Applied Innovation and Foundry Networks Partner to Create a High-Performance, Low-Cost Solution to Deliver Optical Broadband Gigabit Ethernet Services.

Business Editors & High Tech Writers

COLUMBUS, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 15, 2001

Combined LuxConnect(TM)10 Gbps Ethernet Multiplexer and

High-Performance BigIron Layer 3 Gigabit Ethernet Switch

Interoperability Will Be Demonstrated at OFC 2001 in Anaheim, CA

Applied Innovation Inc. (Nasdaq:AINN), an industry leader in telecommunications network management solutions, and Foundry Networks(R), Inc. (Nasdaq:FDRY), a performance and total solutions leader for end-to-end switching and routing, announced today the successful interoperability testing of Applied Innovation's LuxConnect(TM) 10 Gbps Ethernet Multiplexer and Foundry's high-performance BigIron(R) Layer 3 Gigabit Ethernet switch. The combined system will be demonstrated at Applied Innovation's LuxPath booth at the Optical Fiber Communications show March 19-21 in Anaheim, California (Booth No. 1597).

The alliance between Applied Innovation Inc. and Foundry will provide an innovative solution to deliver Optical Broadband Gigabit Ethernet services to the Metro Edge. The combination of Foundry's high-performance Gigabit Ethernet switching and routing technologies along with Applied Innovation's industry experience in delivering carrier grade solutions to the telecommunications market will provide a robust, highly scalable and cost-effective solution. The targeted markets include emerging Metro service providers, such as the Building Local Exchange Carriers (BLECs), EtherLECs and OpticalLECs, as well as established ILEC and IXC service providers looking to provide higher bandwidth data solutions for their existing customer base.

In the recently released Dell'Oro Group's Ethernet Switch Five Year Forecast, the market for Gigabit Ethernet will grow from $2.5 billion in 2000 to $10.4 billion by 2005, a four-fold increase over the five year period.

"Optical Ethernet networking is a very cost-effective technology that delivers low latencies and high data rates that are required to deal with the phenomenal growth of traffic demand in today's networks," said Bob Smialek, president and CEO of Applied Innovation. "We are very excited about the potential this new product category brings to Applied Innovation. LuxPath Networks' products give service providers an innovative and economical solution to breaking the metro access bottleneck," added Smialek.

Delivering up to 480 Gbps of aggregate switching capacity, Foundry's BigIron Layer 3 Gigabit Ethernet switch provides non-blocking switching architecture, modular wire-speed IP routing, scalability, control and functionality, dramatically reducing performance bottlenecks. Based on Foundry's proven IronCore(TM) architecture and IronWare(TM) Internet scale routing platform, the BigIron delivers up to 178,000,000 packets per second routing performance for reliable packet delivery even under the heaviest of network traffic loads.

Foundry's Internet optical networking solutions are aimed specifically at satisfying the exploding bandwidth requirements of fast-growing companies. To meet these demands, Foundry offers three industry-leading product families: the NetIron(R) is a solution for Internet and Metro Core routing functionality, the BigIron Layer 3 Gigabit Ethernet switches and FastIron(R) deliver a high-performance solution 10/100/1000 Ethernet services in the LAN and MAN, and the Foundry ServerIron(TM) Web switches provide comprehensive and full featured Layer 4-7 switching solution for server management at metropolitan access network co-location and server sites used for content and service distribution.

"With the constant evolution of technology as well as increasing bandwidth demands, Metro service providers need cost-effective networking solutions that are flexible and can be easily adapted within their network infrastructure," said Bobby Johnson, president and CEO of Foundry Networks. "Foundry's BigIron Layer 3 Gigabit Ethernet switch and Applied Innovation's LuxConnect solution will meet the high-capacity demands of carriers and large Metro service providers that are ramping up to deliver high-performance optical Ethernet services."

Foundry's complete Metropolitan network solutions, including Long-Haul Gigabit Ethernet interfaces with a unique Global Ethernet feature set, such as bandwidth control, extensive class of services, and robust security capabilities are aimed specifically at satisfying the exploding bandwidth requirements of fast-growing Metropolitan service providers and carriers. Foundry's MAN offerings deliver a complete solution for building a robust MAN infrastructure. By utilizing Foundry's long haul optical Gigabit Ethernet that can reach up to 150 Km, Metro service providers have the flexibility to deploy any combination of technologies in their MAN infrastructure. Foundry's feature-rich software enables Metro service providers to offer a broad range of service offerings that can lead to an increase in potential service revenue.

Applied Innovation's LuxConnect provides a solution for last mile Gigabit Ethernet services from the Metropolitan Optical Ring to corporate campus, office parks and MDU/MTU environments. The LuxConnect technology enables service providers to economically multiplex eight Gigabit Ethernet channels from a Foundry switch onto a single fiber pair utilizing a single wavelength with carrier grade quality and reliability. The architecture of the system allows Metro service providers to take advantage of cost-effective, high-performance Gigabit Ethernet technology at the Metro Edge while utilizing carrier-grade optical networks in the core.

