INTERCONNECTS

Foundry Networks, Inc. a performance and total solutions leader for end-to-end switching and routing, today announced support for wire-speed IPv6 and related hardware enhancements for the NetIron 40G (NI 40G) router and BigIron MG8 (BI MG8) switch, the company's Terabit-class 10-Gigabit Ethernet (10-GbE) platforms for Service Providers and Enterprise organizations, respectively. Additionally, Foundry announced high-density 60-port Gigabit Ethernet over Copper (GoC) modules for the BigIron MG8 platform, delivering a scalable switching solution to 1,440 Gigabit Ethernet ports in a standard 7' rack. The new IPv4/IPv6 Terathon line modules for Foundry's flagship Terabit-capacity 10-Gigabit Ethernet router and switch, the NetIron 40G and BigIron MG8, provide wire-speed forwarding and security control for both IPv4 and IPv6, including IP multicast. The NetIron 40G and BigIron MG8, when configured with these modules, deliver up to 480 Million packets per second wire-speed IPv4 and IPv6 routing and switching, establishing the industry-leading benchmark for 10-Gigabit Ethernet multiservice routers and switches. The new IPv4/IPv6 line modules are optimized for IPv4 and IPv6 packet formats and deliver wire-speed performance for both protocols. Each NetIron 40G line module supports as many as 512,000 IPv4 routes (four times the size of the Internet today) or 128,000 IPv6 routes in the module's pre-populated forwarding engine. In addition, the NetIron 40G system supports millions of BGP routes providing flexibility and scalability for the largest network operators. Each BigIron MG8 line module supports up to 256,000 IPv4 routes or 64,0000 IPv6 routes in the module's pre-populated forwarding engine, and up to one million BGP routes. This scalability will accommodate the needs of even the largest enterprise networks. Foundry's IPv6 solution supports a full suite of unicast and multicast services and protocols including IPv4 to IPv6 transitioning technologies to support the co-existence of the two protocols. Most enterprise and service providers require a solution that allows IPv6 and IPv4 applications and networks to interoperate. The industry has taken great care to address this requirement and has standardized techniques such as dual-stack operation and 6to4 tunneling to facilitate the transition. These technologies are supported in Foundry's IPv6 solution. Foundry will demonstrate wire-speed IPv6 routing of 480 Million packets per second on 32 10-Gigabit Ethernet ports at the NetWorld + Interop tradeshow which opens next week in Las Vegas, Nevada (May 9 - 14, 2004). It is expected to be the highest-performance IPv6 routing ever demonstrated. Foundry first introduced IPv6 support in early 2003 on its NetIron 4802 Metro Ethernet router. The NetIron 4802 is part of the MOONv6 multi-vendor IPv6 interoperability test network that is deployed nationwide. In addition to the new NetIron 40G and BigIron MG8 IPv4/IPv6 modules, Foundry delivers IPv6 solution in its entire IronCore(TM) and JetCore(TM) modular product lines, as well as its FastIron Edge switches, protecting the investment of its customers. "IPv6 has been widely accepted as the future direction for IP networking," said Yankee Group analyst Zeus Kerravala. "By making wire-speed IPv6 core solutions today, Foundry is providing customers with the investment protection of a solution that allows them to gracefully migrate to IPv6." 60-port Gigabit Ethernet Modules for the BigIron MG8 Switch The new BigIron MG8 60-port Gigabit Ethernet modules add new flexibility to the BigIron MG8 platform. The BigIron MG8 can now support as many as 480 Gigabit Ethernet over copper (10/100/1000) ports in a single system and 1,440 Gigabit Ethernet ports in a standard 7' rack. This capacity establishes the BigIron MG8 as the highest density Gigabit Ethernet solution in the industry. The Importance of IPv6 IPv6 is universally accepted as the protocol that will power the next generation Internet. IPv6 provides significant improvements over IPv4 in key areas including address scalability and portability, network security, multicast support and mobile IP architecture and performance. Additionally, the