Press Release

ADAPTEC AND RED HAT DELIVER Ultra160 SCSI SUPPORT FOR LINUX

MILPITAS, Calif., - July 7, 1999 - Adaptec, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADPT) today announced that Ultra160 SCSI drivers are now embedded in Red Hat Linux 6.0. Adaptec's products implement the Ultra160 feature set of Ultra3 SCSI, which significantly improve performance and device manageability. Adaptec's Ultra160 SCSI products are currently available to OEMs and will be available to the channel later this year.

"Linux users demand high performance and reliability, which Adaptec's Ultra160 SCSI products will give them," said Paul McNamara, vice president of business development at Red Hat. "We're pleased to include Ultra160 SCSI drivers in Red Hat Linux 6.0 for our users."

"As Linux grows in mainstream computing, access to the latest technologies is increasingly important," said Lee Caswell, director of Adaptec's OEM Solutions Group. "With Ultra160, Adaptec continues its unique strategy of launching the latest technology with Linux support, ensuring that the Linux community has the most powerful server and workstation I/O technology at its fingertips."

Ultra160 SCSI is Ultra3 SCSI
Ultra160 SCSI doubles the data transfer speeds of Ultra2 SCSI. The new technology contains three core features defined in the Ultra3 SCSI specification: double-edge clocking, cyclical redundancy checking (CRC), and domain validation. Double-edge clocking is represented by the "160" in Ultra160 SCSI, and the other two features make up the "m" portion of the name - manageability.

Double-edge clocking doubles data transfer speeds without additional clocking which ultimately reduces any implementation risks. CRC offers higher levels of data reliability by ensuring complete integrity of transferred data. Domain validation intelligently tests the SCSI network before completing data transfer rate negotiations.

Ultra160 SCSI is easy to implement due to complete backward compatibility. It also uses standard Ultra2 LVD cabling and termination, making it a natural SCSI transition choice.

About Adaptec
Adaptec moves the world's information with host bus adapter, RAID, and software products that speed data to and from computers, peripherals, and networks. Founded in 1981 and with headquarters in Milpitas, Calif., Adaptec is a global design, manufacturing, sales, service and distribution company. More information on Adaptec and its products is available at https://www.adaptec.com.