WD Arkeia R120s and R220s Network Backup Appliances Debut

New Fourth Generation Delivers Higher Performance, Doubled Disk Capacity, and Improved Ease-of-Use

By Western Digital

WD^®, a Western Digital (NASDAQ: WDC) company and world leader in digital storage solutions, today unveiled the fourth generation of WD Arkeia™ network backup appliances, delivering an all-in-one backup and disaster recovery solution for small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs).

The new line up consists of four rack-mount appliance models with larger internal disk capacities, faster processors, increased memory, and integrated solid state drives (SSDs) to shorten backup time and accelerate data recovery. The bundled WD Arkeia v10.1 software delivers new support for “seed and feed” technology to support hybrid cloud backups. This allows companies to move backups offsite via network replication rather than shipment of tapes.

“In announcing their fourth generation of purpose-built network backup appliances, WD Arkeia is delivering comprehensive SMB backup solutions that go beyond simple raw capacity increases,” said Liz Conner, senior research analyst, IDC. “WD Arkeia offers easy-to-use data protection that takes the guess work out of purchasing, configuring and managing data backup & recovery, while also embedding features such as deduplication and hybrid cloud backup for small- and medium-sized businesses or remote offices.”

“WD is committed to providing the growing SMB marketplace with a comprehensive suite of storage solutions,” said Jim Welsh, executive vice president and general manager of WD’s branded business unit. With unique features, these next-generation WD Arkeia network backup appliances offer solutions providers and their customers a simple, smart way to protect their data.

Fourth-Generation Performance and Ease-of-Use

Fourth-generation WD Arkeia backup appliances deliver performance and ease-of-use at an affordable price for SMBs. These new appliances extend the upper range of WD Arkeia appliances and complement available lower-range appliances. WD Arkeia R120s and R220s, both with optional LTO4 tape drives, integrate dual-core Atom and quad-core Xeon processors, respectively.  Existing appliances deliver disk capacities from 2 TB to 12 TB and will also bundle WD Arkeia v10.1. The new fourth-generation appliances offer:

• Increased Backup and Recovery Speed: New features include integrated LTO5 tape drives, processor upgrades to a maximum of 2 hex-core Intel® Xeon®, integrated SSDs on select models, and memory up to 96 GB to allow for increased data backup and recovery speeds of both files and disk images. WD Arkeia’s patented Progressive Deduplication™ technology accelerates backups by compressing data at source computers before transfer over local area networks (LANs) or wide area networks (WANs).
• Higher Storage Capacity: Storage capacity doubles from the third generation, with raw capacity now ranging up to 48 TB, configured in RAID-6.
• Improved Ease-of-Use: Version 10.1 of WD Arkeia software, delivered with the new generation, includes an on-boarding wizard to streamline the appliance setup process.
• Storage Reliability: All new WD Arkeia appliances feature WD enterprise-class WD RE™ hard drives for maximum data integrity.
• Simplified Tape-free, Offsite Storage: Version 10.1 of WD Arkeia software extends support for hybrid cloud backup capabilities to the full line of WD Arkeia appliances. “Seed and feed” capabilities allow administrators to supplement network replication of backup sets offsite by using USB-connected hard drives to transfer initial and large backup sets and also to size WAN bandwidth for the replication of nightly incremental backups.

Pricing and Availability

WD Arkeia fourth generation network backup appliances – models RA4300, RA4300T, RA5300, RA6300 – will be available inJuly 2013 through select DMR’s and WD-authorized value-added resellers (VARs) in the US, Canada, and Europe.  Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price, including hardware and software, begins at $9,990 USD.  WD Arkeia network backup appliances are covered by one year of unlimited access to technical support, one year of software updates, and a one-year limited hardware warranty.

About WD Arkeia Software and Appliances

WD Arkeia backup appliances are fast, easy-to-use, and affordable solutions for data backup and disaster recovery. The award-winning WD Arkeia solutions safeguard more than 100,000 networks for 7,000 customers in 70 countries.

About WD

WD, a Western Digital company, is a long-time innovator and storage industry leader. As a storage technology pacesetter, the company produces reliable, high-performance hard disk drives and solid state drives. These drives are deployed by OEMs and integrators in desktop and mobile computers, enterprise computing systems, embedded systems and consumer electronics applications, as well as by the company in providing its own storage products. WD’s leading storage devices and systems, networking products, media players and software solutions empower people around the world to easily save, store, protect, share and experience their content on multiple devices. WD was established in 1970 and is headquartered in Irvine, Calif. For more information, please visit the company’s website at www.wd.com.

Western Digital Corp. (NASDAQ: WDC), Irvine, Calif., is a global provider of products and services that empower people to create, manage, experience and preserve digital content. Its companies design and manufacture storage devices, networking equipment and home entertainment products under the WD, HGST and G-Technology brands. Visit the Investor section of the company’s website (www.westerndigital.com) to access a variety of financial and investor information.

This news release contains forward-looking statements, including statements relating to the expected availability date for the WD Arkeia fourth generation network backup appliances in July 2013 in the US, Canada, and Europe. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements, including changes in markets, demand, global economic or political conditions and or other risks detailed from time-to-time in our Securities and Exchange Commission filings and reports, including, but not limited to, our most recent quarterly report on Form 10-Q and our annual report on Form 10-K, to which your attention is directed. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak as of the date hereof, and WD undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.

Western Digital, WD, and the WD logo are registered trademarks of Western Digital Technologies, Inc. in the U.S. and other countries; WD Arkeia is a trademark of Western Digital Technologies, Inc. in the U.S. and other countries. Intel and Xeon are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and other countries. Other marks may be mentioned herein that belong to other companies. All other brand and product names mentioned herein are the property of their respective companies. As used for storage capacity, one terabyte (TB) = one trillion bytes. Total accessible capacity varies depending on operating environment.