NextIO, a leader in I/O virtualization solutions, today announced that IBM has developed a solution for the IBM BladeCenter H systems. NextIO is offering the solution immediately in sampling quantities to its customers. NextIO's switch will be on display in the IBM booth at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) show in Las Vegas, April 14-17th.

NextIO’s technology enables new solutions, such as streaming live, uncompressed HD video to run on IBM BladeCenter QS21 servers in IBM BladeCenter. NextIO has developed Express Connect, a complete end-to-end connectivity solution, using PCI Express (PICe) technology. This enables the Express Connect family to provide sufficient bandwidth as well as the Reliability, Accessibility and Serviceability (RAS) to address the manageability and bandwidth demands HD video. Since there are no new software or protocols required, NextIO’s Express Connect products provide an optimal platform using PCI Express and complement the high density and scalability of the IBM BladeCenter family of products.

“Our relationship with NextIO demonstrates the breadth of solutions that can be created based on the IBM BladeCenter offering,” said Jim Comfort, vice president, IBM Systems and Technology Group. “This is the first time customers can take advantage of the full density of blade solutions with standard PCIe I/O cards in order to produce streaming live, uncompressed HD video.”

NextIO will be demonstrating the first of the Express Connect family of products, the N1400-PCM High-Speed Switch Module, which lets all blade servers extend their PCIe signals to an external I/O expansion unit, the N2800-ICA I/O Consolidation Appliance. Both products are immediately available in sampling quantities.

“NextIO has a long history of engineering excellence that is now being brought to bear on the $5 billion data center virtualization marketplace,” said K.C. Murphy, CEO, president and co-founder of NextIO. “Express Connect is the first in a series of breakthrough solutions to be shipped in 2008 that let data centers and other dense computing environments immediately benefit from the expansion and flexibility opportunities that PCIe provides.”

NextIO's equipment will be on display in the IBM booth at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) show in Las Vegas, April 14-17. For pricing and specifications of NextIO products, contact Chris Pettey, NextIO at 512.439.5356 or Sales@NextIO.com.