CoSine Communications and Market-Leading Concord Communications Partner to Deliver Performance Monitoring Solution for Network-Based VPN Services.

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 13, 1999--

CoSine IP Service Delivery Platform and Concord Network Health Allow Service Providers to Monitor Performance from the Customer Site

Through the Network Core

CoSine Communications, the leading provider of managed IP service delivery platforms for Business IP Service Providers, today announced that it is partnering with Concord Communications(R), Inc., (NASDAQ: CCRD) to provide a network-based platform solution that offers end-to-end performance monitoring of managed Virtual Private Network (VPN) services. Concord has certified that CoSine's IP Service Delivery Platform interoperates with and is supported by the latest release of Concord's market-leading Network Health family of Web-based performance monitoring and analysis solutions. Service Providers can now use Concord's Network Health with the CoSine platform to monitor and review the performance of all network elements, from the customer premises to the network core, as well as the virtual connectivity delivered through the CoSine solution. In addition, Service Providers can extend the Network Health capabilities to subscribers, enabling them to review the performance of CoSine's platform against performance commitments.

"Our flexible, open platform allows us to integrate quickly and easily with third-party software such as Network Health, thus enabling Service Providers to bring new and enhanced services such as VPNs to market quickly," said Dean Hamilton, president and CEO of CoSine Communications. "Subscribers hesitate to buy managed services that do not have the level of visibility and reporting capability provided by products such as Network Health. By using Concord's best-of-breed solution with the CoSine platform, Service Providers can get the information they need to maintain performance of managed VPN services, and they can provide subscribers with an end-to-end view of their portion of the network using the leading tools available."

"Service-level management is a critical concern for Service Providers today," said Kevin Conklin, vice president of marketing at Concord. "Our partnership with CoSine is evidence of our commitment to helping service providers meet the needs of their customers and demonstrate the value of their managed services. Certifying leading-edge products, like CoSine's, is part of our continuing effort to ensure that Network Health enables both our enterprise and our Service Provider customers to effectively and proactively manage complex networks."

End-to-End View of Managed IP Services

The Network Health family of analysis and reporting solutions operates at multiple levels to provide a correlated, end-to-end view of all physical network elements. Network Health uses performance information to create a wide variety of reports that help Service Providers monitor and manage things such as LAN/WAN traffic, Frame Relay cost effectiveness, the network load of routers/switches, server availability, ATM Quality of Service (QoS) and more. In addition, elements can be grouped to provide reports on service levels. These reports are based on customer-defined service level goals and service reporting down to the device level.

Through its work with CoSine, Network Health can now also report on the capabilities of the IP IPSX 9000(TM) Service Processing Switch, which is at the heart of CoSine's IP Services Delivery Platform. The IPSX 9000 is a non-stop, high-performance, customizable IP services processing switch designed to handle the heavy processing needs of VPNs and other IP services.

"Service Providers clearly benefit when they can use one system to monitor and report on the health of their entire network," said Ron Westfall, senior analyst at Current Analysis (Sterling, VA). "By interoperating with Concord, which counts some of the largest carriers among its customer base, CoSine adds new value to a Service Provider's existing monitoring capabilities. Equally important, the CoSine solution can extend performance visibility to the subscriber, building the trust relationship that is critical to the acceptance of managed VPN services."

Visibility from Service Provider to Subscriber

Integration of Network Health extends the reach of CoSine's new trust model for network-based managed services, delivered through its InVision(TM) Subscriber Management System(TM) (SMS) and InGage(TM) Customer Network Management (CNM) system.

InVision is a comprehensive software support system that allows Service Providers to easily provision, manage and account for IP services. By interoperating with Concord, InVision SMS provides a single point of performance monitoring and management for all IP services distributed across a Service Provider's subscriber base. InVision SMS complies with the Telecommunication Management Network (TMN) architecture and has an open Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA) interface for seamless integration with existing network elements, including Service Provider billing and accounting systems.

Service Providers also can allow individual subscribers to view the performance measured by Network Health via CoSine's innovative InGage CNM. This browser-based management system for the customer premises gives subscribers visibility into and control over their portion of the Service Provider's network.

"Our system provides the carrier-class quality, reliability, and security that gives subscribers the confidence they need to purchase managed services with complete trust," said Hamilton. "Network Health certification is an important element in that new trust model, enabling subscribers to view end-to-end network performance at any time."

About CoSine Communications

Founded in 1997 and based in Redwood City, Calif., CoSine Communications is the leading developer of managed IP service delivery platforms for business IP Service Providers who are struggling to create complex, value-added Public Networks with today's limited technology. The CoSine solution enables CLECs and interexchange carriers to quickly and reliably turn up value-added services to their wholesale and retail subscribers.

For more information about CoSine Communications, visit the company's Web site at www.cosinecom.com, or contact Suzanne Panoplos at 8774COSINE.

Note to Editors: CoSine will be demonstrating the performance monitoring capability at the upcoming Networld+Interop trade show in Atlanta, September 14-16, Booth 412, Hall A.

CoSine, InVision, and InGage are trademarks of CoSine Communications. Network Health is a registered trademark of Concord Communications. All other trademarks and tradenames belong to their respective owners.