INTERCONNECTS

LAS VEGAS -- Foundry Networks(R), Inc. (NASDAQ:FDRY) , a performance and total solutions leader for end-to-end switching and routing, announced it is providing high speed 10-Gigabit Ethernet network infrastructure technology for InteropNet Labs (iLabs), a live test bed and perennial highlight of the Networld +Interop conference, held here this week. iLabs will use Foundry's high-performance BigIron(R) switches and NetIron(R) routers to provide network infrastructure for the test bed. Foundry also will provide network engineers to assist with training and application demonstrations including Metro Ethernet and Edge IP services. iLabs is designed to give conference attendees a hands-on, unbiased insight into the state of emerging technologies. iLabs is a 15-year old event representing a cross-section of the networking industry including research organizations, product developers, networking vendors, ISP/Carriers and enterprises. This year, iLabs will focus on wireless LAN security, IP storage networking and Multi-protocol Label Switching (MPLS). The iLabs networks demonstrate how quality-of-service network features can mesh infrastructure to provide definable end-to-end service. Foundry is also a member of the Advanced Internetworking Initiative (AII), a project within iLabs that demonstrates how Layer 2 and Layer 3 technologies can be implemented in the service provider backbone across different core technologies. One of the key aims of the AII is to demonstrate that MPLS is now stable, widely-deployed and interoperable across vendor implementations. The iLabs network uses Foundry's NetIron Metro router configured with Gigabit Ethernet over Copper and fiber connections. NetIron routers are designed to power broadband networking services for service providers, and offer a seamless migration path from a Layer 2 Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) to a full IP-based MPLS infrastructure. The iLabs network also uses Foundry's Layer 3 Backbone Switches with 3-10 Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) interfaces and 8-1GbE interfaces for wire-speed IP routing.