Network Solutions Chooses IBM for Heart of Internet.

Business Editors/High Tech Writers

HERNDON, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 20, 2000

RS/6000 S80 to Host Internet's Top Level Domain Name System

Network Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ: NSOL), the world's leading provider of internet locator services with more than 10 million names registered through its Registry business, today announced that it has selected IBM to provide the high performance servers that will power the Internet's most important service, the "A" root name server the master computer for all web addresses everywhere and the global constellation of authoritative name servers for .com, .net and .org.

"Internet users touch these computers everyday and they are not even aware of it," said Bruce Chovnick, SVP and General Manager of the NSI Registry. "When an Internet user types a web address into a browser, the browser goes to a local computer called a nameserver to determine where in cyberspace the web site is located. If the local nameserver cannot find the web site, the browser continues to ask other more knowledgeable nameservers until it finally reaches the "A" root name server, the heart of the Internet."

The A root name server includes all 240 country codes such as .uk for United Kingdom, .de for Germany, and .jp for Japan in addition to .com, .org and .net.

"While most web address typed into a browser find their destinations long before they reach the "A" root name server, with hundreds of millions of Internet users, the volume is still nearly half a billion DNS queries every day, and growing," said Chovnick. "It is very important to us to make sure the hardware we use for the "A" name server is very reliable, has a lot of horsepower, and can scale easily."

The IBM servers that power the "A" root name server are based on advanced copper microprocessor technology. This technology makes the servers faster and more reliable.

"Dot coms are increasingly betting their growth on IBM RS/6000 server with copper technology," said Rod Adkins, general manager, IBM Web Server Unit. "Network Solution's choice of an S80, the most powerful single server ever built to act as the heart of the Internet, is indicative of that trend. RS/6000 UNIX servers from IBM offer the scalability, reliability and security that businesses need to succeed on the Web."

The "A" root name server has doubled transaction growth in the past quarter to over 5000 queries per second with peaks up to 8000 queries per second. Since its introduction in September of last year, the RS/6000 S80 has come to be recognized as the world's most powerful server - shattering benchmark records for enterprise resource planning (ERP), Web serving, Java performance, online transaction processing, file serving and Lotus Domino scalability. Utilizing innovative copper microprocessor technology, the 64-bit RS/6000 S80 offers unmatched performance and scalability for e-business, business intelligence, ERP and other mission-critical business applications.

About Network Solutions Registry

The Network Solutions Registry unit is the leading provider of Internet locator services and is an independent unit within Network Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ: NSOL). The Registry maintains the definitive directory for Web addresses and is responsible for the infrastructure that propagates this information throughout the Internet. As the exclusive provider of registry services to .com, .net and .org, the Registry currently supports 35 active ICANN accredited registrars operating in 12 countries around the globe. For more information, see the http://www.nsiregistry.com Web site.

About Network Solutions

Founded in 1979, Network Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ: NSOL) pioneered the development of registering Web addresses ending in .com, .net, .org and .edu and is the world's leading Registrar at http://www.networksolutions.com with over 10 million net registrations. To meet the needs of corporations worldwide, Network Solutions' id Names(TM) also provides domain name registration services for all available country-code top-level domains, for example, .de (Germany), .fr (France) and .uk (United Kingdom). Network Solutions additionally plays a critical role in the infrastructure of the Internet through its Registry services. Network Solutions' Registry customers include all the Registrars of domain names ending in .com, .net and .org. Network Solutions also provides Internet Technology Services that assist large commercial organizations in the evolution and management of their Internet technologies. On March 7, 2000, VeriSign, Inc. agreed to acquire Network Solutions, to create the world's largest provider of Internet Trust Services. For more information, see the http://www.nsol.com website.

Network Solutions registers the majority of Web addresses worldwide through various channels, including more than 260 companies in over 30 countries in its Premier Program and over 41,000 companies in the Affiliate Program. Network Solutions has created value-added small business solutions through agreements with leading companies such as American Express (NYSE: AXP), IBM (NYSE: IBM) and Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT). Through its Alliance Program, Network Solutions works closely with EarthLink (Nasdaq: ELNK), Interland, Inc. and Interliant, Inc. (Nasdaq: INIT). Network Solutions also has entered into marketing agreements with companies like Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq: YHOO).

About IBM RS/6000

More than 1,000,000 IBM RS/6000 systems have been shipped to over 150,000 commercial and technical customers around the world. The RS/6000 family of computers feature IBM RISC-based microprocessors and run AIX, IBM's UNIX operating system. RS/6000 delivers the industry's most complete UNIX offerings by combining applications with hardware, software, service and support -- a combination that yields new levels of high availability, scalability, system management, performance, and Deep Computing capabilities.

Statements in this announcement other than historical data and information constitute forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those stated or implied by such forward-looking statements. The potential risks and uncertainties include, among others, potential volatility in the company's stock price, uncertainty of Internet privatization, increased competition in the domain name registration business including price competition, customer acceptance of new products and services offered by the company in addition to or as enhancements of its registration services, risks associated with the company's international business, uncertainty of future revenue and profitability and fluctuations in its quarterly operating results. More information about potential factors that could affect the company's business and financial results is included in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, especially in the company's Registration Statement on Form S-3 filed on December 22, 1999, as amended, Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 1999 and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the periods ended March 31, 1999, June 30, 1999 and September 30, 1999.