Axerra Networks Announces the Next Generation of Layer 2 Access: Dry Martini Pseudo-Wire; A Full-Service Pseudo-Wire Solution for Carrier Ethernet, Cable HFC, and WiMAX

Business Wire, June 7, 2005

BOCA RATON, Fla. -- Axerra Networks, "The Pseudo-Wire Company(TM)" and the leading provider of circuit emulation and service emulation solutions, today announced its application of Dry Martini Pseudo-Wire, ushering in the next generation of Layer 2 access. Axerra's Dry Martini Pseudo-Wire preserves traditional business services and directly maps them onto Carrier Ethernet, Cable HFC, and WiMAX, eliminating the overhead and delay associated with IP and creating a full-service alternative to TDM access.

Axerra's Dry-Martini Pseudo-Wire solution eliminates the IP layer and maps traditional business services directly onto Ethernet / MPLS. The quality, security, and subscriber separation characteristics associated with traditional Layer 2 services are preserved. Latency is reduced to support traditional delay-sensitive applications. Overhead is cut by more than half, eliminating the requirement for voice compression which diminishes quality in services such as VoIP.

Axerra's Dry-Martini Pseudo-Wire solution is part of the standard feature set on the complete range of AXN Pseudo-Wire Gateways and Access Devices(TM) beginning with Release 2.4, available in August of this year. A key feature of Axerra's Dry Martini solution is "virtual concatenation," which furnishes additional quality enhancement, optimizes network utilization, and reduces latency for both circuit and packet / cell traffic.

Axerra's solution offers the most comprehensive set of Pseudo-Wire services in the industry, including Circuit Emulation Pseudo-Wire with dynamic bandwidth options, Frame Relay and HDLC Pseudo-Wires, ATM Pseudo-Wires, Ethernet Pseudo-Wires, and Legacy IP aggregation with Layer 2 separation providing security and QoS/COS over packet networks.

"Axerra's Dry Martini raises the bar in terms of Pseudo-Wire applications," states Steve Byars, Axerra's VP Marketing. "Finally, service providers can offer a complete set of both traditional and emerging business services over Layer 2 access infrastructures without stranding any service revenues."

With Axerra's Dry Martini Pseudo-Wires, cable MSOs can offer a uniform, comprehensive set of services to the customers they reach with either fiber or coax, furthering their ability to penetrate the commercial services and mobile wireless backhaul markets. Axerra's Pseudo-Wires also enable incumbent and competitive access providers to extend traditional services in native format over Carrier Ethernet, IP, and MPLS networks.

Axerra's Pseudo-Wire solutions are on display at SUPERCOMM 2005, June 7-9th in Chicago at the Axerra Networks booth (#25035), in the 10 Hottest Technologies Pavilion, and in the Metro Ethernet SuperDemo.

About Axerra Networks, Inc.

Axerra Networks is the leading provider of circuit emulation and service emulation solutions over packet access networks. Axerra's Pseudo-Wire solutions enable incumbent carriers, competitive service providers, mobile wireless operators, and cable MSOs to extend IP legacy voice and data services in native format over Ethernet, IP, and MPLS networks. The result is greater operational efficiency, new revenue opportunities, and a smooth migration strategy to a single converged network, without stranding any revenue streams from profitable legacy services. With Axerra's Pseudo-Wire solutions, service providers can convert any packet access network (Carrier Ethernet, broadband wireless including WiMAX, cable HFC, etc.) into a full-service alternative to TDM access. For more information, please visit: www.axerra.com.