Enterasys Delivers New NetSight Network Management Software Suite

ANDOVER, MA--(Marketwire - September 17, 2007) - Enterasys Networks Inc., the Secure Networks Company™, announced today the worldwide availability of NetSight® 3.0, the latest version of its management software suite for centralized visibility and control of heterogeneous enterprise networks.

This major new release of the NetSight suite significantly enhances the client/server architecture, adds multiple ease-of-use features, and scales to match the needs of the smallest to the largest enterprise networks. NetSight spans the functionality gap between simple element manager applications and complex enterprise management platforms. Centralized visibility and control is provided for security-enabled network infrastructure components, advanced security appliances, and Secure Networks™ policy solutions. NetSight enables organizations to manage their network as a cohesive whole, rather than as a disparate set of individual devices.

"We rely on NetSight to provide the visibility and control needed to manage our large, distributed campus network of more than 17,000 users in 120 different locations," said Fritz Buetikofer, senior IT manager for the University of Bern in Switzerland. "Release 3.0 builds on the superb performance we rely on and makes it even easier to install, manage and update. This enables us to manage our network with a small staff and still provide secure connectivity to faculty, students and staff."

New management applications available with NetSight 3.0 include Policy Control Console and NetSight Network Access Control Manager.

"Policy based access control and user specific audit capability are increasingly important components of network and systems management," said Andrew Braunberg, Research Director for Enterprise Security and Software at Current Analysis. "Today's solutions must address the critical need of providing complete network visibility and a simplified, yet fine grained, approach to controlling access to network resources."

Policy Control Console

This powerful, easy-to-use network policy tool enables authorized non-technical individuals to enable/disable network usage policies to address on-demand needs in conference rooms, classrooms and other shared use locations. An intuitive web interface provides direct control over who can access which network applications and resources within a defined area for a specified time period. This is particularly useful in education environments where an instructor may need to restrict access to particular networked applications during class.

One of the first customers to deploy Policy Control Console is Bentley College in Waltham, Mass. "Bentley needed a solution to give professors the ability to control the communications environment in their classrooms, without compromising campus-wide security or burdening the IT team with additional tasks," said Todd Marsh, principal network engineer for Bentley College. "Enterasys NetSight Policy Control Console is a great fit for us because it provides a simple interface that enables authorized teaching staff to dynamically block Internet, instant messaging (IM) and peer-to-peer traffic, without compromising IT control of the network."

By facilitating the fine tuning of network and security policies on-the-fly, NetSight Policy Control Console enables the IT staff to focus on higher priority projects with fewer administrative interruptions.

NetSight Network Access Control Manager

The latest version of NetSight NAC Manager adds several important Network Access Control enhancements.

A key requirement for many organizations is to know which network workstations are associated with particular users. The advanced IP-to-ID mapping features in NetSight NAC Manager 3.0 enable this capability. If your organization doesn't have an existing directory of users for authentication purposes (or you want guests/visitors to register prior to being granted connectivity) Enterasys NAC 3.0 provides support for Media Access Control (MAC) address registration. This deployment option requires any new end-system connecting on the network to provide the user's identity in a web page form before being allowed access to the network -- without requiring the intervention of network operations personnel. The result is that end-users and/or guests are automatically provisioned for network access on-demand without time-consuming and costly network infrastructure reconfigurations. In addition, IT operations gains visibility into the end-systems and their associated users (e.g. guests, students, contractors, and employees) on the network without requiring the deployment of back-end authentication and directory services to manage these users. This binding between user identity and machine is crucial for auditing, compliance, accounting, and forensics purposes.

Assisted remediation enables users to perform a self-serve, do-it-yourself quick-fix if their computer isn't running the latest anti-virus signatures, operating system patches, application updates, or is otherwise violating security policy. Assisted remediation informs end-users when their systems have been quarantined due to a network security policy violation; and allows them to safely remediate their non-compliant end-systems without intervention from IT operations. Administrators have full control over the content on the self-help web page and can embed hyperlinks to update locations, configuration instructions, or automated patch-management tools. Once the remediation steps have been successfully performed and the end-system is compliant with network security policy, the appropriate network resources are allocated to the end-user.

Simplified NetSight Updates

The enhancements of NetSight 3.0 greatly improve the productivity of network administrators by simplifying NetSight application installation, streamlining the upgrade process, and refining the NetSight client user experience. Leveraging automated client upgrade capabilities, network operations can ensure geographically distributed administrators and operators have the latest version of each licensed NetSight application. NetSight server installation and administration have also been streamlined. The new architecture enables more frequent delivery of new application enhancements.

NetSight 3.0 supports Microsoft Windows XP SP2, Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Microsoft Windows Vista (32-bit versions), RedHat Linux WS and ES (versions 3 and 4), and Novell SuSe Linux versions 9 and 10.

To schedule a demonstration of NetSight 3.0, including Policy Control Console and NAC Manager, please visit www.enterasys.com/demo.

About Enterasys Networks

Enterasys Networks -- the Secure Networks Company -- is owned by a private investor group led by The Gores Group, LLC and Tennenbaum Capital Partners, LLC. Enterasys' unique Secure Networks solutions secure any network to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, availability and performance of IT services and the business users that rely on them. Thousands of leading companies, government agencies and educational institutions in more than 70 countries rely on Secure Networks solutions to maintain business continuity and protect vital information. The company's culture is centered on the principle "There is nothing more important than our customers." Delivering on that commitment, Secure Networks provides granular, policy-based command and control of individual user, application, device, port and flow performance, and security. Enterasys' architectural approach to network security offers a long technology lifecycle and significant operational and business benefits, while reducing total cost of ownership. Information about Enterasys' award-winning policy-enabled switches, routers, wireless products, security software, and services is available at www.enterasys.com.

About The Gores Group

Founded in 1987, The Gores Group is a private equity firm focused on acquiring controlling interests in mature and growing businesses which can benefit from the firm's operating experience and flexible capital base. The firm combines the operational expertise and detailed due diligence capabilities of a strategic buyer with the seasoned M&A team of a traditional financial buyer. The Gores Group has become a leading investor, primarily in the technology and telecommunications sectors, having demonstrated over time a reliable track record of creating substantial value in its portfolio companies alongside management. Headquartered in Los Angeles, California, The Gores Group maintains offices in Boulder, Colorado and London. For more information, please visit www.gores.com.

About Tennenbaum Capital Partners, LLC

Tennenbaum Capital Partners is a Santa Monica, California-based private investment firm managing over $3.8 billion in assets through private funds. The firm's investment strategy is grounded in a long-term, value approach, and it assists -- both financially and operationally -- transitional middle-market companies in such industries as technology, healthcare, energy, aerospace, business services, retail and general manufacturing. Tennenbaum's core strengths include its in-depth knowledge of equity and debt-financing vehicles in the public and private markets, as well as a thorough understanding of special situations. For more information, please visit www.tennenbaumcapital.com.

Contact Information: Contact: Trent Waterhouse Enterasys Networks +1 978 684 1506 trent@enterasys.com Jackie Abramian BridgeView Marketing +1 617 584 2580 jackie@bridgeviewmarketing.com