REPEAT/Spirent Communications is First to Support Cisco's Spatial Reuse Protocol; New Testing Capabilities Reinforce Spirent's Commitment to Next Generation Transport Technology.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

REPEATING...

HONOLULU--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 10, 2001

Spirent Communications, the world leader in performance analysis solutions, today introduced support for Cisco's Spatial Reuse Protocol (SRP) on the award-winning Adtech AX/4000 platform. The new SRP testing functionality will allow mid-size service providers, competitive local exchange carriers (CLECs), government, as well as network equipment manufacturers to test the new generation of transport technology that uses SRP.

SRP is a new media access layer (MAC) protocol developed by Cisco Systems and available in their DPT line of products. It utilizes a dual counter-rotating, ring-based network topology, where both rings carry data and control messages, concurrently, to maximize bandwidth. For each data packet the correlating control packet is sent on a counter-rotating ring. SRP is an open technology embraced by multiple system and silicon vendors.

SRP provides high-speed access connectivity for the metropolitan area network (MAN), and with customers who are planning to upgrade their Packet over SONET (PoS) networks to a faster speed, but would like to avoid the extra cost of the time division multiplexing (TDM) equipment.

"Network engineers have been deploying an increasing amount of SONET technology throughout their networks and developing ring architectures to accommodate the rapid growth of IP traffic," said Alan Sguigna, vice president of marketing, Spirent Communications, Adtech Division. "As these service providers look for ways to maximize the efficiency of their existing bandwidth they will face several technology options, among them using Cisco's SRP."

The primary incentive for Service Providers to move from a SONET-based network to one that uses SRP is being able to forego the use of TDM equipment. SRP is a viable choice in the deployment of a new network. When leveraging dark fiber, SRP offers a fundamental cost advantage over deploying a high-speed Ethernet network or SONET network. SRP is also a de facto standard for MAN backbones in Cable Modem networks.

"Spirent's performance analysis tools support traffic generation, analysis and decodes of the SRP packet types," said Graeme Fraser, vice president and general manager, Metro IP Access Group at Cisco Systems. "We look forward to working with Adtech to help deliver to customers an open industry standard for high-speed IP transport over optical networks."

About Spirent Communications

Spirent Communications is the world leader in performance analysis solutions. The company designs and manufactures Abacus, Adtech, DLS, GSS, Hekimian, Metrohm, SmartBits, Net-HOPPER, and TAS products to provide customers with a full-breadth of comprehensive and integrated performance analysis solutions. Spirent Communications' solutions accelerate development and minimize the risk of deployment of new communications technologies and services.

Spirent Communications' award winning hardware and software applications are used by more than 2,500 of the world's leading network and terminal equipment manufacturers, network service providers, corporate enterprises and test laboratories to verify and measure the performance and services of networks and communications devices.

For more information on Spirent Communications or its products, visit the web site at www.spirentcom.com or call 800/927-2660.