Allied Telesyn Challenges for Lead in Fixed Chassis Layer 3/4+ Switch Market; AT-9800 Series is a Superior Switching Solution for the Mid-tier Aggregation Layer.

Business Editors, Technology Writers

BOTHELL, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 10, 2002

Allied Telesyn, Inc. (www.alliedtelesyn.com), a world leader in network technologies for the access edge, today announced the availability of its AT-9800 series of fixed chassis Layer 3/4+ Fast Ethernet and Gigabit Ethernet switches.

Delivering high performance in a small form factor, AT-9800 switches are ideal aggregation points for the education, enterprise or metro area network.

Offered in two fixed, yet flexible, configurations, the AT-9800 switches were built to meet the needs of high performance network services. The AT-9812T features 12 fixed 1000BaseT ports and 4 1000BaseX GBIC bays; the AT-9816GB includes 16 1000BaseX GBIC bays. Both switches are well-suited for enterprise mid-tier aggregation, multiple tenant unit aggregation, metro area or campus networks and server farms.

Designed to outclass products from established vendors in the high-end technology space, Allied Telesyn's AT-9800 switches are extremely powerful devices priced affordably to drive market adoption. The AT-9812T successfully completed the Tolly Group's recent 2002 LAN Switch Interoperability Test, independently validating its technical credentials.

"Allied Telesyn has created an exciting new family of richly-featured, high-performance Layer 3/4+ switches that perfectly complement our already extensive selection of Layer 3 solutions," says James Mustarde, vice president of Sales & Marketing. "The 9800 family is a further indication of our intentions in this market and we will continue to add newer families of products to this line-up in the coming months."

AT-9800 switches reach new heights in performance, flexibility and reliability. Packaged in a 1.5RU standard rackmount chassis, the AT-9800 series features a non-blocking 32Gbps switch fabric that yields 24Mpps switching performance. Designed to deliver uncompromising performance, the AT-9800 switches combine hardware-based wirespeed switching and IP/IPX routing with advanced policy-based Quality of Service, wide-ranging multicast support and a comprehensive set of configuration and control features.

AT-9800's powerful, industry-leading Quality of Service mechanism allows traffic shaping in a highly programmable manner based on physical layer to Layer 4+ packet characteristics. The resulting 128 different Classes of Traffic enable flexible, policy-based Service Level Agreements with independent latency and 64Kbps-increment min/max bandwidth guarantees. Using IEEE 802.1Q/p, DiffServ and RSVP along with sophisticated hardware-based switching to deliver rich QoS capability, AT-9800 switches are an ideal solution for high-end aggregation in multi-casting and combined voice, video and data applications.

GBIC interfaces provide ultimate port flexibility, supporting any combination of Gigabit copper or fiber media for short haul and long haul. GBIC interfaces are hot-swappable and an optional redundant power supply provides added reliability.

The AT-9800 series leads the market with an extensive selection of Layer 2 and Layer 3 features including static routing, routing protocols (RIP/RIPv2, OSPF, BGP4, IS-IS), multicast protocols (IGMP, IGMP Snooping, DVMRP, PIM-SM, PIM-DM), IP, IPX and AppleTalk, 4096 VLANs and flexible Link Aggregation. These features are bundled to suit the needs of a standard application or an advanced architecture.

The AT-9800 switches include a comprehensive set of features allowing simple configuration and control without compromising flexibility. The switches have a built-in DHCP server; TFTP for image and configuration downloads; Network Time Protocol client and server capabilities; advanced, customizable triggers with an email client allowing unmatched flexibility in monitoring and controlling events; standard CLI and highly intuitive GUI device configuration tools; and full SNMP and MIB support for network management -- accessed either in-band or out-of-band via an RS232 console.

Pricing and Availability

Model      Configuration                     US $List  Availability
-----      --------------                    --------  ------------
AT-9812T   12 port 1000T (RJ-45) Layer 3/4+
            switch with 4 GBIC bays           $8,990   September 2002

AT-9816GB  Layer 3/4+ switch with
            16 GBIC bays                      $7,450   September 2002

About Allied Telesyn, Inc.

Allied Telesyn, Inc. leads the world in network technologies for the access edge. Since the company's inception in 1987, Allied Telesyn has been developing IP-based network products for use in video, voice and data networks at the metro edge, in education, government agencies and across the enterprise. Allied Telesyn's access, aggregation and core transport technologies range from simple Ethernet adapters, hubs and media converters to robust multi-layer Gigabit Ethernet switches and routers, wireless systems, DTM and WDM transport solutions for delivering real-time voice, video and data. Allied Telesyn's comprehensive support and professional service programs are suited to meet the growing demands of today's switched broadband infrastructures. For more information, please visit www.alliedtelesyn.com.