SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Vitesse Semiconductor Corp. (Nasdaq:VTSS - News) today announced interoperability of its TeraStream® Intelligent Switch Fabric with the Intel® IXP2800 Network Processor, giving system designers an ideal combination of proven silicon products that provide an optimized solution for 2.5Gbps and 10Gbps packet switching. Applications for this product combination include metro routers, multi-service switches, enterprise backbones, storage area networks, and 3G wireless gateways.

The companies have again successfully utilized a standards-based interface to combine the Vitesse TeraStream Intelligent Switch Fabric with the Intel® IXP2800 Network Processor. Their first success was with Vitesse's GigaStream(TM) and Intel's IXP2400 Network Processor. Comprehensive interoperability across the product lines implemented at the software, physical and functional levels reduces overall system development investment and expedites time-to-market for OEMs.

"At this year's N+I switch fabric session, the audience agreed that 'proven interoperability' with adjacent silicon devices was the most important aspect of any merchant switch fabric," said Eric M. Mantion, senior analyst with In-Stat/MDR. "With this announcement, Intel and Vitesse are embracing this mandate and demonstrating ways to truly satisfy the time-to-market demands that many networking equipment providers are beginning to feel as we move from a market decline into a market recovery. Their further commitment to Advanced Switching will only serve to further accelerate how tomorrow's equipment makers will create tomorrow's products."

The continuing focus for Vitesse is to provide a complete switching solution that maximizes performance while reducing system development complexity and removing extraneous costs. The companies' adoption of the Advanced Switching specification for the PCI-Express interconnect architecture in its future switch fabric products will offer customers an open standard for packet interconnect to be used on next-generation modular communication platforms.

"In less than one year, Vitesse and Intel have used a standards-based interface to deliver two packet switching solutions for 2.5Gbps and 10Gbps applications. This interoperability provides solutions that were previously non-existent in the industry between switch fabric and network processor vendors," said Simon Keeton, product line director for Vitesse's Intelligent Switch Fabrics. "Vitesse is committed to offering customers vital advantages in technology reuse, cost savings, and time-to-market, with solutions available today and next-generation solutions based on Advanced Switching for the PCI-Express interconnect architecture."

Vitesse will demonstrate a 10Gbps example design platform of the Vitesse TeraStream fabric interface working with the Intel IXDP2800 Development Platform during the Intel Developer Forum, September 16-18, 2003, in booth #208. White papers and other marketing collateral will also be available during the show for this example design as well as for the Vitesse GigaStream and Intel IXDP2400 Development Platform operating at 2.5Gbps.

"The combination of the Vitesse and Intel products has resulted in a solution that can reduce system development costs and decrease time-to-market for customers needing 2.5Gbps or 10Gbps packet switching applications," said Doug Davis, general manager, Intel Network Processor Division.

Vitesse Semiconductor Corp.

Intel Corp.