, Inc.

Brocade offers the industry's leading intelligent platform for networking storage. The world's leading systems, applications, and storage vendors have selected Brocade to provide a networking foundation for their SAN solutions. The Brocade SilkWorm(R) family of fabric switches and software is designed to optimize data availability and storage and server resources in the enterprise. Using Brocade solutions, companies can simplify the implementation of storage area networks, reduce the total cost of ownership of data storage environments, and improve network and application efficiency. For more information, visit the Brocade website at www.brocade.com or contact the company at info@brocade.com.

NOTE: Brocade, the B weave logo and SilkWorm are registered trademarks of Brocade Communications Systems, Inc. or its subsidiaries in the United States or in other countries. All other brands, products, or service names are or may be trademarks or service marks of, and are used to identify, products or services of their respective owners. All products, plans, and dates are subject to change without notice.