Ecrix will market VXA drives and tape cartridges through value-added resellers (VARs), original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and distributors. Early VXA-1 product shipments to distributors and resellers begin this month, and full availability within the channel is anticipated in the second quarter of 1999.

"VXA represents a new category in the tape storage market, emphasizing the ability to restore data," said Kelly Beavers, Ecrix's president. "VXA eliminates the constraints of conventional streaming tape drives, which have traditionally struggled with data restore. Also, our technology avoids many of the costs associated with the designs of competing products. VXA provides the greatest value to end users in the market today."

The VXA Advantage

VXA technology is based on three complementary innovations: Discrete Packet Format (DPF), Variable Speed Operation (VSO), and OverScan Operation (OSO). DPF enables data to be written and read in individually addressed packets, a technology similar to that already proven in the networking and Internet markets. VSO saves time by continually adjusting tape speed to match the varying data throughput of the server, eliminating a common streaming tape problem known as "backhitching". OSO is a technique for reading data packets independent of track shape or geometry. By overscanning data packets at variable tape speeds, VXA virtually guarantees data restore.

1. 66 GB capacity
2. 6 MB/sec data transfer rate
3. Optimal backup and restore job times
4. Unsurpassed data availability
5. Virtually guaranteed interchangeability
6. Discrete Packet Format (DPF), reads and writes data in small packets, a superior method to conventional streaming tape drives
7. Variable Speed Operation (VSO), adjusts the tape speed to match the host transfer rate in real time
8. Overscan Operation (OSO) reads packets independent of track shape or the speed at which tracks were recorded
9. 3-year warranty
10. Free phone support during warranty