VIPswitch QoS IP MAN Switch Claims Finalist Prize in Best of Show Awards at NetWorld + Interop 99 Atlanta

Business Wire, Sept 23, 1999

MONTREAL--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 23, 1999--

VIPswitch was chosen by Data Communications and InternetWeek editors as a finalist in the Best of Show Awards in the Enterprise Network Infrastructure category at NetWorld Interop 99 Atlanta.

The new QoS IP MAN switch was introduced at NetWorld Interop and is the industry's first Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) WAN/LAN QoS Ethernet switch. The switch comes with built-in QoS WAN connectivity ports and integrated WAN/LAN functions such as firewall, trunking and routing to allow QoS between the WAN and the LAN - all in one easy to install unit. This Layer 5 8-48 port Autosensing switch is available with ISDN, T1 and/or DSL options. The QoS IP MAN Switch GUARANTEES QoS for all streaming and multimedia applications on IP WANs and LANs at half the cost of other's best efforts QoS schemes.(a)

"This Best of Show Finalist award, in addition to the other industry awards VIPswitch has won in the last 12 months, positions VIPswitch as a major player in the marketplace," stated Luc Beaubien, President & CEO. "It further confirms what network users & managers have already recognized that VIPswitch has an unequalled, powerful, affordable & practical QoS solution that is easy to install and maintain. There are significant cost-saving benefits of implementing a converged network (Video, Voice & Data) using VIPswitch's solutions."

"All of the Finalists were chosen based on a rigorous evaluation process," said Lee Keough, Editor-in-chief for Data Communications and head of the editorial judging team for the Best of Show Awards. "We picked VIPswitch and the VIPswitch QoS IP MAN switch because we believe it's one of the most innovative solutions in the Enterprise Network Infrastructure category."

About the QoS IP MAN switch

This high performance QoS IP MAN Switch GUARANTEES end to end QoS within and between LANs and WANs for both Service Providers & network Managers. The QoS IP MAN switch also guarantees Network Managers that applications that are currently on the network will remain unaffected by the introduction of any and all H.323/RTP compliant streaming and multimedia applications (up to the rated capacity of the network). VIPswitch's parallel processing technology has the ability to look at each packet up to Layer 5 and determine if it is a time sensitive packet. If the packet is a multimedia packet, it is automatically prioritized with QoS. The QoS IP MAN Switch supports real-time or differed, interactive or broadcast IP Video & Audio whose quality can equal that of POTS, CATV or dedicated video conferencing facilities.

The non-blocking architecture of the QoS IP MAN switch increases overall thru-put to near 100%. This Plug-&-Play scalable MAN switch perfectly integrates with the different H.323 gateways and gatekeepers on the market. It is a performance enhancer to all H.323 systems and is fully compatible with existing software, hardware and networks by Cisco, Nortel, 3Com and Lucent. The VIPswitch QoS IP MAN switch provides the key infrastructure piece in the deployment of CTI, VoIP or desktop videoconferencing collaborative tools throughout the enterprise.

"Network Managers and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) now have an integrated, standards based, WAN/LAN, guaranteed QoS solution that meets their current and future integrated IP multimedia requirements", continues Luc Beaubien.

About the Best of Show Awards

The Best of Show Product Awards Program is designed to help end-users evaluate the new product offerings, which debut at NetWorld Interop 99 Atlanta. The editors of Data Communications and InternetWeek, two of CMP Media's premiere networking publications, scour the industry and show floor evaluating hundreds of new products, selecting Finalists that have unique or value-added product solutions.

About VIPswitch

VIPswitch Inc. is a leading developer of enterprise wide QoS IP networks and switches that allow the integration of multimedia and conventional data on the same network wire. VIPswitch Inc. is in partnership with a leading venture capital firm, TechnoCap. This privately owned company has sales offices in Montreal and Boston. Additional information is available at www.VIPswitch.com.

(a) The Cost of Policy Management, side bar, Data Communications magazine, April 1999

VIPswitch is a registered trademark of VIPswitch Inc.

VIPswitch 160, VIPswitch 360, VIPswitch 1600, VIPswitch 3240, VIPswitch IP LAN/WAN switch and the VIPswith QoS IP MAN switch are proprietary trademarks of VIPswitch.

All other trademarks are property of their respective companies.