Exabyte & Rorke Data Partner at IBC 2001 Rorke Data to integrate Exabyte's 430 series of rack-mountable tape libraries in its Rack n' Roll line of digital AV storage solutions

Amsterdam, The Netherlands, IBC (International Broadcasting Convention) 2001, RAI Congress Centre, Sept. 17, 2001 - Exabyte Corporation (Nasdaq: EXBT), a performance leader in network backup systems, announced today that it has signed an agreement with Rorke Data, Inc., a subsidiary of San Jose-based Bell Microproducts, Inc. (NASDAQ: BELM). Rorke Data is an international supplier of high-quality peripherals and integrated storage solutions for the digital audio & video industry worldwide, and has begun to distribute Exabyte's 430 series of tape automation products.

During IBC 2001, Rorke will showcase the Exabyte 221L, 430M and 430A tape libraries in Hall 2, Stand 229. The libraries will be integrated within Rorke's Rack n' Roll series of customizable, rack-mounted data storage systems. The tape libraries use Ultrium™ LTO™, MammothTape™ and Sony AIT-2 technologies, respectively. Rack n' Roll features both Fibre-Channel and LVD SCSI configurations, as well as user-defined combinations of RAID, archive, back-up, and various removable disk technologies.

"Rorke's digital video and broadcast industry customers require a lot of disk and tape storage space because their workflows typically require uncompressed, native file format," said Joe Rorke, VP of Marketing, Rorke Data. "The Exabyte 430 series gives our customers a choice of tape media technology, high capacity, and a small rack-mount footprint, well suited to their production environments."

Rorke Data specializes in creating custom data storage solutions that allow its customers to mix and match DVD, tape, optical and removable hard drives in almost any configuration they require. Because Exabyte can supply tape libraries using the leading technologies, its products also offer a variety of possible storage solutions.

"We are pleased that Rorke Data will be using our multi- tape libraries in their Rack n' Roll and SAN configurations," said Bill Marriner, Chairman, President and CEO of Exabyte. "We believe that Rorke's customers will benefit from the high speed, reliability and space utility of Exabyte's range of tape libraries and we aim to work closely with them to make their customers happy."

Visit Rorke Data's booth # 229 in Hall 2 at IBC 2001 (September 14th - 18th) to see the company's multi-technology tape libraries in action.

About Exabyte Corporation
Exabyte Corporation is a leading supplier of tape storage devices and network storage solutions for the data-intensive application and database server markets. Exabyte designs, manufactures and markets MammothTape™ technology tape drives, premier storage media and tape libraries for MammothTape, DLTtape™, LTO™ Ultrium™ and Advanced Intelligent Tape™ (AIT) technologies. Exabyte's products are available exclusively through an extensive network of OEM, distributor and reseller business partners worldwide, all backed by the company's award-winning service and support.
For additional information about Exabyte and for sales information, call 1-800-EXABYTE. For support and customer service, call 1-800-445-7736, (+65)-271-6331 for Asia/Pacific and (+31)-30-2548800 for European inquiries. Download investor information from the investor relations room on the company's website. For investor-related questions, please e-mail investor@exabyte.com. Visit Exabyte on the Web at www.exabyte.com .

About Rorke Data
Rorke Data is a full digital storage solutions provider with expertise in Fibre-Channel RAID, SAN, DVD, tape and optical libraries, Unix, NT and Mac environments, high bandwidth networks, digital asset and document management, and engineering and maintenance services. Founded in 1985, Rorke Data, together with its European subsidiary, Rorke Data Europe, located in Emmen, The Netherlands, is composed of six divisions:
Medical Archive Applications, Audio/Video, Prepress, Imaging, Document Management, Engineering and Installation Services. More information about Rorke Data can be found at www.rorke.com. Rorke Data is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bell Microproducts, Inc. (Nasdaq: BELM).

About Bell Microproducts
Bell Microproducts is an international value added provider of a wide range of high technology products, solutions, and services to the industrial and commercial marketplace. The company's offering includes semiconductors, computer platforms, peripherals, and storage products of various types including desktop, high-end computer and storage subsystems, Fibre-Channel connectivity products, RAID, NAS and SAN storage systems and back-up products. Bell Microproducts is an industry-recognized specialist in storage products and is one of the world's largest storage-centric value-added distributors.

The company's products are available at any level of integration from components, to subsystem assemblies, to fully integrated, tested and certified system solutions. The company adds value with a broad range of services including testing, software loading, kitting, mass storage system integration, and computer system integration. Trained and certified technical personnel complete each of these processes at Bell Microproducts' ISO 9002 facilities. Bell Microproducts markets and distributes more than 125 brand name product lines, as well as its own BellStor storage and TradeMark computer brands, to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), contract electronic manufacturing services (EMS) customers, value-added resellers (VARs) and system integrators in the Americas and Europe. More information can be found in SEC filings, or by visiting the Bell Microproducts website at www.bellmicro.com.

Safe Harbor Statement
This release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements, which reflect the Company's current views of future events and financial performance, involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results or facts to differ materially from such statements for a variety of reasons including, but not limited to: the ability to successfully integrate the operations of recent acquisitions, industry conditions, changes in product supply, pricing, and customer demand, competition, other vagaries in the computer and electronic components markets, changes in relationships with key suppliers, foreign currency fluctuations and the other risks described from time to time in the Company's reports to the Securities and Exchange Commission (including the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K). Investors should take such risks into account when making investment decisions. Shareholders and other readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date on which they are made. The company undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements.

For more information, contact: Rorke Data, Inc., 7626 Golden Triangle Drive, Eden Prairie, MN 55344; +1 (800) 328-8147 or +1 (952) 829-0300; fax: +1 (952) 829-0988; website: www.rorke.com.

Exabyte is a registered trademark, and M2 and MammothTape are trademarks of Exabyte Corporation. LTO and Ultrium are U.S. trademarks of HP, IBM and Seagate. DLTtape is a trademark of Quantum Corporation. Advanced Intelligent Tape (AIT) is a trademark of Sony Corporation. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.