Ixia's Optixia, Industry's First Performance Verification Platform With Up to 240 Gigabit Ethernet Analysis Ports, Named Finalist in the Best of Interop Awards.

Business Editors

NetWorld+Interop 2003 Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 29, 2003

See Optixia Demo at NetWorld + Interop, April 29-May 1, 2003,

Las Vegas Convention Center, Booth #5597

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 for Optixia and the OLM1000STXS24 Load Module in the Best of Interop Awards competition by CMP Media's CRN, Network Computing, Network Magazine and VARBusiness.

"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.

The Best of Interop Awards are 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 assist in the quest for creative solutions. The winners will be selected at an award ceremony at NetWorld+Interop 2003, Las Vegas to be held April 29, 2003.

Optixia is the industry's first network performance analyzer and traffic generator to offer up to 240 ports of Gigabit Ethernet in one chassis with the corresponding OLM1000STXS24 Load Module that offers 24 ports on one blade. Optixia can also support up to 480 ports of 10/100 Mbps Ethernet. This extremely scalable traffic generation and analysis platform is targeted at Network Equipment Manufacturers, Carriers, and ISPs for extremely high port count next generation switches and routers.

Optixia's unique Gigabit Dual-PHY(TM) technology incorporates both a copper 10/100/1000 and gigabit fiber interface on every test port.

"We are pleased that the judges at CMP Media and Key3Media Group, Inc. recognize the significance of Ixia's development of the Dual-PHY(TM) technology, a feature that eliminates the need to purchase separate load modules for copper and fiber interfaces, making it a very cost-effective solution for high-performance testing," said Josh Goldstein, Director of Product Management for Ixia. "As the port density and intelligence of routers and switches increases, so does the need for full Layer 2-7 testing and high port count analysis platforms. We developed Optixia to meet this need today and into the future."

To meet the increasing complexity of today's networks, Optixia offers not only unprecedented port density, but also incorporates a RISC processor per port. Each processor runs the Linux operating system, which makes possible the verification of sophisticated networking IPv4 and IPv6 routing protocols, such as Layer 2 and 3 VPN emulation, BGP-4, MPLS with RSVP-TE emulation, OSPF, IS-IS, LDP, and RIP. Optixia also supports Ixia's new Real World Traffic Suite -- for the Enterprise, which includes Ixia's full-line of layer 4-7 applications, including: IxWeb, for HTTP, SSL, and FTP testing, NetIQ's Chariot for application traffic simulation, RadView's WebLOAD for web site stress testing, and IxAccess for PPPoX, as well as security applications such as IxVPN and IxAttack.

Optixia is a rack-mountable chassis that include a management module, which incorporates dual Pentium processors. It is designed for uninterrupted operation in environments that require scalable, flexible, and modular testing platforms incorporating redundant power supplies and hot-swappable interface Load Modules.

About CMP Media LLC

CMP Media LLC (www.cmp.com) is a leading integrated 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, and custom publishing.

About Key3Media

NetWorld+Interop is a Key3Media event. Key3Media Group, Inc., is the world's leading producer of information technology tradeshows and conferences, serving more than 6,000 exhibiting companies and 1.5 million attendees through 60 events in 18 countries. Key3Media's products range from the IT industry's largest exhibitions such as COMDEX and NetWorld+Interop to highly focused events featuring renowned educational programs, custom seminars and specialized vendor marketing programs. For more information about Key3Media, visit www.key3media.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 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.