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StoneFly Partners with emBoot, Inc. to Deliver Software-Based Boot from SAN Capability for Windows and Linux Platforms

StoneFly Certification of emBoot’s winBoot/i 2.0 and netBoot/i Software Reduces Total Cost of Ownership for StoneFly IP SAN Deployments

San Diego – May 2, 2007 –StoneFly™, Inc., a leading supplier of integrated IP storage area network (SAN) systems and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Dynamic Network Factory, Inc. (DNF), today announced a technology partnership with emBoot, Inc. that delivers software-based boot from SAN capabilities to reduce the total cost of IP SAN ownership through improved IT resource consolidation for StoneFly customers worldwide.

When IT departments can implement servers that boot from volumes on the IP SAN, they gain a number of benefits, according to Mo Tahmasebi, CEO of DNF. “Boot from SAN offers customers the ability to recover servers quickly as well as deploy diskless and virtualized servers, while also making it easier for organizations to centralize IT management,” he said. “By partnering with emBoot, StoneFly extends its capabilities in this area with a proven software-based approach that also reduces costs for our customers.”

iSCSI boot capability is ideal for data centers, server rooms, grid computing, corporate desktops, educational desktops and call centers, said George Kostiuk, CEO of emBoot, Inc. “emBoot’s partnership with StoneFly, an iSCSI market pioneer, further validates the growing importance of software-based iSCSI boot capabilities in the marketplace,” said Kostiuk. “Our boot from SAN capabilities for both Linux and Windows platforms complement StoneFly’s field-proven IP SAN product line and also represent an important value-add for StoneFly customers.”

StoneFly has completed testing and certification of its IP SANs for use with emBoot’s winBoot/i, for Windows environments, and netBoot/i, for Linux platforms. StoneFly customers can now leverage these products to centralize storage as well as disk images, operating systems and virtual servers, significantly reducing the time required for tedious IT tasks, such as replacing failed servers. emBoot’s solutions also eliminate the need to purchase cost-prohibitive new hardware to perform these same functions, and offer users the ability to take advantage of TCP/IP Offload Engines (TOE), 10Gb adapters and standard Ethernet cards to further advance their IP SAN deployments. In addition, they meet compliance standards such as HIPPA and Sarbanes-Oxley, and support SEC rules.


All new StoneFly IP SANs equipped with the newly released StoneFly StoneFusion 6.0 Intelligent Network Platform can be used with winBoot/i and netBoot/i software. Both products are comprehensive software solutions designed for servers equipped with standard Ethernet cards. When used in conjunction with StoneFly IP SANs, they support challenge-handshake authentication protocol (CHAP), the authentication protocol that can be used to authenticate iSCSI initiators.

About StoneFly, Inc. and Dynamic Network Factory, Inc.


StoneFly, Inc., headquartered in San Diego, was founded in April 2000 to deliver upon the vision of simple and affordable storage optimization and disaster recovery protection through IP SAN solutions. StoneFly is a subsidiary of Dynamic Network Factory, Inc. (DNF), a leading maker of high-performance network attached storage, storage area networks, RAID and iSCSI systems. For more information on StoneFly, please visit www.stonefly.com or www.iscsi.com.

Founded in 1989, Dynamic Network Factory, Inc. (DNF) is a privately-held company based in the Silicon Valley (Hayward, Ca.). DNF carries a variety of products to assist companies in meeting their mission-critical storage needs with cost-effective, high performance solutions. DNF started as a U.S. subsidiary of the publicly-traded Japanese IT conglomerate, CSK Electronics, in 1989. In 1998, the company refined its strategy and began to focus the hardware group on storage solutions. Within a year, DNF’s rapid growth resulted in its emergence as an independent, privately held spin-off. DNF has thousands of customers ranging from consumers and small-to-medium businesses, to government agencies, universities, hospitals, financial institutions and Fortune 500 companies. In 2006, DNF completed its acquisition of StoneFly Networks, an iSCSI storage pioneer and developer of complete, turnkey IP SAN solutions. For more information, visit www.DNFstorage.com.

About emBoot winBoot/i

winBoot/i software uses Microsoft’s iSCSI Software Enabled SAN boot architecture to boot Microsoft Windows Server 2003 from iSCSI SAN using the Microsoft iSCSI Software Initiator. winBoot/i’s ability to centralize the operating system of Microsoft Windows Server 2003 SP1 and Microsoft Windows Server 2003 R2 provides substantial management benefits and cost reductions via consolidation of IT resources. winBoot/i offers a compelling solution for reducing complexity in the server room or data center. Servers and blades can reduce heat and power consumption by booting from iSCSI, eliminating the need for local hard disks.

About emBoot Inc.

emBoot provides network boot products that significantly reduce the cost and complexity of administrating servers, desktops, POS terminals and embedded systems. Worldwide, millions of networked devices boot using emBoot products. For more information, please visit www.emBoot.com.

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StoneFly, StoneFusion, StoneFly Reflection, StoneFly Snapshot and Storage Concentrator are trademarks or registered trademarks and the property of StoneFly, Inc. All other company and product names contained herein are property of their respective owners. emBoot and winBoot/i are trademarks of emBoot Inc. in Canada and the United States. Other marks belong to their respective owners.