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Foundry Introduces The First Modular Ethernet-Sonet WAN Transceiver For Seamless 10 Gigabit Ethernet Connections Between LAN, MAN And WAN

New Modular "WAN PHY" Enables Service Providers To Deliver High- Speed IP Services at a Fraction of the Cost of Previous-Generation SONET / OC-192 Technologies Using Existing SONET Infrastructure

San Jose, CA, November 8, 2004 - Foundry Networks®, Inc. (Nasdaq: FDRY) a performance and total solutions leader for end-to-end switching and routing, today announced it is offering the industry's first modular 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10-GbE) Wide Area Network Physical Layer (WAN PHY) optical transceiver. The new 10-GbE optic will help accelerate deployments of 10-GbE by enabling high-performance links between Local, Metro and Wide Area Networks (LAN, MAN and WAN) for bandwidth-intensive applications on existing SONET infrastructure.

Foundry's new 10GBASE-LW optic for Global WAN Transport (WAN PHY) offers a compelling alternative to SONET / OC-192 infrastructure because it delivers 10-GbE bandwidth at a fraction of the cost with higher performance, and with Ethernet's improved operational simplicity. With the WAN PHY optic, Ethernet frames are encapsulated in SONET frames at OC-192 rate (1310nm SMF for 10 km distances) making it an excellent solution for connecting to DWDM devices and for carrying native 10 Gigabit Ethernet over existing OC-192c networks.

"Availability of the 10-GbE WAN PHY will allow Ethernet to carry storage, voice, video and other business-critical application traffic at high-speed LAN rates while allowing both enterprise customers and service providers to create a consistent, high-speed network with simplified management," said Zeus Kerravala, vice president of research at The Yankee Group. "The growing performance and speed requirements of both enterprise servers with embedded Gigabit over Copper connectivity and WAN services will benefit from 10-GbE's ability to integrate public and private networks, resulting in unification of the LAN, MAN and WAN."

World's Longest Native 10-GbE Ethernet Connection

In October 2004, Foundry was one of several technology providers that cooperated with leading research organizations to create the world's longest native 10 Gigabit Ethernet connection, from the Japanese Data Reservoir project to the CERN research center in Geneva, Switzerland, spanning approximately 18,500 km and 17 time zones. The connection used 10 Gigabit Ethernet Foundry switches equipped with the new WAN PHY optics.

"The WAN PHY provided by Foundry was a key component in achievement of the world's longest native 10 Gigabit Ethernet connection in October 2004," said Dr. Kei Hiraki, professor at the University of Tokyo. "We plan to once again use the Foundry WAN PHY technology during the Supercomputing 2004 tradeshow to achieve high-bandwidth, transcontinental connections."

About Foundry Networks

Foundry Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: FDRY) is a leading provider of high-performance enterprise and service provider switching, routing, security and Web traffic management solutions, including Layer 2/3 LAN switches, Layer 3 Backbone switches, Layer 4-7 application switches, wireless LAN and access points, metro routers and core routers. Foundry's 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.foundrynet.com.

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