Optical Switch Demonstrates Industry's First Transparent Compactpci Module At Nfoec 2001 - Optical Switch's Kaleidoscope - Company Business and Marketing

EDP Weekly's IT Monitor, July 23, 2001

Optical Switch, a provider of transparent optical switching products and microphotonics products and services, has announced the expansion of its Kaleidoscope(TM) product line with the industry's first transparent, CompactPCI(R) module -- the Kaleidoscope(TM) 16x1 CompactPCI(R) module. Optical Switch will demonstrate the new module at NFOEC 2001 in Booth #6153 at the Baltimore Convention Center, July 8-12, 2001.

Based on state-of-the-art packaging standards, the Kaleidoscope(TM) 16x1 CompactPCI(R) module acts as an easy-to-use, plug-and-play solution, allowing service providers to remotely monitor and test the health of their networks. By combining the power of low-cost PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) silicon with advanced optical technologies, the module provides customers with a cost-effective testing mechanism that can be deployed in a variety of settings, including central offices, unmanned wiring centers and even portable test sets. In addition, the Kaleidoscope(TM) 16x1 CompactPCI(R) module can also help OEM customers improve the overall efficiency of their supply chain management and manufacturing operations by expediting the module directly into finished goods inventory.

Optical Switch's live demonstration at NFOEC will highlight a Kaleidoscope(TM) 16x1 CompactPCI(R) module, providing optical switching functions with insertion loss levels of 0.6 dB and repeatability levels of -- 0.03 dB. By offering unparalleled insertion loss and repeatability levels, the new module ensures consistent network performance across a wide range of environmental conditions.

"Today's network and system operators are demanding solutions that will result in maximum returns from their fiber investments. By packaging our Kaleidoscope(TM) 16x1 module in accordance with the increasingly popular CompactPCI(R) technology, we are meeting customer requirements for the development of highly reliable and easy-to-deploy optical solutions," said Jeremy Chappell, vice president of business development at Optical Switch.

The Kaleidoscope(TM) 16x1 CompactPCI(R) module is available at a list price of $4585.

The new module is currently available with drivers for Windows NT(R) and VxWorks(R).

CompactPCI(R) is a specification for PCI-based industrial computers that combines the power of low-cost PCI silicon and software with the rugged Eurocard packaging popularized by the VME bus. Revision 3.0 of the CompactPCI(R) Core Specification incorporates features from PICMG's Hot Swap and Computer Telephony specifications, such as pin sequencing. It also adds 66 MHz operation with up to five peripheral slots, support for Hot Swap at 3.3-volt signaling levels, and a reservation of pins for system management functions.

The Kaleidoscope(TM) product line offers a range of 1xN and Nx1 optical switches, with up to 32 ports. These enable the pooling of premium test equipment and resources, such as OTDR (Optical Time Domain Reflectrometry) systems, that may be shared across a bundle of fibers in a non-disruptive manner. The Kaleidoscope(TM) switching technology, based upon free space conformal optics with an active loop control system, enables high levels of repeatability and low levels of insertion loss required by the demanding fiber optic test and measurement sector.

Optical Switch designs and manufactures optical switching modules and subsystems, integrated into OEM customers' high-performance, carrier-grade switching products. The company's Kaleidoscope(TM) and FiberKey(TM) switch families, produced in its two U.S. manufacturing facilities, offer industry leading repeatability and low levels of insertion loss. A wide range of high-resolution microphotonics contract patterning services is also available for various telecommunications, optics and display applications, including phase masks for the production of fiber Bragg gratings used in DWDM systems, and gratings used for DFB and tunable lasers. As an experienced high volume manufacturing organization, Optical Switch uses advanced supply chain management techniques to ensure virtual vertical integration for on-time fulfillment and ease of implementation. For more information, call (469) 330-1400 or visit the Optical Switch Web site at www.opticalswitch.com.