Academic and Government Research Communities Join Forces with Industry for First Cross-Country Performance Tests on the 10 Gbps Abilene Network.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 18, 2003

Internet2, Juniper Networks, Qwest and Spirent Pump Network with

More Than 8 Gbps of Test Traffic

The North Carolina Internet2 Technology Evaluation Center (NC-ITEC), Juniper Networks (NASDAQ:JNPR), Spirent Communications (NYSE:SPM and LSE:SPT) and Qwest Communications International, Inc. today announced the successful completion of the first cross-country performance tests on the completed first phase of the next-generation 10 Gbps Internet2 Abilene backbone.

As part of the network upgrade, engineers at the NC-ITEC were able to introduce test traffic in excess of 8 Gbps to stress the newly installed network components.

"We saw a unique opportunity to test the limits of both routers and circuits during the upgrade," said John Moore, technical director of the NC-ITEC, located in the CENTAUR Lab at North Carolina State University. "We were able to gain some valuable insight into how the backbone was performing during the build-out and the end-to-end results were very impressive."

Abilene, a high-speed Internet2 backbone network supporting research and higher education in the U.S., is undergoing a significant upgrade to 10 Gbps using routing platforms from Juniper Networks and OC-192 circuits from Qwest Communications.

Engineers at the NC-ITEC used Spirent Communications' performance analysis test equipment located in Qwest's Washington, DC and Sunnyvale, CA facilities to run the tests. The test equipment was directly attached to the Juniper Networks T640 Internet Routing Nodes using OC-192 interfaces and proved capable of generating a full 10 Gbps worth of test traffic.

"This type of testing validates the ability of the upgraded backbone to support high-bandwidth applications being developed by the Internet2 community," said Neil Anderson, senior director of Spirent Communications' Advanced Test Programs. "Spirent is committed to partnering with industry leaders and the academic and government research communities to ensure the highest possible performance for the next-generation Internet, which requires thorough and rigorous testing."

Using the Spirent AX4000, NC-ITEC engineers were able to successfully generate greater than 8 Gbps of test traffic coast-to-coast using both IPv4 and the new IPv6 protocols. With the addition of normal production traffic, some backbone links saw an aggregate traffic load of greater than 9 Gbps during the test.

"One of the primary goals of Internet2 is to provide the research and education community with the most advanced infrastructure capabilities. These tests demonstrate the ability of the T640 platform to support the most demanding networks and Juniper Networks commitment to the development of IPv6. We're pleased to be part of this project," commented Kevin Dillon, director of Portfolio Marketing at Juniper Networks.

In one test, the Spirent AX/4000s generated 8.1 Gbps of combined IPv4 and IPv6 traffic for more than 5 hours. The traffic consisted of a mix of packet sizes and was flowing in both directions across the continent simultaneously. A similar test with only IPv6 traffic was run for more than an hour with a tester-generated load of 8.6 Gbps.

"We were glad to see Abilene fully utilizing the capabilities of the 10 Gbps Q-wave service during the test," said Debbie Montano, director of Advanced Internet Initiatives at Qwest. "The stability and performance of the circuits is key to supporting advanced applications for the Internet2 community."

About CENTAUR Lab at NCSU 

The CENTAUR Lab at NCSU serves as a focal point within North Carolina for collaborations between state and national research and education networking communities and their corporate networking partners. It is the home of the North Carolina Internet2 Technology Evaluation Center (NC-ITEC) one of three ITECs chartered by Internet2 as a national test lab.

Centaur also provides testing and research services for the North Carolina Networking Initiative (NCNI), a statewide GigaPOP. For more information, please see http://www.centaurlabs.orgcom/ and http://www.nc-itec.org/

About Internet2

Led by over 200 US universities, working with industry and government, Internet2 is developing and deploying advanced network applications and technologies for research and higher education, accelerating the creation of tomorrow's Internet.

Internet2 recreates the partnerships among academia, industry, and government that helped foster today's Internet in its infancy. For more information about Internet2, see: http://www.internet2.edu/

About Juniper Networks

Juniper Networks transforms the business of networking by converting a commodity - bandwidth - into a dependable, secure, and highly valuable corporate asset.

Founded in 1996 to meet the stringent demands of service providers, Juniper Networks is now relied upon by the world's leading network operators, government agencies, research and education institutions, and information-intensive enterprises as the foundation for uncompromising networks.

Juniper Networks is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California. Additional information can be found at http://www.juniper.net

About Qwest

Qwest Communications International Inc. (NYSE: Q) is a leading provider of voice, video and data services to more than 25 million customers. The company's 53,000-plus employees are committed to the "Spirit of Service" and providing world-class services that exceed customers' expectations for quality, value and reliability. For more information, please visit the Qwest Web site at www.qwest.com.

About Spirent Communications

Spirent Communications is a worldwide provider of integrated performance analysis and service assurance systems for next-generation network technologies. Spirent's solutions accelerate the profitable development and deployment of network equipment and services by emulating real-world conditions in the lab and assuring end-to-end performance of large-scale networks. www.spirentcom.com

Spirent Communications is a wholly owned business group of Spirent plc, an international network technology company. Spirent plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange (ticker: SPT). The company is also listed on the New York Stock Exchange (ticker: SPM; CUSIP number: 84856M209). www.spirent.com

About Spirent's Advanced Test Program (ATP)

Spirent's ATP, in existence since 2000, is the first of its kind in the communications sector offering programs and expertise specifically designed to support key organizations conducting the industry's most advanced test and measurement activities.

The ATP team supports test labs at leading universities, publications, trade shows, consortia, and advanced research facilities, as well as the industry's most prestigious independent testing organizations. ATP is a worldwide initiative that coordinates critical testing and research support across all divisions of Spirent Communications.