U.S. Department of Defense has mandated that all government networks transition to IPv6 by 2008. Network operators outside of the U.S. are accelerating their IPv6 deployments to accommodate their rapid growth and the pressing need for more scalable IP addressing. "Some of our domestic and international customers have made IPv6 a top priority in their network build-outs," said Bobby Johnson, president and CEO of Foundry Networks. "Many others as well have IPv6 on their planning horizon. With the introduction of wire-speed IPv4/IPv6 modules to our Terathon(TM) products, these customers now have a seamless solution for transitioning their core Gigabit Ethernet and 10-Gigabit Ethernet networks while maintaining full IPv4 interoperability and without compromising security or application performance." The BigIron MG8 is Foundry's non-blocking 1.28 Tbps switch for enterprise applications requiring high-density Gigabit Ethernet and 10-Gigabit Ethernet including high-speed enterprise backbones, converged campus networks, supercomputing clusters, grid computing and storage networks. The NetIron 40G is Foundry's carrier-class non-blocking 1.28 Tbps Ethernet multiservice router designed for service providers who need a complete, robust set of IPv4 and IPv6 routing protocols including BGP, OSPF and IS-IS for Internet-grade routing. Both chassis-based products leverage Foundry's fourth generation Terathon switching ASICs, which feature wire-speed routing and switching and a non-blocking architecture to enable the next generation of enterprise and service provider networks. The two systems support hitless failover with non-stop forwarding, extensive scalability, granular bandwidth management and secure network and management access. The NetIron 40G and the BigIron MG8 are the highest performance Ethernet products in their respective markets. The NetIron 40G supports configurations up to 32 wire-speed 10-Gigabit Ethernet ports and 320 wire-speed 1-Gigabit Ethernet ports in a single system (and 96 10-GbE ports and 960 1-GbE ports in a standard 7' rack). The BigIron MG8 supports configurations up to 32 wire-speed 10-Gigabit Ethernet ports and 480 1-Gigabit Ethernet ports in a single system (and 96 10-GbE ports and 1,440 1-GbE ports in a standard 7' rack). Pricing and Availability NetIron 40G IPv4/IPv6 Modules -- NI40G-1Gx40-GC-v6, 40-port 1-GbE IPv4/v6 module with RJ-45 connectors US List -- $49,495, Availability -- May, 2004 -- NI40G-1Gx40-SFP-v6, 40-port 1-GbE IPv4/v6 module with SFP pluggable media US List -- $54,995, Availability -- May, 2004 -- NI40G-10Gx2-v6, 2-port 10-GbE IPv4/v6 module with XENPAK pluggable media US List -- $38,495, Availability -- May, 2004 -- NI40G-10Gx4-v6, 4-port 10-GbE IPv4/v6 module with XENPAK pluggable media US List -- $54,995, Availability -- May, 2004 -- BigIron MG8 IPv4/IPv6 Modules -- BIMG8-1Gx40-GC-v6, 40-port 1-GbE IPv4/v6 module with RJ-45 connectors US List -- $44,995, Availability -- July, 2004 -- BIMG8-1Gx60-GC-v6, 60-port 1-GbE IPv4/v6 module with RJ-45 connectors US List -- $44,995, Availability -- July, 2004 -- BIMG8-1Gx40-SFP-v6, 40-port 1-GbE IPv4/v6 module with SFP pluggable media US List -- $49,995, Availability -- July, 2004 -- BIMG8-10Gx2-v6, 2-port 10-GbE IPv4/v6 module with XENPAK pluggable media US List -- $44,995, Availability -- July, 2004 -- BIMG8-10Gx4-v6, 4-port 10-GbE IPv4/v6 module with XENPAK pluggable media US List -- $47,495, Availability -- July, 2004 -- BIMG8-v4-v6-Upgrade, Upgrade for IPv4 module to IPv4/IPv6 module US List -- $3,495, Availability -- July, 2004 Foundry Networks, Inc. is a leading provider of high-performance enterprise and service provider switching, routing and Web traffic management solutions including Layer 2/3 LAN switches, Layer 3 Backbone switches, Layer 4 - 7 Web switches, Wireless LAN and access points, and Metro Routers. Foundry's 6,800 customers include the world's premier ISPs, Metro service providers, and enterprises including e-commerce sites, universities, entertainment, health and wellness, government, financial, and manufacturing companies. For more information about the company and its products, call 1.888.TURBOLAN or visit www.foundrynetworks.com.