Force10 Networks Joins Euro-IX as Inaugural Patron to Further Enable High Performance 10 Gigabit Ethernet Adoption in Internet Exchanges.

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Force10 Networks([R]), the pioneer in building and securing high performance networks, today announced it is the first patron of the European Internet Exchange Association (Euro-IX), an international association that represents more than 35 Internet Exchange Points (IXPs) and the 2,400 Internet service providers they connect. Leveraging its experience building high performance networks for some of the busiest Internet exchanges in the world, Force10 is sponsoring the association to combine resources and collaborate on cutting edge technologies and networking solutions.

"Many of Force10's earliest customers were forward thinking Internet exchanges that saw the benefit of transitioning to 10 Gigabit Ethernet for increased flexibility and scalability as traffic rapidly increased," said Marshall Bartoszek, vice president of EMEA sales at Force10 Networks. "In joining Euro-IX, we hope to collaborate with the world's leading exchanges to develop networking solutions that meet the needs of the lynchpins of the Internet."

The Force10 TeraScale E-Series([R]) family of switch/routers delivers the high density and resiliency Internet exchanges require to seamlessly scale their networks as traffic grows. Leveraging that combination of features, Force10 has developed a strong presence in the worldwide Internet exchange community.

Yesterday, Force10 announced that DE-CIX, the largest Internet exchange in Central and Eastern Europe, is deploying the TeraScale E-Series to deliver scalable 10 Gigabit Ethernet services to its customers. Equinix also relies on the TeraScale E-Series to anchor its data centers, which connect more than 200 networks serving over 90% of the world's users. Terremark relies on the TeraScale E-Series at the foundation of its integrated Internet exchanges while the London Internet Providers Exchange (LIPEX) and the Japan Internet Exchange (JPIX) have also deployed Force10 switches at the core of their 10 Gigabit Ethernet networks. All five are affiliates of Euro-IX.

Internet exchanges act as the connection points of the IP world and touch a substantial portion of all data traffic. As broadband adoption grew and traffic began to increase, the Internet exchange community adopted 10 Gigabit Ethernet as a cost-effective way to increase capacity in their colocation centers. Today, the transformation in the way people are interacting with the Internet is again driving traffic growth, forcing Internet exchanges to aggregate multiple 10 Gigabit Ethernet links. To accommodate this rapid growth in traffic, the IEEE formed the High Speed Study Group to begin work on developing a new, faster Ethernet technology.

Euro-IX was formed in May 2001 to develop, strengthen and improve the Internet Exchange Point (IXP) community. The organization is dedicated to coordinating technical standards across the continent, develop common procedures and share statistics to improve understanding of the issues facing the community.

About Force10 Networks

Force10 Networks is the pioneer in building and securing high performance networks. Based on a revolutionary system architecture that delivers best-in-class resiliency and massive scalability, Force10's TeraScale E-Series switch/routers ensure predictable application performance, increase network availability, and reduce operating costs. Today, many of the world's largest Gigabit Ethernet and 10 Gigabit Ethernet networks depend on Force10 Networks. For additional information, please visit www.force10networks.com.

Force10 Networks and E-Series are registered trademarks, and P-Series, S-Series, TeraScale and FTOS are trademarks of Force10 Networks, Inc. All other company names are trademarks of their respective holders.