Ixia's IPv6 Test Series Named Finalist in the Best of Interop Awards for NetWorld+Interop 2002 Las Vegas; New IPv6 Test Series Will Be Demonstrated at Ixia's Booth #6067.

Business Editors & High-Tech Writers

NetWorld+Interop 2002 Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 6, 2002

Ixia (Nasdaq:XXIA), a leading provider of high-speed, multiport network performance analysis and optimization systems, was named a Finalist in the Network Test and Measurement Category of the Best of Interop Awards competition by CMP Media's Network Computing, InformationWeek and EE Times. The winners will be selected at NetWorld+Interop 2002 Las Vegas to be held May 7-9, 2002.

Ixia's IPv6 (Internet Protocol version 6) Test Series is the first comprehensive tool for conformance, emulation and performance testing to address the emerging IPv6 standards.

"We are proud to have been selected as Finalists for the Best of Interop Awards at N+I for the IPv6 Test Series," said Eran Karoly, vice president of marketing for Ixia. "Following the introduction by Ixia of the industry's first IPv6 conformance test suite, Ixia is now delivering the first complete IPv6 test solution, helping developers of next-generation networking equipment migrate seamlessly to emerging technologies and speed their time-to-market cycles."

The IPv6 Test Series includes IPv6 conformance validation utilizing Ixia's ANVL test suites, simultaneous IPv4 and IPv6 traffic generation and analysis at wire speed for testing dual-stack and tunneling migration methodologies, IPv6 encodes and decodes, as well as IS-IS and RIPng protocol emulation. Identification of IPv6 routers in a network is facilitated using the Neighbor Discovery Protocol (RFC 2461). Address Auto configuration (RFC 2462) and Path MTU Discovery Protocols are also supported.

The editors of Network Computing, InformationWeek and EE Times, three of CMP Media's premier information technology publications, reviewed over 250 submissions, evaluating hundreds of new products. Finalists were then selected in 11 categories. Ixia's IPv6 Test Series was named a Finalist in the Network Test and Measurement Category. The Best of Interop Award is designed to help IT and network managers shorten the evaluation process in assessing new technology products. By identifying innovative products debuted at NetWorld+Interop, the Best of Interop Awards assists in the quest for creative Internet-enabled solutions.

"When selecting finalists for the Best of Interop Awards, we're looking for products that stand out from the competition by providing a unique solution to a problem or one that blazes new territory in the networking arena," explained Ron Anderson, lab director for Network Computing and head of the joint editorial judging for the Best of Interop Awards.

"This year's list of entries was particularly broad and diverse, perhaps surprising given the industry downturn. It was a difficult task to narrow down these stellar entrants," said Loring Wirbel, editorial director of communications for CMP's Electronics Group.

The Ixia IPv6 Test Series is seamlessly integrated into IxExplorer, Ixia's highly regarded packet generation and analysis software, as well as into Ixia's ScriptMate software, a sophisticated, Tcl/Tk-based graphical user interface that provides powerful methods to browse and access a variety of pre-built test suites.

All of Ixia's processor-based Load Modules support the IPv6 Test Series, including 10/100 Mbps Ethernet, 1Gbps Ethernet, 10Gbps Ethernet, OC3, OC12, OC48 and OC192 Packet Over SONET (POS).

NetWorld+Interop

NetWorld+Interop is the world's premier education and interactive event forum for technical professionals responsible for network and IT strategies from large enterprise and service provider organizations. The professional and business interests of the community are promoted through 4 proven elements: Quality education taught by experts in networking, technology demonstrations featured in our InteropNet programs, an interactive show floor featuring top networking and telecommunications vendors, and a global platform delivering quality events in 6 countries.

CMP Media LLC 

CMP Media LLC (http://www.cmpnet.com) is a leading high-tech media company providing essential information and marketing services to the entire technology spectrum -- the builders, sellers and users of technology worldwide. Capitalizing on its editorial strength, CMP is uniquely positioned to offer marketers comprehensive, integrated media solutions tailored to meet their individual needs. Its diverse products and services include newspapers, magazines, Internet products, research, direct marketing services, education and training, trade shows and conferences, custom publishing, testing and consulting.

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 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; [phone], Fax: [phone]; Email: [e-mail] or visit our Web Site at http://www.ixiacom.com.