SAN JOSE, Calif. - OPTICON - ONI Systems Corp. (NASDAQ: ONIS), a leading provider of optical telecommunications systems for metropolitan and regional networks, today introduced its new interactive design feature, the first to enable carriers to plan, design and extend "in-service" optical networks. The interactive design feature is the latest capability within ONI's OPTX(TM) Software Suite, which will be demonstrated at OPTICON 2001 in San Jose, California, Booth #508. Network management and network design software have historically been separate and disconnected, requiring manual analysis for in-service extensions, adding cost and delays to the delivery of new service offerings. Now these functions are coordinated and interoperable via ONI's interactive design feature, which integrates OPTX Network Designer and OPTX Network Manager."The new interactive design capability within OPTX enables customers to automatically share data across design, planning and management functions for in-service extensions," said Teresa Engelhard, vice president, Software Solutions at ONI Systems. "This unique level of automation is yet another ONI innovation providing our customers with a competitive advantage for rapid service delivery."ONI Systems Inc.