SANTA CLARA, Calif., April 23, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Foundry Networks(r), Inc. (Nasdaq:FDRY), a performance and total solutions leader for end-to-end switching and routing, today announced an extension to the award-winning FastIron(r) Edge X Series of compact Layer 2/3 routing switches, with the introduction of the FastIron Edge XE Series routing switches. The FastIron Edge XE (FES-XE) boasts the industry's leading IPv4 and IPv6 hardware-based routing capacity in a compact 1.5 rack unit (RU) routing switch. Known for its rich set of networking services and features, the FastIron Edge X Series has been an extremely popular routing switch family for enterprises and service providers worldwide. The addition of the FastIron Edge XE routing switch series addresses the needs of organizations and service providers who have edge and aggregation routing demands that are nearing the capacities of their current infrastructure and require a scalable and future-ready edge solution.

The FES-XE series is available in three models including fiber and copper configurations and port densities of 24- and 48-ports. All three models are upgradeable with a two-port 10 gigabit Ethernet (10GbE) module.

Technical highlights of the FastIron Edge XE include:

 --  Expansive Routing Capacity
     - Industry's leading IPv4 and IPv6 routing capacity in compact
       1.5RU form factor
     - Support for up to 512,000 IPv4 and up to 64,000 IPv6 routes
       in hardware forwarding memory
     - Up to 1,000,000 BGP route advertisements in software for
       storing and processing multiple views of the full Internet
       routing table

 --  Wire-Speed Performance and Deep Packet Buffers
     - Offers up to 88 to 136 Mpps forwarding throughput
     - Independent IPv4 and IPv6 hardware forwarding tables
       eliminates potential processing conflicts and performance
       degradation
     - Non-blocking architecture for wire-speed throughput
     - 32MB ingress and 32MB egress packet buffers deliver maximum
       performance under high traffic loads - this capacity is
       unmatched in the industry for this product class

 --  Flexible Dual-stack IPv4/IPv6 Routing and Rich Layer 2 Feature
     Set
     - Rich routing protocol support
        - IPv4: RIPv1/v2, OSPF, BGP-4, PIM, IGMP, ECMP
        - IPv6: RIPng, OSPFv3, IPv6 Static Routing, IPv6-to-IPv4
          static tunneling to facilitate network transition and a
          range of IPv6 edge features including IPv6 extended
          ACLs
     - Advanced Layer 2 Features: Metro Ring Protocol (MRP),
       Virtual Switch Redundancy Protocol (VSRP), IEEE 802.1s, IEEE
       802.3ad, IGMP v2/v3 snooping, MLD v1/v2 snooping, and more

 --  Media Flexibility and 10GbE Upgradeability
     - Available in three configurations to meet various transport
       media and density requirements: 24-port hybrid fiber (SFP
       ports support 100 Mbps and 1000 Mbps pluggable SFP
       transceivers), 24-port 10/100/1000 Mbps copper and 48-port
       10/100/1000 Mbps copper
     - Field upgradeable 2-port 10GbE uplink with XFP optics

 --  Lower Total Cost of Ownership and Hot-swappable Redundant Power
     - Compact 1.5RU size saves rack space while providing the
       advanced Layer 2 and Layer 3 feature set of a chassis.
     - Hot-swappable, integral load-sharing redundant AC and DC
       power supplies maximize uptime and reduce rack space

The feature-rich and scalable FastIron Edge XE IPv4/IPv6 routing switch is an ideal edge solution for large enterprises, government organizations and service providers, including content delivery network operators, with dense edge and aggregation routing requirements.

"The success of IP in the Internet and enterprise networks has spurred dramatic increases in the number of IP endpoints in both environments," said Bob Schiff, vice president and general manager for Foundry's Enterprise Business Unit. "With the Internet routing table approaching a quarter million routes, existing infrastructure is being pushed to its limits. The FastIron Edge XE Series provides a compact and cost-effective solution to address an organization's immediate need with the headroom for future growth. Additionally, with its dual stack IPv4/IPv6 feature set, the FES-XE Series enables a graceful transition to IPv6. Designed for large scale growth and IPv6 migration, the FES-XE Series maximizes the return on investment through its ability to help organizations scale their networks on a platform that can adapt to tomorrow's changing requirements."

Availability and Pricing

The FastIron Edge XE series will be available May 2008 with U.S. list prices starting at $14,995.

About Foundry Networks

Foundry Networks, Inc. (Nasdaq:FDRY) is a leading provider of high-performance enterprise and service provider switching, routing, security and Web traffic management solutions, including Layer 2/3 LAN switches, Layer 3 Backbone switches, Layer 4-7 application switches, wireless LAN and access points, metro and core routers. Foundry's customers include the world's premier ISPs, metro service providers, and enterprises, including e-commerce sites, universities, entertainment, health and wellness, government, financial and manufacturing companies. For more information about the company and its products, call 1.888.TURBOLAN or visit www.foundrynet.com.

The Foundry Networks, Inc. logo is available at http://www.primenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=2756

Safe Harbor Statement

The foregoing may contain "forward-looking statements" which are based on management's current information and beliefs as well as on a number of assumptions concerning future events made by management. These forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements by executives or spokespeople regarding Foundry's positioning and potential plans. The forward-looking statements in this press release are only predictions and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially. Foundry assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. Furthermore, no statements made by Foundry Networks, Inc. ("Foundry") in this press release, or information contained herein, may be deemed to constitute either an amendment of an existing agreement or an implied new commitment, promise or legal obligation by Foundry to develop or deliver any specific product, feature or functionality. The development, release, and timing of any product, feature, or functionality described herein remains at Foundry's sole discretion.