We're One!

Byte and Switch turns one year old this month. And like any infant, we were itching for a change!

We've made some improvements we think you'll really like. The Byte and Switch Index provides a real-time snapshot of the performance of the top 25 public storage networking stocks. In the new Case Studies section, you'll find reports about enterprises that are deploying storage technologies. There's also a search bar directly on the home page -- a feature that we have been wanting for some time.

There are also several subtle, but powerful, visual improvements to the site. Our trademark blue color scheme is a little more stately (and a little easier on the eyes, no?).

And, of course, we remain dedicated to delivering the most comprehensive news, analysis, and commentary about the storage networking industry available anywhere.

It's been a great first year, and we've had our share of fun. But along the way, we've been misunderstood more than once. "Why do you hate [insert company name here]?" we've been asked. "Why are you so negative?" Here's an excerpt of a real email we recently received from an industry executive (who shall remain nameless... and, we're afraid, clueless):

Right. Well. We're all for peace, love, and understanding. But come on, people! Until we suffer nervous breakdowns and start writing the sugary pap some people wish we would, we'll continue to call a Canis lupus familiaris a dog.

Herewith, for your reading pleasure (or perhaps discomfort), are some of our favorite stories from the past year.

We revealed that both EMC Corp. (NYSE: EMC) and IBM Corp. (NYSE: IBM) are telling customers that Brocade Communications Systems Inc.'s (Nasdaq: BRCD) SilkWorm 12000 has some serious limitations that don't square with Brocade's positioning of the switch that it does not have the high-availability features to be considered a director.

Our own doubts about Brocade's technical expertise were raised back in August last year, when the company refused to take part in the Byte and Switch 2-Gbit/s Fibre Channel test.

Earlier this year, we published the results of that test, in which only QLogic Corp. (Nasdaq: QLGC) agreed to participate.

Given the level of interest around Brocade's move into the director class switch market with the 12000, we decided to pursue CEO Greg Reyes to find out what was going on with this product. Would he answer our questions? It's been fun...

[Ed. note: For the record, contrary to rumors spread by some of our competitors, we believe Greg Reyes is a top chap, and he must be doing something right, as Brocade is the market leader in FC switches. What we don't understand is why he declines to take us on and prove this.]

With the courage of our convictions, from the very birth of Byte and Switch, we've published an ongoing Top Ten list of private storage networking companies that we think are best positioned for acquisition or IPO.

Our column on the demise of Fibre Channel got a few of you going, too!

We've published extensive reports on the state of VC funding for startups, IP storage switches, the death of the SSP market, and InfiniBand.

And this spring, we went to Storage Networking World in Palm Desert, Calif., where our party was blacked out, but we stuck it out through the best (and worst) of the show.

Our eyebrows were raised when we spoke to Balint Fleischer, CTO of the networking storage group at Sun Microsystems Inc. (Nasdaq: SUNW), who told us he thinks the industry may have blown away millions of dollars to develop iSCSI.

And in the past year, we've broken more stories than Bacchus smashed plates!

We'll continue to provide you with new reasons to keep reading Byte and Switch in our second year -- and beyond.

Cheers!— Jo Maitland and Todd Spangler, Senior Editors, Byte and Switch
http://www.byteandswitch.com