Storage Do-Si-Do

5:50 PM -- $39 million later, Emulex has itself a new virtualization division. (See Emulex Buys Aarohi.)

The vendor made official today what Byte and Switch reported a week ago. (See Aarohi Mum on Acquisition Talk.) The OEM stalwart's been looking to break out of the Fibre Channel niche to which it's been consigned, but had resisted iSCSI technology while keeping an eye out for virtualization. The processor Aarohi builds is considered a particular plum. Exploited correctly, it could mean a whole new revenue stream for Emulex.

While the 10-Gbit/s SAN equipment and processor aspects were central to the deal, company officials sought to emphasize other factors as well.

"This acquisition will also enable Emulex to further expand its leadership position in virtualization technologies... and position Emulex for end-to-end virtualization technology leadership in the SAN market," the company said, in a statement issued at market close today.

While these might not be the most likely partners you'd think of in a storage do-si-do, the complementarity might make sense. Aarohi brings some good OEM business of its own to the fold, and Emulex has struggled to maintain its market position.Nobody's wasting any time in trying to find out -- the deal's scheduled to close May 1.

Terry Sweeney, Editor in Chief, Byte and Switch

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