Applied Innovation Chairman and Founder, Gerry Moersdorf, stated, "LuxPath delivers a dramatically simplified solution over competing technologies, greatly lowering the administrative and maintenance overhead, and creating a network that is far more flexible, scalable and reliable. LuxConnect transports native Ethernet so it is quicker and easier to deploy than more complex devices such as SONET and ATM. Using Ethernet over fiber optics simplifies network topology. Furthermore, LuxPath products are consistent with today's network initiatives, pushing the much-needed high-speed, broadband Ethernet services to the edges of carriers' networks and providing this same high-speed broadband connectivity to the enterprise arena. With consumer acceptance of xDSL and cable modems, and improved methods of providing fractional T1 and E1 services to businesses, the LuxPath line will be a valuable transmission asset to a service provider, providing significant time-to-market and cost benefits."

About Applied Innovation

Headquartered in Dublin, Ohio, Applied Innovation, Inc. (Nasdaq:AINN) is a leader in the design, manufacture, and deployment of state-of-the-art management solutions for simplifying the control of today's complex networks of physically dispersed and technically diverse elements. They have installations in over 20,000 locations ranging from remote facilities to large Central Offices. Applied Innovation is an ISO 9001 certified organization and their products are compliant with the stringent Telcordia NEBS Level3 requirements.

LuxPath Networks, a division of Applied Innovation, Inc, develops broadband Ethernet aggregation and transport products, which provide high-capacity, carrier-quality, fiber optic transmission solutions.

Information about Applied Innovation, its products and services can be found on the World Wide Web at www.aiinet.com, and www.luxpath.com, or by calling 1-800-247-9482.

About Foundry Networks

Foundry Networks, Inc. (Nasdaq:FDRY) is a performance and total solutions leader for end-to-end switching and routing including Internet routers, Layer 2/3 LAN switches, and Layer 4-7 Internet traffic and content delivery switches. Foundry's 3,000+ customers include the world's premier ISPs and enterprises, portals, search engines, e-commerce sites, and universities along with the leading entertainment, pharmaceutical, government, financial, and manufacturing companies. Some of these customers include: AOL (NYSE:AOL), EarthLink (Nasdaq:ELNK), AT&T WorldNet, MSN, Verio, Cable & Wireless (NYSE:CWP), Yahoo! (Nasdaq:YHOO), Incyte Genomics, Inc. (Nasdaq:INCY), The University of Washington, University of Miami, LucasFilm, U.S. Army, Air Force and Navy, NASA and NIH. For more information about the company and its products, call 1.888.TURBO.LAN or visit http://www.foundrynetworks.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and is subject to the safe harbor created by that section. These forward-looking statements include statements regarding a new combined system which Applied Innovation and Foundry expect to offer, statements from the president of Applied Innovation regarding the potential of the new system, and statements from Foundry's president regarding expected benefits and offerings of the new system. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those stated or implied here. Among these risks and uncertainties are the risk that the new system may not produce the benefits or results which the parties hope for due to less than anticipated demand for the system or other reasons which the parties do not foresee or have not accurately evaluated, the risk that the system discussed in this press release may be released later than anticipated and may not function as expected due to any number of reasons including inability to complete development, deliver expected functionality or integrate the parties' products as anticipated, and risks related to Foundry business in general, including continued demand for Internet related equipment and acceptance of Foundry's current and future products, the risks posed by rapid changes in technology including Foundry's ability to introduce new and superior products and predict future industry standards and the risk of delays in developing and releasing new products, the comparative quality of new products offered by Foundry's competitors in the intensely competitive networking market, Foundry's ability to attract and retain skilled employees in an intensely competitive hiring market, risks and uncertainties of loss, reduction, cancellation or delay in large purchases which Foundry expects to receive from a few significant customers, risks associated with any changes in economic conditions which affect the ability or desire of Foundry's customer base to make purchases of its products such as the ability of existing and potential customers to obtain outside financing or funding to make purchases of Foundry product, the risk of cancellations of orders and payment delays and defaults by customers who are unable to obtain outside financing or funding to make purchase of Foundry product, and the risks associated with difficulties Foundry may have in offering vendor-financing programs for customers who wish Foundry to finance purchases of Foundry product and who otherwise may be unable to obtain outside financing (including administrative costs and threat of default by less credit-worthy customers). Foundry assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements contained in this press release.

Foundry Networks, BigIron, FastIron and NetIron are registered trademarks of Foundry Networks, Inc. ServerIron, IronCore and IronWare are trademarks of Foundry Networks, Inc. LuxConnect is a trademark of Applied Innovation, Inc.