Dell to buy EqualLogic

Dell Inc. will acquire EqualLogic, a provider of high-performance iSCSI storage-area network solutions uniquely optimized for virtualization, for about $1.4 billion in cash.

Internet small computer system interface, or iSCSI, lets SCSI commands and storage traffic move over existing IP networks, which leads to lower costs, easier maintenance and simpler management.

By buying EqualLogic, Dell of Round Rock, Texas., will strengthen its ability to simplify information technology infrastructures, especially as organizations look to store, manage and retrieve volumes of text and digital content, company officials said.

Virtualization involves making a single physical resource ? a server, an operating system, an application or storage device ? appear to function as multiple resources, or makes multiple physical resources appear as one.

The acquisition of EqualLogic of Nashua, NH., is expected to close late in the fourth quarter of Dell's fiscal year 2008 or early in the first quarter of fiscal 2009.

After completion of the transaction, Dell plans to grow EqualLogic's channel-partner programs with current and future EqualLogic-branded products. The company also plans to incorporate EqualLogic technology into future generations of the Dell PowerVault storage products.

EqualLogic offers the PS Series SAN, which provides advanced management capabilities that reduce the time and money IT staff spend on data storage. The company has more than 3,200 customers in 30 countries.

Dell ranks No. 17 on Washington Technology's 2007 Top 100 list of the largest federal government prime contractors.