SANTA CLARA, Calif. and MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., March 3, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Foundry Networks(r), Inc. (Nasdaq:FDRY), a performance and total solutions leader for end-to-end switching and routing, today announced Val Oliva, director of product management for Foundry Networks' Enterprise Business Unit, was elected president for the Ethernet Alliance organization. Previously the Ethernet Alliance's board secretary, Oliva remains on the board while he takes on this new position. He also continues to lead the alliance's committee for Power over Ethernet (PoE) and Power over Ethernet Plus (PoE Plus).
The Ethernet Alliance is a consortium of system and component vendors, industry experts, and university and government professionals who are committed to the continued success and expansion of Ethernet technology. The consortium's mission is to promote industry awareness, acceptance, and advancement of technology and products based on both existing and emerging IEEE 802 Ethernet standards and their management. As a founding member of the Alliance, Foundry Networks plays a key role in promoting the acceptance and reducing the time-to-market of Ethernet-based solutions by supporting the advancement of existing and emerging Ethernet technologies.
In addition to governance responsibilities in the Ethernet Alliance, Oliva chairs the PoE/PoE Plus Committee. The PoE/PoE Plus Committee focuses on educating enterprise customers about Power over Ethernet, the 802.3af standard and the upcoming PoE Plus standard called 802.3at. Underlining the significance of the technology, the Dell'Oro Group predicts that the PoE port count is expected to grow from 45 million ports in 2007 to 145 million ports in 2011.
"It's an honor and a humbling experience to be elected as president of the Ethernet Alliance," said Val Oliva, director of product management for Foundry Networks. "Foundry, one of the leaders in advanced Ethernet networking solutions, believes in leading the continued development, education and acceptance of Ethernet standards. Through the alliance's continued efforts with other leading vendors in the industry, we will continue to advance the inherent benefits Ethernet provides enterprises and service providers alike."
"Val Oliva is a key member who influences the direction of the Ethernet Alliance and is a solid supporter of our strategic goals," said Brad Booth, chairman for the Ethernet Alliance. "We are honored to have Val Oliva as our new president and look forward to his continued leadership in the organization."
About Ethernet Alliance
The Ethernet Alliance is dedicated to promoting industry awareness, acceptance, and advancement of technology and products based on existing and emerging IEEE 802 Ethernet standards. The organization's mission is to accelerate industry adoption and remove barriers to market entry by providing a cohesive, market-responsive industry voice on IEEE 802 Ethernet projects. For more information about the Ethernet Alliance, visit www.ethernetalliance.org.
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.
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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, press release content or statements by executives or the Dell'Oro Group's prediction of PoE port growth. 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.