1/13/2005 -- Last week, Cisco Systems Inc. forged an agreement with tape-backup specialist StorageTek. Under the terms of the agreement, StorageTek will resell Cisco's MDS 9000 multilayer intelligent directors and fabric switches.

Cisco says its MDS 9000 offerings will be available to customers as part of StorageTek's portfolio of storage networking solutions and services. In addition, StorageTek has named Cisco to its TekSelect partner program, which provides customers with a single point of contact and support for integrated solutions.

Cisco’s MDS 9000 family of multilayer directors and switches is designed for storage networks of all sizes and architectures. It comprises the Cisco MDS 9500 series directors, the Cisco MDS 9216 series flexible-configuration fabric switches, and the Cisco MDS 9100 series fabric switches.

Cisco officials say the reseller agreement should be a boon to both StorageTek and Cisco customers. "Our networking solutions are tested and qualified by StorageTek to be compatible with their advanced enterprise storage solutions, enabling joint Cisco-StorageTek solutions to be quickly and easily deployed at customer sites worldwide," said Ed Chapman, senior director of product management for the Cisco MDS 9000, in a statement.

StorageTek first announced its TekSelect program at its FORUM 2004 customer conference. It says that TekSelect partners are hand-picked leaders recognized in their respective areas of expertise. The idea, officials say, is that TekSelect partners can help customers reduce the time, cost, complexity and risk associated with storage management. -Stephen Swoyer