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Adam Cargill
Marketing Communications
The Open Group

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The Open Group Announces Formation of The Interconnect Software Consortium

Compaq, Fujitsu, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Network Appliance, Sun Microsystems, and VIEO Will Take the Lead on Deployment of Fast Interconnects

January 28, 2002-San Francisco, CA- The Open Group today announced formation of the Interconnect Software Consortium (ICSC) to develop and promote specifications that will enable deployment of fast interconnects by providing full software compatibility across a range of media. Founding Members of the Consortium are Compaq, Fujitsu, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Network Appliance, Sun Microsystems, and VIEO. The Open Group will provide standards process and infrastructure services for the ICSC.

"The Founding Members of the ICSC will lead the industry in developing software specifications that enable successful deployment of next-generation, fast interconnects, including the emerging InfiniBand™ specification," said Allen Brown, President and CEO of The Open Group. "The Open Group is proud to demonstrate our strong commitment to the rapid uptake of such solutions by providing infrastructure services to the ICSC."

The new InfiniBand specification was developed to enable server connectivity that provides high bandwidth, low latency, and low overhead communication among computational elements, storage, network interfaces and other devices over a switched fabric.

The ICSC will develop specifications, guidelines and compliance tests that software developers need to take advantage of the latest interconnect technologies. The specifications will include extensions to the Linux®/UNIX® Sockets API (Application Programming Interface) and an API that provides access to the full capabilities of the InfiniBand transport. These common APIs are essential for interoperability among the software products of the Consortium's members.

The Open Group will provide its expertise in the operation of the standards process as well as provide the legal, administrative, membership and conference services for the consortium. Additional information about the Interconnect Software Consortium can be found at www.opengroup.org/icsc/

"The Open Group and Founding Members of ICSC welcome other companies as Principal Members," Brown added. "All companies with a major stake in InfiniBand software interfaces should consider the advantages of taking a leadership role in this effort."

In addition, individuals and small companies just launching activities in this field are encouraged to apply for Associate Membership, which is free.

Statements from Founding Members

In announcing their alliance, Founding Members made it clear why their companies are committed to the consortium and the technology:

"A standard API is essential for the broader deployment of parallel and distributed applications using InfiniBand technology," said Akira Yamanaka, General Manager of Fujitsu's Server Software Division. "Leveraging our accumulated experience with high-speed interconnect technology, Fujitsu will contribute significantly to the Consortium."

Michael Krause, Hewlett-Packard's Senior I/O Architect stated, "Creating open, standard software interfaces for asynchronous Sockets and RDMA technology will help our customers fully exploit the benefits provided by high-speed interconnects such as InfiniBand and ubiquitous RDMA-based services. The creation of this consortium reinforces HP's commitment to open standards as the best way to maximize customer value while reducing new service delivery costs and time-to-market."

"This announcement marks yet another significant milestone for InfiniBand and the computer industry," said Audrey Helffrich, Director of IBM's InfiniBand Development. "Our customers have told us that industry standards are critically important to them as they face the complex challenges of running an e-business. Working with the ICSC to define the APIs to fully exploit InfiniBand technology will allow IBM e-Server to deliver the industry leading I/O infrastructure that our customers require."

"As a founding member of the Interconnect Software Consortium and an active member of the Direct Access Transport (DAT) Collaborative, Network Appliance is committed to the realization of standard APIs for high performance interconnects such as InfiniBand," said Steve Kleiman, Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Network Appliance. "We believe that the InfiniBand Architecture and the upcoming iWARP standard promise enormous improvements in the performance, scalability, and reliability of data center networks. However standard APIs are a requirement for data center applications and enabling technologies such as DAFS to deliver on that promise."

"Sun believes that the creation of the ICSC is a significant event for The Open Group, for UNIX, and for the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) industry," noted Greg Papadopoulos, Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of Sun Microsystems. "By combining the experience of The Open Group in managing large complex systems standardization activities with the technical experience and excellence of the members of the ICSC, the ICT industry gains a significant enhancement to the capabilities of the industry leading open UNIX Operating System."

"As the independent leader in InfiniBand software, VIEO is committed to the development and promotion of open software API specifications that will accelerate the widespread adoption of low latency, high speed interconnects in the enterprise," said Bob Fabbio, VIEO's President and CEO. "VIEO brings a tremendous amount of expertise in high performance input/output systems, and we look forward to working with members of the ICSC to craft specifications and tests that enable application developers to fully exploit the many advantages of InfiniBand-enabled enterprise fabrics."

About The Open Group

The Open Group, a vendor-neutral and technology-neutral consortium, is committed to delivering greater business efficiency by bringing together buyers and suppliers of information technology to lower the time, cost and risks associated with integrating new technology across the enterprise. The Open Group's mission is to offer all organizations concerned with open information infrastructures a forum where they can share knowledge, integrate open initiatives, and certify approved products and processes in a manner in which they continue to trust our impartiality. More information on our organization can be found at http://www.opengroup.org

InfiniBand™ is a trademark of the InfiniBand Trade Association. Linux® is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds. UNIX® is a registered trademark of The Open Group in the US and other countries.