SCSI Host Adapter Uses New Technology to Increase File Server Performance

* Adapter Boosts Speed of NetWare, Unix, Windows NT and OS/2
* Patent-Pending Technology Doubles Peripheral I/O Performance

SAN JOSE, Calif., June 13, 1994 -- AdvanSys today announced a Small
Computer System Interface (SCSI) host adapter that uses new patent-pending
technology to increase the performance of file servers. The new adapter
improves system performance by doubling the speed at which disk drives and
other peripherals deliver data to a file server.

The ABP842 host adapter increases the performance of file servers running
industry standard operating systems such as NetWare, Unix, Windows NT and
OS/2. By increasing the speed of these servers, the new adapter boosts the
productivity of millions of network users by allowing them to access
information faster.

The new adapter is twice as fast as competing adapters because it uses
patent-pending technology that allows it to process up to 255 simultaneous
data requests in its local memory. Existing adapters are slower because
they must use a file server's memory to process more than four
simultaneous requests.

The speed of the AdvanSys adapter is important for handling the tremendous
load that a multiuser operating system puts on disk drives in a file
server. For instance, in a fraction of a second an operating system, such
as NetWare, could issue hundreds of data requests for dozens of users.

According to Lou Williams, vice president of marketing, "The power of new
microprocessors, such as the 486, PowerPC and Pentium, has far outstripped
the ability of disk drives and other peripherals to deliver data to a
server for processing. Our new technology helps solve this problem by
controlling peripherals in a way that maintains a steady flow of data to a
file server's microprocessor."

Additional Advantages

In addition to its high performance, the AdvanSys adapter is the
easiest-to-install solution on the market since all configuration
parameters are set by the company's automatic installation software
instead of with confusing jumpers and switches.

Because of its higher integration (10 chips instead of 40), the AdvanSys
adapter uses half the power of its nearest competitor. The lower power
reduces overheating in a server's chassis and therefore improves
reliability. The lower power also helps computer systems meet "green"
power standards required for selling to the government.

Adapter Includes Software

AdvanSys is selling its adapter in the AdvanSCSI Gold Kit which is a
shrink-wrapped package that includes the ABP842 host adapter, SCSI ribbon
cable, installation video, automatic installation software, manuals,
24-hour, seven-day-a-week technical support, and Corel's drivers,
utilities, RAID (Level 4 & 5) and jukebox software.

The AdvanSCSI Gold Kit is sold to end users, system administrators, MIS
managers, dealers, distributors, value added resellers (VARs), value added
dealers (VADs) and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).

The AdvanSys adapter, which plugs into a server's VESA (Video Electronics
Standards Association) slot, can connect up to seven different peripherals
to a server. To attach more peripherals, additional adapters can be
plugged into a server. An AdvanSys adapter can attach peripherals such as
hard disks, removable hard disks, CD-ROM jukeboxes, scanners, tape backup
systems, WORM (Write Once Read Many) Optical disks, printers, etc.

New Technology Boosts Speed

The new multitasking technology in the ABP842 adapter improves the
performance of a file server by keeping the "data hopper" on a server's
processor full so it doesn't have to sit idle waiting for information to
process.

The ABP842 is faster than competing adapters because it has "true"
multitasking which allows it to accept up to 255 requests from the
operating system without delay. The ABP842 adapter is able to do this
because it has high-speed memory into which requests are stored. Other
adapters are slower because after receiving four requests, they tell the
operating system to wait as the adapter stores the additional requests in
a file server's temporary memory known as a mail box.

The ABP842 is also faster than competing adapters because of a
patent-pending algorithm that tags the data received from a disk drive
with an identifier that tells the adapter with which request the data
belongs.

Higher Integration Improves Reliability

AdvanSys has achieved the highest level of integration in its industry by
packing most of the circuitry for its host adapter into its own
proprietary chip, the ASC1000. By using its own chip, the company is able
to build its host adapter with only 10 chips, whereas, adapters from the
nearest competitors require more than 40 chips.

The higher integration of AdvanSys' adapters makes them more reliable
because they use substantially fewer interconnections, thereby lowering
the chance that a connection will break. Also, there is less chance of
crosstalk errors in which neighboring signals interfere with each other
and cause a system failure. 

Availability and Price

The AdvanSCSI Gold Kit has a suggested retail price of $599 and is shipping
now. This price includes the ABP842 host adapter, and Corel's drivers,
utilities, RAID ( Level 4 & S) and Jukebox software. The price also
includes cables, a user's manual, a step-by-step VHS installation video
and 24-hour, seven-day-a-week technical support.

Reader Contact

Literature Department, AdvanSys, 1150 Ringwood Court, San Jose, CA, 95131.
Telephone: (408) 383-9400.

Company Background

AdvanSys is a Silicon Valley based company that designs and markets host
adapters, software and chips that increase the performance of personal
computers, workstations and network file servers. The company's products
improve the performance of these systems by boosting the speed at which
disk drives and other peripherals transfer data over the Small Computer
System Interface (SCSI).

The company sells its end-user products, such as host adapters and
software, to system administrators, MIS managers, system integrators,
distributors, value added resellers (VARs), value added dealers (VADs) and
original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). AdvanSys sells its chips to
computer manufacturers that design SCSI capability onto their motherboards
as a standard feature. AdvanSys is headquartered in San Jose, Calif.

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