Virtualization Solution Kits Based on VMware Infrastructure Acceleration Kits and LeftHand Networks Virtual SAN Appliance Improve Application Availability and Eliminate Need for External SAN

LeftHand Networks,(R) the leading provider of highly available
iSCSI SANs, announced today that its Virtual SAN Appliance (VSA) for
VMware ESX Server is available as part of new Virtualization Solution
Kits, which are an industry first for providing highly available
applications and storage without requiring an external SAN. The
Virtualization Solution Kits, which consist of LeftHand Networks´ VSA
software as well as VMware virtualization software, are now available
from distributors Alternative Technology, Inc. and Avnet Technology
Solutions. Small and medium businesses (SMBs) and remote and branch
offices (ROBOs) of the enterprise now have access to an affordable
solution that delivers the high availability that they require. The
LeftHand Networks VSA is also the first virtual storage appliance to
be certified and listed in the SAN Compatibility Guide for VMware ESX
Server.

Companies have rapidly adopted VMware virtualization to optimize
existing IT investments and to ensure business continuity and data
protection. The LeftHand VSA, based on LeftHand´s award-winning
SAN/iQ(R) software, is a VMware Certified Virtual Appliance and
provides complete SAN management functionality through the VMware ESX
Server. By virtualizing the internal disk capacity of VMware ESX
Server and clustering the storage across multiple VMware ESX Server
hosts, LeftHand´s VSA eliminates the need for external shared storage
necessary to implement the advanced features of VMware Infrastructure,
making it easier for SMB and ROBO customers to take advantage of the
benefits of enterprise-class virtualization.

"The combination of LeftHand´s VSA and VMware ESX Server provide
customers who have smaller deployments or remote and branch offices
the ability to implement a complete and attractively priced VMware
virtualization environment that provides high availability to both
applications and storage," said Parag Patel, vice president, alliances
at VMware. "VMware virtualization software has quickly changed the IT
landscape by helping customers lower the cost of their IT
infrastructures while enabling higher levels of protection for
business critical systems."

Four Virtualization Solution Kits are now available from Avnet and
Alternative Technology. The kits combine the LeftHand Virtual SAN
Appliance for VMware ESX Server with VMware Infrastructure
Acceleration Kits in combinations that provide customers with highly
available storage and/or applications while providing a choice of
configurations that yield significant price advantages. The
Virtualization Solution Kits extend the value of the VMware
Infrastructure Acceleration Kits by adding the VSA to provide the
shared storage required to implement advanced VMware virtualization
functionality such as VMware High Availability (HA), VMware
Distributed Resource Scheduler (DRS), and VMware VMotion(TM).

"LeftHand Networks and VMware are driving new innovations into the
SMB and ROBO markets while changing the economics of virtualization,"
stated Larry Cormier, vice president of marketing, LeftHand Networks.
"This announcement also highlights our commitment to the channel and
the partnership we have with our mutual distributors who are
responding directly to the requirements of these customer segments by
offering the Virtualization Solution Kits. As these Kits exemplify,
virtualization technologies are quickly changing the IT landscape -
helping customers lower the cost of their IT infrastructure while
enabling higher levels of protection for business critical systems."

The VSA being certified and listed in VMware´s ESX Server SAN
Compatibility Guide (HCL) ensures full compatibility and support with
VMware ESX virtual infrastructure solutions. For certification,
LeftHand´s VSA passed the same certification tests applied to external
SAN systems.

Virtualization Solution Kits

Virtualization Solution Kits for Virtual SANs

These Virtualization Solution Kits are for customers who require
complete high availability for both their applications and storage.
Customers choose which Kit based on VMware features, number of VMware
and VSA licenses, and the need for implementation assistance.

-- Virtualization Solution Kit consisting of VMware
Infrastructure Standard HA Acceleration Kit and LeftHand
Networks Virtual SAN - Ideal for environments where high
availability of infrastructure and data is critical, this
solution gives organizations the ability to help ensure
business continuity, while providing all the additional
benefits offered by server virtualization combined with a SAN.
This Kit combines two LeftHand Networks Virtual SAN Appliances
(VSAs) for VMware ESX Server, the VMware Infrastructure
Standard HA Acceleration Kit, and support and maintenance
services.

