Force10 Networks Chooses Ixia to Validate Gigabit and 10 Gigabit Ethernet Line Rate Performance of its New E-Series Switches.

Business Editors & High-Tech Writers

MILPITAS & CALABASAS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept 5, 2002

Force10 Networks Inc., the leading developer of high performance Ethernet systems, announced today that it chose Ixia (Nasdaq:XXIA), a leading provider of high-speed, multiport network performance analysis systems, to provide state-of-the-art testing platforms to validate performance of its new E1200 Series switches. Ixia's sophisticated test bed made it possible for Force10 to accurately verify line rate performance across a fully meshed configuration of 28 ports of 10 Gigabit Ethernet as well as 336 ports of Gigabit Ethernet in a single E1200.

"Utilizing the Tolly Group's independent testing services, the Ixia test platform was the clear choice to validate the E1200 because it is the only solution available that provides the massive port density for both the 28-port 10 Gigabit and also 336 ports of Gigabit Ethernet testing," said Steve Mullaney, vice president of marketing for Force10 Networks. "Ixia's agile, reliable, and highly accurate test systems demonstrated that the E1200 provides unprecedented line-rate performance. It goes without saying that the Ixia test tools greatly accelerated

our development cycle, and provided the scalability and flexibility simply not available with any other testing platform."

"Ixia was delighted to assist Force10 Networks in its mission to provide next generation networking products to the market," said Eran Karoly, vice president of marketing for Ixia. "Our wide range of analysis tools, especially our line of 10 Gigabit Ethernet load modules, offers the industry's most comprehensive wire-speed traffic generation, analysis, and protocol support, including LAN, WAN and a combined OC192 POS/BERT/WAN platform. We congratulate Force10 on the successful completion of its testing cycle, and look forward to providing the performance analysis expertise that allows companies like Force10 to move their products swiftly from the design bench into the field."

Using the IXIA 1600T chassis with 28 10GbE traffic generation and analysis load modules, recent tests verified the following capabilities of the E1200:

-- Delivers zero-loss line-rate performance across 336 Gigabit Ethernet ports for all packet sizes in bi-directional testing

-- Delivers zero-loss line-rate performance across 336 Gigabit Ethernet ports for all packet sizes in full-mesh testing

-- Achieves predictable 41 to 57 microsecond latency across all packet sizes at 100% of the theoretical maximum throughput

In recent Gigabit Ethernet testing using 11 IXIA 1600 chassis with 336 GbE traffic generation and analysis load modules, Ixia verified the following capabilities of the E1200:

-- Delivers zero-loss line-rate performance across 336 Gigabit Ethernet ports for all packet sizes in bi-directional testing

-- Delivers zero-loss line-rate performance across 336 Gigabit Ethernet ports for all packet sizes in full-mesh testing

-- Achieves predictable 41 to 57 microsecond latency across all packet sizes at 100% of the theoretical maximum throughput

Force10 Networks announced the selection of its E-Series family on September 3, 2002, by the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) and the San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC) (both part of the National Science Foundation's TeraGrid Project), Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and the London Internet Exchange (LINX).

Ixia will participate in a joint demo with Force10 at the SuperComputing conference in Baltimore, Maryland, November 11-16 to demonstrate real-world high-speed networking. By combining wire-speed Layers 2-3 traffic generation with true Layer 4-7 content aware routing performance, Ixia will make it possible for Force10 to realistically simulate actual internet-scale networking performance.

About Force10 Networks

Force10 Networks, Inc. is a leading developer of scalable, high performance Ethernet systems. The innovative Force10 EtherScale ASIC architecture and FTOS software enable the E-Series to deliver unmatched scalability, line-rate performance and full L2 switching and L3 routing functionality for high performance Ethernet applications. For more information, visit Force10 Networks at www.force10networks.com

About Ixia

Ixia (Nasdaq:XXIA) delivers powerful, distributed, multiport traffic generators, and performance/conformance analyzers for wire-speed verification of optical networking equipment, LAN, MAN, WAN and SAN multi-layer switches and routers, and sophisticated routing protocols. Its products utilize a variety of interfaces -- Packet Over SONET, BERT, 10 Gigabit Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet, 10/100/1000 Mbps Ethernet, and USB. Ixia's network operations applications address the industry's growing requirements for a higher level of control over network optimization, traffic engineering, traffic profiling, and security. Ixia's analysis solutions are distinguished by their accuracy, reliability, high port density, support for emerging protocol standards, conformance adherence, and adaptability to the industry's constant evolution.

For more information, contact Ixia at 26601 W. Agoura Road, Calabasas, CA 91302; 818/871-1800, Fax: [phone]; Email: [e-mail] or visit our Web Site at http://www.ixiacom.com.