Force Announces ETSI-Compliant Line of 10-Inch-Deep, PICMG 2.16 High-Density Computing Platforms.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 4, 2001

Centellis CO 25000-9U Leverages Open-Standards High Availability

Architecture, Offers Redundant Ethernet Switches, SNMP, 100-plus

SBCs/Rack for `Five Nines'

Force Computers, a Solectron company (NYSE:SLR) and a leader in embedded computing, today announced its Centellis(TM) CO 25000-9U series -- a PICMG 2.16 compliant CompactPCI(R) Packet-Switching Backplane (cPSB) platform. Compliant with Force's new High Availability Architecture (HA2(TM)) platform initiative, the first configuration in the series features up to 14 redundant Pentium(R) III processor-based single board computers (SBCs) running the BlueCat Linux(TM) operating system (OS) -- other processor/OS options available -- as well as offering redundant PICMG 2.16 Layer 2 Ethernet switches.

Also compliant with ETSI building practices, a Centellis CO 25000-9U chassis measures only 10 inches (about 255mm) deep, allowing for up to four units in a standard 40U rack or up to eight systems mounted back-to-back. This delivers unprecedented High Availability (HA) computing power density -- up to 112 SBC capacity -- as well as SNMP remote platform management support for "five nines" and "six nines" designs, making for an ideal server solution in next-generation networks (NGNs).

High Availability Architecture -- Platform Independence,

Open-Standards Approach

In defining the hardware and software comprising Force's High Availability Architecture (HA2) platform initiative with its HA management/communication services and application programming interfaces (APIs), room's left for flexible implementation, allowing scalability of performance, function and even availability of applications. HA requirements can then map to HA features for a cost-effective implementation, resulting in the best possible price/performance point. Since many open standards exist isolated from one another, HA2 takes a new approach. Creating a framework for interoperability of standards, HA2 itself defines a "standard" for HA solutions. Its requirements protect against technology evolution, enabling transparent platform migration, ensuring product longevity and securing technology investments -- especially costly software applications.

"System architects and designers of mission-critical equipment will find the Centellis CO 25000-9U a highly scaleable solution for telecom, data com, automation, control and NGN applications," said Detlef von Reusner, Force product marketing manager. "Already a solid foundation for `five nines' requirements, its lack of any active components as a single point of failure and multiple redundancy options offers an application-ready platform for developing true `six nines' availability -- less than 30 seconds downtime a year. Overall, this series is designed to meet ETSI and NEBS Level 3 requirements for compactness and reliability under harsh conditions and leverages HA2 to protect the value of technology investments into the future."

Open Standards Enable Scalability, Risk Reduction

Fully compliant to the PICMG 2.16 cPSB standard -- which defines an Ethernet backplane overlaying a mechanical CompactPCI bus -- Centellis CO 25000-9U configured with Pentium III processors and Linux OS offers a fault-resilient platform scaleable up to 14 processor nodes. And by building on open- and/or industry-standard technologies like cPSB and Ethernet with options for Windows(R) or Linux/Pentium III and Solaris(TM)/SPARC(R), the Centellis CO 25000-9U series offers engineers a robust development platform for reducing design, performance and portability risk. Other features of the platform series include:

      --  Scaleable redundancy
      --  No single point of failure for all active components
      --  Hot-swappability for all active components
      --  Three 400W redundant (2+1) DC power supply units with dual 48V
        power feeds
      --  IPMI-ready platform management (PICMG 2.9)
      --  Options for third-party product integration
      --  NEBS Level 3 design

Availability and pricing

The Centellis CO 25000-9U series will be available through Force's Early Access Unit (EAU) program in Q2 2002 with volume shipments in Q3 2002. OEM volume prices start at $5,900 for base platforms. All monetary amounts are stated in U.S. dollars.

About Force Computers

Force Computers (www.forcecomputers.com) was founded in 1981 and is a leading designer and worldwide supplier of standard and custom systems and board-level computer platforms and services for the embedded market. The processor-independent company helps its customers develop embedded applications based on Alpha, MIPS, Pentium(R), PowerPC(TM), PowerQUICC(TM), SPARC(R), StrongARM and 68K(TM) technologies for embedded Linux(TM), Solaris(TM), Windows NT(R) and real-time operating systems. Force supports VME, CompactPCI(R), PCI, PCI/ISA and PMC bus architectures as well as custom form-factors. An ISO 9001 certified company, Force Computers practices Total Quality Management principles in all phases of the company's global operations. The company, along with its parent company, Solectron Corporation, is the 1997 winner of the prestigious Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award for manufacturing. Force's corporate headquarters and Asia Pacific headquarters is located in San Jose, California. Force's European headquarters is located in Munich, Germany.

Note to Editors: HA2 ("HA squared") and Centellis are trademarks of Force Computers. Other trademarks or registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.