Press Release

Pittsburgh, PA - September 10, 2001 - Laurel Networks, Inc., the first provider of high-performance service edge routers, today announced its participation in the Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) area of the InteropNet Labs (iLabs) at NetWorld+Interop 2001 Atlanta, at the Georgia World Congress Center September 9-14, 2001. The iLabs is NetWorld+Interop's test bed addressing advanced protocol development and vendor interoperability. It has been instrumental in the development of Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS), Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) and H.323 interoperability, as well as supporting development within the Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6), 1000BASE TX, IP Multicast and VPN technologies.

As a second-time iLabs participant, Laurel Networks will join multiple service provider equipment vendors in interoperability demonstrations focusing on MPLS-enabled services. Laurel's ST200™ service edge router will be part of interoperability testing of the IETF Draft Martini working document co-authored by Laurel technical leaders. Draft Martini describes a scalable and cost-effective method for delivering Layer 2 traffic, such as ATM, Frame Relay and Ethernet Private Line, over an MPLS backbone. Laurel's participation follows the company's announcement of the first Draft Martini compliant Multiservice over MPLS solution. Implemented on the ST200 service edge router, only Laurel's Multiservice over MPLS solution enables service providers to offer ATM, Frame Relay and Ethernet Private Line services, as well as Internet access, transit, peering and virtual private networks (VPNs), on a common platform. iLabs participants will also conduct MPLS/BGP VPN interoperability testing.

"Service providers are increasingly turning to MPLS-enabled devices, such as our ST200 service edge router, to enable new services including Ethernet Private Line and VPNs, while at the same time solving capacity constraint issues of their current ATM and Frame Relay networks," said Gerald DeGrace, vice president of product management, Laurel Networks, Inc. "The iLabs demo highlights the MPLS-enabled service capabilities of the ST200 service edge router as well as the increasing use of MPLS in service provider networks."

"The iLabs is at the vanguard of network development," says Eduardo Pinheiro, technical program manager for NetWorld+Interop. "Only here can you actually see a real-world demonstration of tomorrow's networking technologies today."

For more information about NetWorld+Interop, contact Jennifer Clark, public relations manager, at 650-372-6765 or Jennifer.clark@key3media.com. Additional up-to-date NetWorld+Interop information is available at www.interop.com.

About Laurel Networks
Laurel Networks is the first provider of high-performance service edge routers designed and developed specifically for the edge of IP/MPLS networks. Laurel's flagship ST200 service edge router includes the combination of features required to deliver high-value IP services, including: high-capacity routing and switching; rich bandwidth management functionality; and high-density, multi-service ports. Laurel Networks was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. For more information, visit www.laurelnetworks.com.

About NetWorld+Interop
NetWorld+Interop provides networking, Internet and telecommunications professional buyers with a uniquely comprehensive forum for education and hands-on products and services in order to make critical purchase decisions. NetWorld+Interop affords buyers from enterprises, carrier/service providers, and resellers/integrators the opportunity to experience live technology demonstrations firsthand. It's this focus on advanced, MultiFinder, multiprotocol, multi-service interoperability technologies and solutions that make NetWorld+Interop the definitive networking event.

About Key3Media
NetWorld+Interop is a Key3Media event. Key3Media Group, Inc., is the world's leading producer of information technology tradeshows and conferences, serving more than 6,000 exhibiting companies and 1.5 million attendees through 60 events in 18 countries. Key3Media's products range from the IT industry's largest exhibitions such as COMDEX and NetWorld+Interop to highly focused events featuring renowned educational programs, custom seminars and specialized vendor marketing programs. For more information about Key3Media, visit www.key3media.com.