Onyx Networks Selects RiverSoft Interventionless Network Management.

Business Editors

ComNet 2000

WASHINGTON, DC--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 25, 2000

Global ISP Also Will Be First Adopter of RiverSoft's i3philOSophy, The Industry's First Network Management Operating System 

(NMOS)

San Francisco-based Onyx Networks, an emerging provider of state-of-the-art Internet and high bandwidth services to the global market, has selected RiverSoft's interventionless network management platform for managing and monitoring its large-scale wide area network. Onyx, a wholly owned subsidiary of Pacific Gateway Exchange (NASDAQ: PGEX), chose RiverSoft following a detailed evaluation of competitive products. The announcement was made at the COMNET 2000 trade show here, where RiverSoft is exhibiting in Booth no.3038.

Onyx is currently implementing RiverSoft's OpenRiver root-cause fault isolation solution for its fast-scaling infrastructure with 75 points-of-presence (POPs) and hundreds of subnets projected by the end of 2002. RiverSoft is closely integrating complementary solutions from InfoVista and FreshWater to provide Onyx with a seamlessly integrated, best-of-breed network management solution.

&uot;We are growing rapidly and continually upgrading our Internet infrastructure to ensure high availability and unrivalled performance for our customers, so change management is our highest priority,&uot; said John Villasenor, Onyx senior manager of Network Operations Centers and Client Services. &uot;RiverSoft really challenges conventional network management thinking. While several vendors impressed us during our comprehensive competitive evaluation, Riversoft made our choice obvious with a platform that enabled us to view the connectivity and status of our network on a real time basis. But the real value is that with no intervention needed, our network engineers are able to focus on proactive service issues.&uot;

Continued Villasenor, &uot;The most striking feature of RiverSoft's OpenRiver root-cause fault isolation solution is its network auto-discovery. RiverSoft keeps an eye on the status of every component in the system, globally, and does scheduled audits against autodetection. Nothing can be changed on the system without detection, right down to the port level, which is truly amazing.&uot;

RiverSoft's topography and root cause fault isolation functions reduce the cost of fault management operations by 60 percent compared with traditional network management tools and techniques, regarded as a conservative estimate by many analysts. RiverSoft is actively winning high-profile customers such as Onyx in the ISP, telecom, banking and financial marketplaces.

In addition to its change management and problem pinpointing capabilities, RiverSoft was also selected by Onyx because of the company's architectural vision of the future of network management. Today RiverSoft also announced i3philOSophy, (Ed. Note: please see separate release) the industry's first network management operating system (NMOS), and the development of a suite of FCAPS-based network and systems management solutions. (Ed. Note: FCAPS are the five ISO management categories covering fault, configuration, asset, performance and security.)

i3philOSophy: A Revolution in Network Management

RiverSoft's i3philOSophy is a true Interventionless Internet infrastructure[i(3)] network management operating system [NMOS] designed to handle all device communications and information management. A first-of-a-kind Internet infrastructure management platform for the development of intelligent interventionless network management applications, i3philOSophy enables applications to be implemented rapidly regardless of any changes to the device infrastructure.

&uot;Onyx Networks is the kind of forward-thinking, visionary company that can truly leverage the advantages of being an early adopter of our i3philOSophy network management operating system, which we believe will forever change the complexion of network management,&uot; declared Phil Tee, RiverSoft chairman and chief technical officer. &uot;Exponential growth in e-businesses create a massive conflict today: network availability versus change. The two are mutually exclusive, yet e-businesses require both. The more complex the network, the more complex the administration of the network management tools, and the more network management personnel are needed to support it. i3philOSophy solves that problem and more. No one has ever been able to monitor any network to the depth made possible by i3philOSophy. As the world's first `interventionless' network management technology, it will revolutionize the way the Internet and Internet infrastructures are managed.&uot;

Commented Chris Icide, Onyx Networks chief technology officer, &uot;RiverSoft is applying a fresh new approach to managing Internet infrastructures. Unlike other network management products, RiverSoft not only can deliver Internet-class functions and handle change management at Web speed, but also requires much less time to manage than alternative solutions. The combination of FCAPS solutions built on the i3philOSophy NMOS is both powerful and totally logical, and one we eagerly look forward to implementing.&uot;

About Onyx Networks

ONYX Networks Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Pacific Gateway Exchange (PGE). Leveraging the substantial assets of its publicly traded parent company (NASDAQ: PGEX), ONYX Networks provides high-performance Internet connectivity, colocation and remote content solutions to Network Services Providers (NSPs) and multi-national corporations worldwide.

