Largest Internet Exchange in Central and Eastern Europe Delivers Reliable 10 Gigabit Ethernet Services with Force10 Networks.

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Force10 Networks([R]), the pioneer in building and securing high performance networks, today announced that DE-CIX, the largest Internet exchange in Central and Eastern Europe, is deploying the TeraScale E-Series([R]) family of switch/routers in a comprehensive upgrade of its switching infrastructure to deliver resilient 10 Gigabit Ethernet services to its customers. The Force10 TeraScale E-Series will allow DE-CIX to seamlessly scale its network to support an anticipated 200 Gigabits per second (Gbps) of traffic by next year as well as additional future growth.

"Our sustained throughput of 84 Gbps grew roughly 30 percent in the last three months, and we need a network infrastructure that can keep up with that growth while allowing us to scale our 10 Gig services to meet customer demand," said Harald Summa, CEO of DE-CIX. "By replacing our existing infrastructure with the Force10 E-Series, we know we have a resilient network that can take us through the transition to 100 Gigabit Ethernet without impacting our customers."

DE-CIX is leveraging the industry leading density of the Force10 TeraScale E-Series to build out a resilient, high performance network that will deliver scalable Gigabit and 10 Gigabit Ethernet peering services to its growing customer base. The TeraScale E-Series connects nine colocation facilities throughout Frankfurt in a resilient 10 Gigabit Ethernet backbone to support more than 190 providers from more than 20 countries. Supporting 1,260 Gigabit and 224 Ten Gigabit Ethernet ports, the TeraScale E1200 provides the density DE-CIX needs to increase its 10 Gigabit Ethernet services and seamlessly scale its customer base to 230 by next year.

The patent-protected five Terabits per second (Tbps) backplane of the Force10 TeraScale E-Series is uniquely architected for high performance networks like DE-CIX that are currently processing high traffic levels and anticipate rapid growth in the future. With up to 330 Gbps per slot, the TeraScale E-Series is ready to support 100 Gigabit Ethernet without the expense of a chassis or backplane upgrade.

"DE-CIX is experiencing phenomenal traffic growth driven by traditional data services as well as new bandwidth-intensive music and video applications," said Mark Cooper, senior vice president of worldwide sales at Force10 Networks. "The Force10 TeraScale E-Series was designed to deliver long-term investment protection to customers by providing a reliable, high performance network and enabling a seamless transition to 100 Gigabit Ethernet."

Internet exchanges around the world are using the Force10 TeraScale E-Series at the core of their networks to deliver resilient Gigabit and 10 Gigabit Ethernet services to their customers. In the U.S., Equinix and Terremark have both deployed the TeraScale E-Series to connect hundreds of customers within their exchanges. In Europe, LIPEX is providing peering services while JPIX is connecting Internet service provider throughout Japan with the TeraScale E-Series.

About DE-CIX

DE-CIX Management GmbH is the carrier neutral and independent owner and operator of the DE-CIX Internet Exchange in Frankfurt/Germany. Founded in 1995, DE-CIX established an environment for the bilateral settlement-free exchange of Internet traffic ("Peering") between all types of Internet service providers. More than 190 customers from 20+ nations are peering at DE-CIX to lower costs and increase IP performance and resiliency. This makes DE-CIX the market leader for peering in Central and Eastern Europe.

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.