Leading Chinese Media Company Deploys Force10 TeraScale E-Series to Power Online Gaming Services

Business Wire, Oct 9, 2007

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Force10 Networks([R]), the pioneer in building and securing reliable networks, today announced that Shanda Interactive Entertainment (Nasdaq:SNDA), a leading interactive media company in China, has deployed the TeraScale E-Series([R]) family of switch/routers to power its entertainment offerings, including massive multiplayer online role playing games (MMORPGs) and casual games. The Force10 TeraScale E-Series delivers the reliability, performance scalability and network control necessary to support Shanda's complex service offerings and rapid subscriber growth.

"Shanda supports more than 2.5 million peak concurrent players, and to maintain and grow our subscriber base, we must consistently provide a superior user experience," said Mr. Liang, vice president of the e-commerce department at Shanda Interactive Entertainment. "The Force10 E-Series enables us to differentiate our offerings on the quality of the gaming experience, giving our users the real-time interactions they demand."

The Force10 TeraScale E300 is at the foundation of Shanda's network, providing the flexible infrastructure to support the 18.5 million active paying subscribers to its online gaming applications. To protect against denial of service attacks that interrupt the gaming environments, Shanda utilizes Force10's unique Hot Lock access control lists (ACLs) that provide network managers with greater network control. With the ability to add or remove ACLs in real time without creating a security gap, the TeraScale E300 ensures that Shanda operates at maximum network availability. The three CPU architecture provides further protection against malicious attacks by isolating switching, routing and management functions within the system.

With its robust routing functions, the Force10 TeraScale E300 also allowed Shanda to simplify its network topology by collapsing multiple layers of the network in to a single one. Line-rate, non-blocking throughput across all ports delivers predictable performance regardless of traffic conditions or features in use, further increasing the arcade-like experience of Shanda's entertainment network.

"The accessibility of online gaming has spurred rapid growth in user numbers, forcing gaming operators to constantly upgrade their networks to ensure that user experience is not impacted by the growth," said Stephen Garrison, vice president of marketing at Force10 Networks. "The Force10 TeraScale E-Series delivers the reliable networking experience and flexibility online gaming companies like Shanda require to provide their users with a high quality, arcade-like gaming environment."

The Force10 Reliable Networking product portfolio powers some of the world's leading online gaming networks, including gaming portals such as NC Soft, Nexon and Neowiz in South Korea and Sega in Japan.

About Force10 Networks

Force10 Networks is a pioneer in building and securing reliable, high performance networks. With its no compromise approach to networking and advances in high density Gigabit and 10 Gigabit Ethernet switching, routing and security, Force10 delivers the innovative technologies that allow customers to transform their networks into strategic assets at the lowest total cost of ownership. For additional information, please visit www.force10networks.com.

Force10 Networks and E-Series are registered trademarks, and C-Series, P-Series, S-Series, TeraScale and FTOS are trademarks of Force10 Networks, Inc. All other company names are trademarks of their respective holders.