NextHop's GateD 10.0 Routing Software Delivers Breakthrough Configuration Interface and High Availability to Network Equipment Manufacturers.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 21, 2003

NextHop(TM) Technologies Inc., the definitive source for network routing software solutions, today announced availability of GateD(TM) 10.0 routing software. This new version of the industry leading GateD routing code, addresses two of today's top challenges in the information technology (IT) and networking industry: manageability and reliability.

GateD 10.0 software is the first Internet protocol (IP) routing source code product with an XML (eXtensible Mark-up Language) Routing API (application-programming interface). This API enables vendors to quickly and easily build customized command line or web interfaces and provide users with a readily accessible script interface. Network administrators can now lower the operational costs and increase the security of managing any network device using GateD 10.0 software.

GateD 10.0 routing software supports recent Internet drafts from the IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force) for graceful (or hitless) restarts. GateD now provides a standards-based mechanism for a networking device to continue to forward packets, even while the routing software itself is being re-started. These restarts might be triggered by a hardware failure or be part of a planned process for updating or reconfiguring the software. This non-disruptive process allows developers of network equipment to provide a higher level of equipment availability. This then in turn allows both public and private networks that utilize such equipment a higher level of network reliability.

GateD 10.0 is aimed at meeting the routing needs of network equipment manufacturers in multiple market segments, including the service provider core and edge, Asia-Pacific OEMs/ODMs (original equipment manufacturers/original designers and manufacturers) and security appliance markets among others.

"NextHop understands and continues to anticipate the needs of the networking industry," says Mark Bieberich, senior analyst, Communications Network Infrastructure, the Yankee Group. "The networking industry is on a mission to deliver 99.999+ percent availability platforms, and GateD 10.0 brings much needed high availability features to the IP networking arena. As IP networks are carrying mission critical data, including voice traffic, the need for reliability in IP routing is ever increasing."

"The GateD 10.0 XML interface also provides a significant enhancement to the way network devices are configured and managed," adds Bieberich. "What NextHop has delivered is at the vanguard of an industry wide trend towards XML APIs, which have also been adopted by Juniper (a longstanding GateD customer) and Cisco. This trend promises to mitigate one of the industry's sore points, the tremendous effort involved with configuration and on-going maintenance of networking devices."

About Graceful Restarts

Graceful (or hitless) restart capabilities are extensions to the OSPF (Open Shortest Path First), BGP (Border Gateway) and IS-IS (Intermediate System to Intermediate System) protocols. The IETF is working on additional standards to continue to provide even higher levels of reliability and availability in the IP network.

Sue Hares, founder and CTO of NextHop and co-chairperson of the Inter-Domain Routing Group within the IETF, says, "NextHop is committed to working with the IETF and the industry to develop standards and deliver software that allow for inter-operability between equipment from various vendors, and yet provide a more stable and reliable network."

GateD 10.0 Protocol Upgrades

In addition to the XML API and graceful restart features in the BGP, IS-IS, and OSPF protocols, GateD 10.0 software also includes new features and updates across the board -- for all of its protocols. These enhancements continue to prove that NextHop is the recognized source for industry-standard, up-to-date, high performance routing software. GateD 10.0 includes several patent pending enhancements to algorithms in the OSPF and IS-IS protocols to allow for unprecedented availability and speed of calculation.

"With GateD 10.0, NextHop continues to push the envelope on routing software solutions that help our customers deliver the best products," says Ed Cluss, president and chief executive officer, NextHop Technologies. "On top of our legacy of success with the GateD Consortium, as NextHop we have licensed GateD for use in more than 130 products for over 50 new customers. We continue to meet our goals of writing quality code that reduces our customers' engineering and test efforts, putting the developer ahead of the curve by speeding integration and assuring stability, scalability and interoperability."

Pricing and Availability

Available now, GateD 10.0 routing software comes in several packages.

About NextHop Technologies

NextHop(TM) Technologies Inc. is the definitive source for network routing software solutions. NextHop's flagship product, GateD(TM), the de facto standard, is the most widely used vendor-neutral routing software in the world. NextHop partners with its customers and the industry to empower innovation in networking with safe and reliable products that reduce time to market while minimizing development, testing and support costs. Founded in 2000 and funded by New Enterprise Associates, Labrador Ventures, and Parker Price Venture Capital, NextHop is based in Mountain View, Calif. Visit NextHop on the Web at www.nexthop.com.

Note to Editors: NextHop and GateD are trademarks of NextHop Technologies Inc. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.