INTERCONNECTS

Force10 Networks today announced that it will demonstrate an industry leading 44 line-rate 10 Gigabit Ethernet ports in a single chassis while supporting nearly a terabit per second of network traffic during the SuperComputing 2004 conference. The Force10 TeraScale E1200 switch/router will provide the 10 Gigabit Ethernet connectivity and aggregation for SCinet, the conference's production-quality network that connects exhibition spaces with the world's leading high performance computing networks for the annual Bandwidth Challenge, a competition to obtain record levels of network throughput. "This year's conference will showcase a significant advance in high performance computing technology as multiple Terabytes of traffic are processed over the course of the show," said Andrew Feldman, vice president of marketing at Force10 Networks. "The TeraScale E-Series is the only system in the world that can offer the bandwidth and port density in a single system necessary to support a network with the reach and throughput of SCinet." The Force10 TeraScale E-Series is at the core of SCinet, SuperComputing 2004's high performance network that enables real-time demonstrations and provides access to global networks spanning from the National University of Sciences and Technology in Pakistan to Northwestern University in Illinois. SCinet will bring 17 Ten Gigabit Ethernet circuits into the show floor, with most of the traffic running through the Force10 TeraScale E1200. The TeraScale E1200, with its industry-leading 10 Gigabit Ethernet port density, will serve as the interconnection and aggregation point for StorCloud, the conference's on-demand high performance storage area network, exhibitor spaces and outside networks, providing the throughput and capacity to process 150 billion bits per second in a single system. SCinet also hosts the Bandwidth Challenge competition, an annual contest to obtain record levels of network throughput in support of a scientific research application. Participants in the Bandwidth Challenge will use the SCinet infrastructure to demonstrate practical high performance computing applications that require a significant amount of throughput. The Force10 TeraScale E-Series supports an unprecedented 672 line-rate, non-blocking Gigabit and 56 line-rate, non-blocking 10 Gigabit Ethernet ports in a single chassis. And with the capacity to process one billion packets per second, the TeraScale E-Series is the industry's first Terabit switch/router. With the highest throughput and capacity in the industry, the Force10 TeraScale E1200 can process more traffic in a single system, simplifying network topologies. Fewer systems require less power, cooling, space, engineering support and cabling, reducing operational costs. Additionally, fewer systems reduce capital expenditures and simplify management. The TeraScale E-Series will be on display in Force10's booth, #1335. Independent testing and analysis reports on the TeraScale E-Series are available at http://www.force10networks.com. SuperComputing 2004 is the world's leading conference on high performance computing, networking and storage. The annual conference brings representatives from many technical communities together to exchange ideas, celebrate past successes and plan for the future. The SuperComputing 2004 conference runs from Nov. 8-12, 2004, at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh. Background: Force10 Networks is the pioneer in high performance switching and routing. Based on a revolutionary system architecture that delivers best-in-class resiliency and massive scalability, Force10's TeraScale E-Series switch/routers ensure predictable application performance, increase network availability, and reduce operating costs. Today, many of the world's largest Gigabit Ethernet and 10 Gigabit Ethernet networks depend on Force10 Networks. For additional information, please visit the company's website at www.force10networks.com.