BUSINESS WIRE

January 9, 2003; McLean, Virginia

Isocore announced it will undertake the first carrier-driven Generalized Multi Protocol Label Switching (GMPLS) interoperability testing in February at its Internetworking Lab.

Isocore has developed a phased approach to GMPLS interoperability testing based on input from carriers. Each phase will be tied to specific operational capabilities of interest to carriers. The first phase, which is scheduled for early February 2003, will focus on GMPLS-RSVP, with specific attention on basic protocol functionality consistent with connection management and survivability operations. It will also include OIF UNI interoperability. Subsequent phases will exercise greater protocol capabilities based on more elaborate and complex operational requirements from carriers.

GMPLS is a suite of control plane protocols for different types of transport networks. The value of GMPLS lies in the ability to substantially reduce the operational costs by automating various processes associated with transport service management.

The objectives of testing are: 1) To foster rapid adoption of the GMPLS technology in the commercial market, 2) validate the technology for deployment by carriers through demonstrating interoperability between products from different vendors in a realistic network testbed, and 3) help in progressing the IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force) standardization process relating to GMPLS.

The scope of testing for phase 1 was discussed in advance among the service providers and equipment vendors attending the Isocore Internetworking Lab's Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) meeting. This is the industry's primary forum for vendors and service providers to openly collaborate. The testbed consists of both optical and IP network elements and participants are major vendors in the optical and IP industry.

The purpose of Isocore's Internetworking Lab is to help advance Internetworking and promote new technologies through validation.

For more information about the Isocore's Internetworking Lab visit the web site at http://www.isocore.com.

Contact: Vincent Dean; (703) 556-4939 or vdean@isocore.com