F5 Network announced the availability of its F5 Acopia FreedomFabric Network Operating System Software Version 3.0. In addition, the company recently announced a new product, the F5 Acopia FreedomFabric Network Manager, delivering an independent management platform for intelligent file virtualization networks. Together, they help customers better manage the growth, complexity, and escalating expense of their file data storage. The F5 Acopia family of products extends Application Delivery Networking to include automated management of the data storage layer, and recent announcement is another milestone in F5's continued execution of this strategy.

"IT professionals are really starting to see the benefits of infrastructure virtualization at every level. With the addition of F5's Acopia File Virtualization services, IT professionals finally have the ability to really harness all the power of virtualization from servers to data. Adding Acopia has made F5's network virtualization service offerings among the most complete in the entire industry," said Mark Bowker, an analyst with Enterprise Strategy Group.

Highlights of the new F5 Acopia offerings include:

• Virtual Snapshots
• Independent Management Platform

"Once in production, it became obvious to us that we should leverage F5 Acopia virtualization across our entire datacenter environment," said Stephen R. O'Neill, Vice President of Technology, Oversee Domain Services. "For Oversee, the F5 Acopia solution has simplified data management and helped keep our budget in check. This new functionality means we won't have to manage separate filers and individual snapshots. I will now have unified access across all my systems making life that much easier."

"Forward-thinking customers around the world are adopting F5 Acopia file storage virtualization solutions because they appreciate the tremendous benefits of this technology," said Christopher Lynch, Senior Vice President of Data Solutions at F5. "Today, IT executives realize that F5 Acopia is no longer just an alternative; it's an imperative. With this release, we are making it easier than ever for our customers to put intelligence to work managing their data storage assets."