ONYX Networks utilizes Pacific Gateway's ownership in 32 undersea fiber optic cable systems to connect major metropolitan cities in the US and numerous offshore markets. Pacific Gateway has become one of the largest owners of bandwidth, with over $150 million committed to the Japan-US and TAT-14 Cable Networks in the Atlantic and Pacific, enabling it to become a low cost leader of IP infrastructure. In addition to being a facilities-based international telecommunications carrier, Pacific Gateway has 44 operating agreements in 28 countries.

Onyx Networks recently acquired UK-based ISP, Onyx Internet, Ltd., a London Internet Exchange (LINX) member and is strategically positioned to acquire additional NSPs worldwide. Onyx Networks plans to offer Internet services in 75 international cities by 2002. Global Internet services are currently available in the following cities: London, England; Middlesbrough, England and Tokyo, Japan, as well as US locations in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, New York, and Washington, D.C., For further information, http://www.onyx.net and http://www.pgexch.com/

About RiverSoft (www.riversoft.com)

RiverSoft, the interventionless network management company, is passionate about ensuring e-business availability by solving the performance and management issues associated with Internet infrastructures. It is the developer of i3philOSophy, the industry's first network management operating system (NMOS), and RiverSoft FCAPS-based infrastructure management solutions, including its award-winning fault isolator, OpenRiver.

Typical customers are organizations with large and complex networks, such as service providers and financial institutions, whose previous network management tools were unable to cope with the pace of change of Internet infrastructures. Customers include Onyx Networks, SEMA Group, BT Syncordia, Carrier 1, Booz Allen, Planet Online, Nomura Research Institute and Goldman Sachs. Detailed information on RiverSoft, its solutions and technology can be found at www.riversoft.com or by contacting [e-mail] or any of its main offices in San Francisco (415 438 2356), New York (212 754 9000) or London ([phone]).

OpenRiver is a registered trademark of RiverSoft. All other trademarks and registered trademarks in this document are the properties of their respective owners.

Safe Harbor:

Application of the Safe Harbor of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: this press release contains statements that are not historical facts and may be considered &uot;forward-looking statements&uot; within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, such as statements regarding: the expected number of POPs and subnets projected by the end of 2002 for RiverSoft's root-cause solution infrastructure; Onyx's plans to offer Internet services in 75 cities by 2002; and the expected cost reductions and improvements in service offerings as a result of the use of RiverSoft equipment. Actual results might differ materially from those projected by those statements due to numerous factors including but not limited to: difficulties that might be encountered in entering new businesses and completing major construction projects (such as cable construction projects and data centers), relating for example to the location, acquisition, construction, integration and/or implementation of ISP, backhaul and other facilities; service offerings and sales programs; local access issues; second party construction issues (such as the availability of electrical power and government approvals); increased competition; failure to reduce costs; unforeseeable developments relating to operations and construction schedule as well as the Company's Internet and network expansion and operations; regulatory developments in the U.S. and in foreign countries; the Company's success in finding and integrating corporate acquisitions, new offshore facilities, and the construction of cable facilities; the Company's success in developing new business programs; foreign currency fluctuations; termination of operating agreements; changes in the credit markets and in the availability of financing for the Company on acceptable terms; and finding qualified personnel to begin joint venture, Internet and telecom operations in the U.S. and foreign countries. See Pacific Gateway's periodic SEC reports for additional factors that could factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results to differ materially from the results projected by the forward-looking statements in this press release.