NetBotz Appliances Help InReach Internet Prepare for Future Power Crisis; Appliances Provide Advanced Warning of Equipment Failure.

Business/Energy Editors & High Tech Writers

AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 14, 2001

California-based Internet services provider InReach Internet has installed NetBotz network environment monitoring appliances to ensure customers experience constant Internet access, even during power outages.

InReach provides dial-up Internet access, web hosting, dedicated connections and business Internet solutions to over 30,000 residential consumers and businesses. The company has six critical server rooms in various locations throughout California -- any of which has the possibility of being affected by rolling blackouts. West Coast businesses have felt the impact of January's rolling blackouts and most are anticipating similar, and possibly more severe problems as summer approaches.

"Power shortages have become an accepted part of our existence in California," said Keith Chiles, Systems Engineering director of InReach. "But, our customers demand 24/seven uptime and peak performance even during a stage-three power crunch."

When blackouts occur, InReach relies on its generators and Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS) to keep network equipment running. Under extreme circumstances, functions such as fans and air conditioning may be damaged during a brown out or a generator cutover. Under these conditions, the company runs a high risk of damaging -- or losing -- critical equipment. InReach is using this stable period to proactively plan for increased power shortages by designing new, more efficient methods of running the operation.

"We've installed the most powerful generators and the best UPS. We've got backups for our backups. Unfortunately, these power safeguards cause specific areas of our server rooms to heat up faster than others," said Chiles. "An overheating condition can cause the loss of millions of dollars worth of equipment and downtime. The NetBotz Wall and Rack Appliances let us monitor our equipment and identify hot spots in our facilities. The real-time data gathered by the appliances during the last phase of blackouts will help us better prepare for upcoming power shortages."

InReach installed the NetBotz appliances in each of its locations. The web-accessed, environment monitoring appliances continuously monitor conditions surrounding the equipment such as temperature, humidity, sound and airflow. The appliances send alarms via email or pager before equipment approaches dangerous conditions. With these warnings, the company can take appropriate action to remedy the problem before equipment is damaged.

"Early warning is the key to survival," said Don Cooper, president and chief executive officer of NetBotz. "Network administrators are in fire fighting mode during power outages. They just want to keep their equipment running. The NetBotz Wall and Rack appliances are the first lines of defense against equipment failure."

"The NetBotz appliances give me peace of mind," said Chiles. "The units have even sent me messages when my generators were sending audio alarms. Had I not received the page, I would not have known that the generators needed attention. With NetBotz Wall and Rack appliances installed, InReach is ready for the summer."

About NetBotz

NetBotz Inc. is a hardware and software company that designs, manufactures and markets integrated network appliances that extend monitoring to the physical and environment level. By offering its customers simple and low-cost extensions to traditional enterprise network monitoring, NetBotz is poised to lead the emerging appliance segment of the network-monitoring marketplace. The NetBotz executive team possesses extensive industry knowledge and more than 200 years combined experience in high volume, low cost embedded processors and associated network software design. Founded in Austin, Texas, in 1999, NetBotz received $5.4 million in its first round of venture capital financing from CenterPoint Ventures, SSM Venture Partners and Sanchez Venture Partners. NetBotz received the Best of Show award in the Network Appliance category at NetWorld+Interop 2000 Atlanta and was the 1999 recipient of KPMG's Start-up Standout award. For more information, please visit www.netbotz.com.