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Solarflare Communications and SMC Networks Team-Up to Deliver High-Performance, Standards-Compliant 10 Gigabit Networking Solutions - Including a New 10GBASE-T Product Line - for Data Center and Enterprise Networks

Posted on: Monday, 12 March 2007, 12:00 CDT

IRVINE, Calif., March 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Solarflare(R) Communications, a leading provider of high-performance Ethernet silicon, and SMC(R) Networks announced today that SMC will incorporate Solarflare PHY and controller silicon components in its standards-based networking products. Among the first products that SMC will launch based on Solarflare components is a family of 10 Gigabit NIC products, which it expects to introduce in the first half of this year. That first wave of products will include SMC 10GBASE-T switches based on Solarflare's 10Xpress(R) PHY, SMC 10G optical server adapters based on Solarflare's Solarstorm(TM) controller silicon, and SMC 10GBASE-T server adapters based on both Solarstorm and 10Xpress. These products will enable the economical adoption of high-performance 10 Gigabit infrastructures this year.

Ideal for use in data center, enterprise workgroup, 1G switch aggregation and small backbone environments, 10GBASE-T brings the performance benefits of 10 Gigabit networking, with the cost-savings inherent in copper-based networking. Applications that drive the need for higher bandwidth include high-performance computing; Web 2.0 application support; multimedia -- content creation and distribution; storage -- converged fabrics using the iSCSI protocol and storage area networking; and server virtualization -- where multiple virtual machines sometimes with heterogeneous operating systems run in isolation on the same physical server.

Seamus Crehan, senior director of Ethernet Switching at the Dell'Oro Group stated, "In our 5-year forecast report on 10 Gigabit Ethernet, we expect port shipments will increase from 300K to almost 12M in 2011. With the advent of 10GBASE-T, we expect 10 Gigabit Ethernet to be a viable and cost effective option for higher volume applications for enterprise and data center networks."

10 Gigabit Ethernet on twisted pair copper will more than halve the cost of 10G links, by enabling higher port density, as well as transceivers that can follow a Moore's Law curve of cost reduction. 10GBASE-T will also support the plug-and-play simplicity of RJ-45 interconnects and twisted pair copper cabling.

"SMC continues to demonstrate our commitment to 10 Gigabit networking through this new partnership with Solarflare, making ours the most comprehensive set of standards-based 10G networking products," said Tony Stramandinoli, vice president of marketing for SMC Networks. "This partnership allows us to offer another alternative for 10 Gigabit, standards-based networking with a 10G Ethernet over copper (10GBASE-T) product line that will make it possible for more companies to make the move to 10G in high-demand areas."

Solarflare is the only company delivering standards-compliant 100 meter 10GBASE-T PHYs as well as the industry's lowest-power, highest-performance 10 Gigabit Ethernet controllers, which operate at just 2.2 watts, setting the bar for low power. "Working together, SMC and Solarflare will deliver the standards-compliant products necessary to drive the adoption of 10G Ethernet, not just at the physical layer, but all the way up the networking stack," said Russell Stern, president and chief executive officer of Solarflare. "This strategic partnership will accelerate application and OS performance through low cost and simple hardware and software solutions. It will enable the adoption of cost-effective, low-power, and efficient 10GBASE-T infrastructures this year."

About SMC Networks

SMC(R) Networks puts its more than 30 years' experience to work in every product and solution the company manufactures. Leveraging strong industry relationships in combination with experienced and talented in-house design and engineering, SMC continues to bring to market a host of affordable, high-performance, easy to use products. Committed to bringing the technology that keeps information moving to its customers, SMC introduced its first 10 Gigabit networking solutions in 2005, and continues to broaden its offerings in the 10G space. For more information about SMC's newest line of 10 Gigabit Ethernet products, or any of the company's other solutions for efficient networking, visit http://www.smc.com/, or call 800-SMC-4YOU (800-762-4968).

About Solarflare Communications, Inc.

Solarflare Communications Inc. is a leading silicon vendor delivering Ethernet products that enable the rapid adoption of 10 Gigabit for data center and enterprise networks. Solarflare was the first company to demonstrate and sample to customers a 10GBASE-T PHY reaching 100 meters over a Category 6A link. The company's high-performance Ethernet solutions will lower the cost of 10 Gigabit networking for data center and enterprise customers. The privately held company is headquartered in Irvine, California with a development center in Cambridge, UK. For more information, visit http://www.solarflare.com/.

Solarflare Communications, Inc.; SMC Networks

CONTACT: Sacha Arts of Slider & Associates, +1-408-356-3099,sacha@sliderassociates.com, for Solarflare Communications, Inc.; or KimberlyMaxwell of NetPR, +1-850-835-2694, kimberly@netpr.net, for SMC Networks

Web site: http://www.smc.com/

Web site: http://www.solarflare.com/

Source: PRNewswire

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