ADVA OPTICAL NETWORKING QUALIFIES FOR DISASTER RECOVERY SOLUTIONS UNDER IBM'S TOTALSTORAGE PROVEN PROGRAM

Martinsried/Munich, Germany; Mahwah/New Jersey, USA. January 10, 2003. ADVA Optical Networking (German Neuer Markt: ADV), a leading global provider of optical networking solutions, today announced that it has successfully completed interoperability testing of its Fiber Service Platform (FSP) systems with IBM's TotalStorage Enterprise Storage Server (codenamed "Shark") using IBM's Peer-to-Peer Remote Copy Extended Distance (PPRC-XD) advance function capabilities. ADVA completed the interoperability testing of its solutions under IBM's TotalStorage Proven interoperability program.

The testing, conducted at IBM's labs, demonstrated the successful interoperability between ADVA's FSP 2000 and 3000 systems and the IBM Shark running PPRC-XD. IBM's PPRC-XD copies mission-critical data in real time to dedicated remote storage sites. ADVA's FSP systems significantly extend the distance capabilities and reduce the cost for data replication to remote storage sites by maximizing available bandwidth. Deployment of ADVA and IBM storage systems in a PPRC environment can help expand both the potential financial and performance benefits of disaster recovery solutions across metropolitan areas for enterprise customers.

"We have witnessed the growing deployments of PPRC for disk mirroring applications in large enterprise storage environments around the world," stated Brian P. McCann, Chief Marketing & Strategy Officer at ADVA Optical Networking. "Completion of this interoperability testing with IBM demonstrates to our current and future customers a high level of system performance and technical capability for the replication and back-up of our customers' mission-critical data."

IBM's TotalStorage Proven Program identifies specific third-party storage solutions for customers that have been pre-tested for interoperability with products in IBM's TotalStorage portfolio. ADVA is among a number of leading storage hardware, software, and middleware vendors who have completed interoperability testing since the program's introduction in early 2002. The TotalStorage Proven Program builds on IBM's extensive interoperability efforts to develop and deliver products and solutions that work together with third-party products, to help minimize potential difficulties in the deployment of storage networks.

"Customers today are demanding enhanced disaster recovery and data replication solutions with more bandwidth, greater service reliability, and increased distances across the metropolitan area," said Kathleen Smith, Vice President, Storage Solutions for IBM's Storage Systems Group. "The storage networking solutions from ADVA Optical Networking can help customers meet those requirements. ADVA's qualification in our TotalStorage Proven Program further demontrates IBM's focus on providing customers with solutions pre-tested for interoperability."

ABOUT ADVA OPTICAL NETWORKING
ADVA Optical Networking is a leading global provider of optical networking solutions for rapid and cost-effective provisioning of high-speed data, storage, voice, and video services in the metropolitan area. ADVA's carrier-class portfolio is comprised of the Fiber Service Platform family of products - explicitly designed to ensure the lowest total cost of ownership. ADVA's solutions have been deployed at over 68 carriers and service providers (including PTTs, RBOCs, LECs, and IXCs) and more than 500 enterprises worldwide. ADVA's products are sold through its own direct sales force and an international network of blue-chip distribution partners, which include Fujitsu Network Communications, Hitachi, INRANGE Technologies, and Siemens. Further information about ADVA Optical Networking: www.advaoptical.com.