Finisar Adds Tester, Analyzer

SUNNYVALE, Calif. -- Committed to providing the most comprehensive, flexible, and advanced testing solutions to its customers, Finisar Corporation (NasdaqGS:FNSR - News) announced the second-generation PCI-Express (PCIe) protocol analyzer for its Bus Doctor platform. Finisar's new PCIe protocol analyzer supports both 2.5 and 5.0 Gb/s data rates and is the only testing platform that correlates PCIe traffic with 14 other protocols resulting in the highest level of accuracy in a multi-protocol environment. This combination of capabilities helps developers quickly identify and resolve errors and impairments in a wide variety of PCIe-based applications.

PCIe is a key technology for removing system bus bottlenecks and improving overall performance in computing and storage applications. PCIe was developed as the replacement I/O bus for PCI and PCI-X and is present in almost all new computers shipped. For computing and storage applications, PCIe provides a significant improvement in bandwidth for moving data in devices such as Host Board Adapters (HBAs), server and storage arrays, and Network Interface Cards (NICs).

"PCIe is clearly a dominant technology in computing and storage applications," said Arun Taneja, founder and consulting analyst, Taneja Group. "Finisar is alone in extending to developers the ability to correlate between multiple protocols that span across both applications. Bus Doctor is a compelling tool for developers needing to bring world-class PCIe products to market quickly."

Effective performance, however, involves the entire system, not just the main system bus. With its broad support of computing protocols, the Bus Doctor is able to provide complete end-to-end visibility into the multi-protocol systems that comprise today's complex computing and storage applications. Bus Doctor tracks packets across 14 different protocol standards -- including Serial ATA (SATA), Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) and SCSI -- enabling accurate correlation as well as full packet visibility at each crossover point. In this way, developers can accelerate design cycles and substantially improve time to market.

"It is critical for developers to have access to tools that give them deep visibility into high-speed bus and fabric transactions," said Jim Pappas, director of Initiative Marketing, Intel Corporation. "Companies like Finisar play an important role in sustaining PCIe's rapid pace of innovation by providing the comprehensive testing platforms and expertise developers need to accomplish this."In a separate release:

SUNNYVALE, Calif. -- Finisar Corporation (NasdaqGS:FNSR - News), a leader in fiber optic and test-and-measurement solutions for high-speed data networks, today announced the industry's first comprehensive 8 Gb/s Fibre Channel (FC) test solution designed specifically for development and testing of advanced storage systems. The Xgig® 8 Gb/s FC solution is built upon Finisar's Xgig test tool platform, a versatile and comprehensive tool for testing and analyzing real-time traffic across all major high-speed storage protocols. Backed by a powerful combination of advanced features and expert analysis tools, the Xgig 8 Gb/s FC solution accelerates the design of new 8 Gb/s FC equipment for SAN's. It also simplifies troubleshooting when these SAN systems are deployed into enterprise storage operations.

Fibre Channel is expected to dominate SAN infrastructures in most data centers well beyond 2010. With the availability of 8 Gb/s FC, OEMs can deliver more performance and new capabilities which will enable a wider range of SAN applications. However, as this 8 Gb/s standard is implemented across a myriad of new solutions, vendors will be challenged to ensure their products meet the performance, reliability and interoperability requirements expected by enterprise end customers. Leading companies rely on Finisar's Xgig storage test tool platform's comprehensive capabilities to ensure their products meet or exceed standards set within the industry.

"Increasingly data-rich applications are driving the explosive growth within the storage industry. Finisar's Xgig test platform is a critical component in the implementation of new standards and technologies," said Dave Buse, general manager of Finisar's Network Tools division. "By leveraging our protocol expertise and heritage of innovation, our customers can reduce product design time and costs without sacrificing product reliability and quality, thus improving their chances for leadership in this important and growing market."

Finisar Corp.0