-- Virtualization Solution Kit consisting of VMware
Infrastructure Midsize Acceleration Kit and LeftHand Networks
Virtual SAN - This Kit serves the needs of small and
mid-market organizations looking for enterprise-class
solutions that bring all the benefits that virtualization and
a full-featured SAN have to offer. Additionally, this kit
offers training and consulting credits that can be applied to
VMware training courses or services that help organizations
optimize the use of their VMware virtualization solutions.
This Kit combines three LeftHand Networks Virtual SAN
Appliances (VSAs) for VMware ESX Server, the VMware
Infrastructure Midsize Acceleration Kit and support and
maintenance services.

Virtualization Solution Kits for Shared Storage

These Kits are for customers who need shared storage to support
VMware features such as VMware HA, VMware DRS or VMware VMotion(TM),
but do not require complete SAN functionality. Customers choose which
Kit based on desired VMware features, number of VMware software
licenses needed, and the need for implementation assistance.

-- Virtualization Solution Kit consisting of VMware
Infrastructure Standard HA Acceleration Kit and Shared Storage
- Ideal for environments where high availability of
infrastructure and data is critical, this solution gives small
and mid-market organizations the ability to help ensure
business continuity, while providing all the additional
benefits of VMware virtualization and shared storage offers.
This Kit combines a single LeftHand Networks Virtual SAN
Appliance (VSA) for VMware ESX Server, the VMware
Infrastructure Standard HA Acceleration Kit and support and
maintenance services

-- Virtualization Solution Kit consisting of VMware
Infrastructure Midsize Acceleration Kit and Shared Storage -
For IT organizations that need to ensure highly available
applications to meet their business needs, this kit includes
not only VMware´s advanced virtualization software, but shared
storage capabilities without requiring additional external
storage hardware. Training and consulting credits are also
included that can be applied to VMware training courses or
services to speed implementation. This Kit combines a single
LeftHand Networks Virtual SAN Appliance (VSA) for VMware ESX
Server, the VMware Infrastructure Midsize Acceleration Kit and
support and maintenance services.

"Alternative Technology continues to deliver innovative
virtualization solutions that for the first time allow SMB and ROBO
environments to easily embrace the benefits of virtualization," said
Tom Zorn, executive vice president, Alternative Technology, a wholly
owned subsidiary of Arrow Enterprise Computing Solutions, which is a
business unit of Arrow Electronics, Inc. "These Virtualization
Solution Kits also allow customers to buy what they need today and
evolve their virtualization and SAN capabilities and configurations as
their business needs evolve and grow, and that´s a huge benefit."

With the various Virtualization Solution Kit options, customers
can select the kit that best meets their high availability
requirements. And, as their IT demands evolve and increase, both
VMware Infrastructure and LeftHand Networks have upgrade paths into
more robust virtualization and iSCSI SAN solutions.

"Virtualization is rapidly becoming one of the hottest technology
solutions for SMB and remote office environments because it offers
significant cost and resource savings," said Tim FitzGerald,
virtualization & consolidation solutions group leader, Avnet
Technology Solutions, Americas. "The Virtualization Solution Kits are
tailored to the unique needs of SMB and remote office environments,
combining high availability storage and applications on a single
server platform and eliminating the need for additional SAN hardware.
With Avnet´s dedicated Virtualization and Consolidation Solutions
group and newly announced V Rewards Program, we´ll be able to help our
partners capitalize on this growing market by providing them with
comprehensive solutions designed to address their customers´ business
challenges."

Availability

The Virtualization Solution Kits are available immediately through
Alternative Technology and Avnet Technology Solutions in the U.S. and
Canada. The Virtualization Solution Kits are typically priced less
than separately purchased server and storage virtualization products.

About LeftHand Networks

LeftHand Networks pioneered IP-based storage area networks (SAN)
in 2001. SANs built using LeftHand´s SAN/iQ(R) software are uniquely
able to distribute and protect data across a cluster of
industry-standard storage servers. The company´s patented architecture
increases data availability, allows users to start small and grow the
SAN seamlessly, and simplifies management. The LeftHand SAN is ideal
for storage and server consolidation, multi-site SANs, and disaster
recovery. For more information, contact LeftHand at
info@lefthandnetworks.com.