HANNOVER, GERMANY -- Extreme Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: EXTR) and Soapstone Networks, an Avici Systems (NASDAQ: AVCI) business unit, today announced a showcase demonstrating dynamic Carrier Ethernet service provisioning. The demonstration highlights Soapstone´s PNC(TM) (Provider Network Controller), the industry´s only multi-vendor, multi-technology dynamic control plane, across an Extreme Networks® BlackDiamond® Provider Backbone Bridging - Traffic Engineering (PBB-TE) switch network at CeBIT, Hannover, Germany, March 4th through 9th.

Extreme Networks will showcase Ethernet switching solutions designed to give service providers an economical network infrastructure that is both deterministic and simple to deploy. This allows carriers to increase revenue per subscriber, expand market reach to grow top-line revenue, and improve end-user experience. Soapstone Networks will demonstrate its multi-vendor control plane which automates the entire service lifecycle. The automation provided by the PNC accelerates time to market for new services while reducing the operational impact of bringing on new customers.

"Our relationship with Extreme Networks is accelerating innovation for Carrier Ethernet services. The combination of Soapstone Networks external control plane and Extreme Networks Ethernet switching systems demonstrates our joint commitment to automate services and advance Carrier Ethernet solutions for enterprises and carriers," said Esmeralda Swartz, SVP Marketing and Business Development at Soapstone Networks.

The CeBIT demo will consist of the Soapstone PNC performing dynamic construction of services across a resilient PBB-TE network comprised of Extreme BlackDiamond switches as service and tunnel end-points. The demo will highlight unique PNC capabilities including Dynamic Service Provisioning (path computation and programming), Service Monitoring and Repair, and Network Operations support (Bridge-and-Roll).

1. Dynamic Service Provisioning. One of the main features of the PNC control plane is the dynamic provisioning of services across a multi-vendor network. In addition to simple, best-effort shortest path routing, the PNC performs path computations involving a variety of constraints and equipment limitations. In the demo, seamless provisioning of Extreme Networks´ switch end points by the PNC will be showcased.

2. Service Monitoring and Repair. After a network event (link/node/fiber failure) the network equipment responds in less than 50msec to provide service protection. After sub 50msec fail-over on the Extreme Networks switches through its path protection capabilities, the PNC which has a database of the network topology, determines which services were affected by the outage and creates new backup paths to ensure that the services remain protected.

3. Bridge-and-Roll. Provides network operations support by making it possible for customers to introduce new hardware or services seamlessly into a network or perform routine maintenance in an automated fashion. This capability allows customers to request the removal of nodes from active service without disruption to services. When a node is taken out of service by the customer, the PNC notices all of the affected services and for each service that is impacted, the PNC re-computes appropriate paths. As with any path selection, the Committed Information Rate (CIR) of each service is used in the path selection and no oversubscription occurs.

Extreme Networks Inc. (Nasdaq: EXTR)

Soapstone Networks Inc. (Nasdaq: SOAP)