Luminex Leaps Ahead in Mainframe Storage Solutions With Virtual|Blue(TM) 3490 Tape Library Product

The First Product Developed Entirely Based On LEAP - The Luminex Extensible Architecture Platform

ANAHEIM, CA, 02/28/2005, Luminex Software, Inc., a leading developer of mainframe connectivity and storage products, today announced at the SHARE Users Conference in Anaheim, Calif., the introduction of its Virtual|BLUE 3490 mainframe tape library storage solution. Virtual|BLUE 3490 allows mainframe customers the ability to directly use tape drives and libraries from major industry vendors and to include industry-standard products, including the latest LTO and DLT technologies, in their mainframe tape operations. Virtual|BLUE 3490 is the first mainframe tape storage product developed entirely on Luminex’s Extensible Architecture Platform, or LEAP.

In development for over three years, LEAP is a Service-Oriented-Architecture (SOA) based storage systems software built from the ground up to leverage Luminex’s decades of storage and mainframe expertise. With this release of Virtual|BLUE 3490, Luminex extends its leadership in bringing advanced technologies to mainframe storage customers.

“We are pleased to introduce our first mainframe control unit developed entirely on the LEAP technology architecture,” said Brian Hawley, co-founder and CTO of Luminex. “LEAP allows Luminex to leverage technology advancements throughout the industry and bring our products to market faster with state-of-the-art technology. As the first LEAP-based product, Virtual|BLUE 3490 opens up mainframe tape storage to all of the benefits of the open systems world -- with no proprietary boundaries and immense total cost of ownership benefits.”

According to Marc Staimer, President & CDS of Dragon Slayer Consulting, “The LEAP technology marks Luminex as a pragmatic storage systems market visionary. The first LEAP product (Virtual|BLUE 3490) demonstrates this by allowing mainframe users to significantly lower their tape total cost of ownership (TCO). Just as IBM has repositioned the mainframe as an open systems Linux server, Luminex is now providing those users with the ability to leverage lower cost industry-standard technology as well as evolving Lifecycle Management solutions.”

Virtual|BLUE 3490 is a mainframe virtual tape control unit that enables virtually any open systems tape device or tape library to be used by mainframe tape devices. The Virtual|BLUE 3490 utilizes Luminex’s proven 6964 ESCON channel interface board, a modern 64-bit, PCI-X protocol processor, currently installed worldwide, providing seamless ESCON connectivity between mainframes and open systems servers. The Virtual|BLUE 3490 is capable of managing virtually unlimited tape volumes and features comprehensive and easy-to-use GUI management tools enabling online status monitoring and management of the entire tape library system. The Virtual|BLUE 3490 is completely based upon the Luminex Extensible Architecture Platform (LEAP), providing a highly robust and extensible software architectural base.

About Luminex

Luminex develops distinctive data storage products based upon proven technologies that tackle the complex challenges of storing, archiving, distributing and protecting data. Complemented by quality customer service, Luminex’s innovative products create real value for our customers. With a history in mainframe channel connectivity products, Luminex’s Virtual| BLUE™ product family bridges the gap between the mainframe enterprise and open systems world, thereby transforming the economics of mainframe storage. Luminex’s Data|WARE™ product family enables customers to archive and distribute data on CD and DVD media.

Founded in 1994, Luminex is privately held and headquartered in Riverside, Calif., with additional offices in San Diego, CA, and Beaverton, Ore. For more information about Luminex, please visit www.luminex.com, email info@luminex.com or call 1.888.LUMINEX.

Contact Information

Eric Christensen

Media Contact

Luminex Software, Inc.

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