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Michele Ostroski 888-200-ITOX, Ext.6101

ITOX Unveils New CT Platform Concept Using Switch Fabric Technology

LOS ANGELES, CA - October 22, 2001 - Itox® Applied Computing, a leading developer and manufacturer of Intel based applied computer platforms for the computer telephony marketplace today unveiled, at Intel® Communications TechSummit, a new Star Cluster CT platform concept that is implemented with state-of-the-art switch fabric technology. The advanced platform provides the unprecedented capability to expand PCI and H.100 based telephony platforms to over a thousand expansion cards and is compatible with most currently installed Intel open architecture telephony systems. The new concept is applicable to systems implemented with either passive backplanes or traditional motherboard architectures, and can easily be extended to address CompactPCI platforms. The interconnection of multiple processing and storage systems is also supported by Star Cluster.

"The availability of low cost high-speed Intel processors, the development of higher density I/O voice and data PC expansion cards, and implementation of the H.100 card-to-card bus, enable current systems to reliably service several hundred users. Today, CT system designs are envisioning open platform systems that need to economically scale up to service thousands of users. There are both technical and economic limitations that make it impossible to achieve this goal by merely extended the current hardware architectures," said John Matlock, President of ITOX. "Star Cluster offers this range of scalability, and does it in a way that enables users to add onto, rather than replace, existing hardware; in addition, users do not have to buy expansion capability up-front. It can extend both the PCI and H.100 buses to multiple chassis and racks without performance degradation. In fact, the Star Cluster concept provides advantages in compatibility and non-obsolescence of existing hardware, operating system ransparency, system scalability, performance, system availability, and cost that just aren't possible with other architectures," continued Matlock.

A switch fabric is a matrix of point-to-point interconnections where each end-point is connected to every other end-point through one or more switches. The multiple interconnections within the fabric provide redundant communications paths to assure high system availability. In a typical application, the ITOX Star Cluster uses a StarCard that fits into one of the standard PCI expansion slots in a typical Intel architecture PC. A second StarCard is placed in a passive backplane chassis that will contain expansion cards in excess of those that will fit into the existing PC. The two StarCards are then connected with a pair of standard Cat 5 LAN cables. Data is transferred across the StarMatrix at speeds up to 2.5 Gbps in each direction, and cables may be up to 5 meters in length. The system replicates the bus in each device and expansion cards are automatically recognized by the operating system as if they were physically located in the original chassis. Systems utilizing both PCI and H.100 expansion cards are expanded in a similar manner using two pairs of Cat 5 cables, H.100 driver software and an Itox StarSwitch. The full 2.5 Gbps bandwidth is available for data transmitted on each of the two types of buses. Shipments of the Star cluster products will begin in the first quarter of 2002.

The Star Cluster is based on StarFabric™ technology pioneered by StarGen™, Inc. Over 60 companies are collaborating on open specifications for the application of StarFabric to telecommunications systems under the auspices of the PCI Industrial Computer Manufacturing Group (PICMG).

ITOX (www.itox.com) is a leading developer and manufacturer of applied computer platforms for computer telephony applications, and is certified to ISO 9001 standards. It is a major supplier of PC computer platforms used in light industrial environments for server appliances, voice messaging, telecommunications, data acquisition, medical electronics, industrial control and security monitoring systems. ITOX is affiliated with DFI®, one of the world's top ten manufacturers of PC motherboards. Additional information about ITOX and the Star Cluster products are available on the ITOX web site.

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ITOX is a registered trademark of Itox, Inc. and DFI is a registered trademark of DFI,Inc. Intel is a registered trademark of Intel Corporation. StaGen and StarFabric are trademarks of StarGen, Inc.

About StarGen

StarGen (www.StarGen.com) is a fabless semiconductor company that is developing new switch fabric technology for the communications industry. The technology will benefit vendors of carrier and enterprise communication platforms for next generation voice, data, and video networks. Early adopters will include those building open standards based access/edge equipment such as Voice over Network gateways, DSLAMS, wireless base stations, cable headend systems, edge routers, and remote access concentrators. StarGen's technology will provide a dramatic increase in equipment performance, reliability, and Quality of Service while providing for the retention of existing standards-based hardware and software investment. Founded in February 1999, StarGen is funded by a group of prestigious venture capital companies, including Morgenthaler Ventures (www.morgenthaler.com), St. Paul Venture Capital (www.stpaulvc.com), Commonwealth Capital Ventures (www.ccvlp.com) and Bessemer Venture Partners (www.bessemervp.com). StarGen is headquartered in Marlborough Massachusetts.