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Press Release |
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE For Marketing: brianne@aggroup.com For Sales: sales@aggroup.com AG Group, Agilent, Optimized Engineering Corporation, and Sniffer Technologies Respond to Industry Need for StandardizationUpdated CNX Certification Ensures Professionals are Trained in Latest Technology to Maximize Network Availability for E-BusinessSANTA CLARA, California - May 4, 2000 Sniffer Technologies, a Network Associates, Inc. (Nasdaq: NETA) business, today announced it is spearheading a new consortium of leading technology vendors to update the Certified Network Expert (CNX) program that certifies IT professionals on managing next generation high speed networking and application technologies. Sniffer Technologies is working with Agilent Technologies, AG Group, Optimized Engineering Corporation, and other vendors to put their support behind this new certification effort, and train networking professionals to optimize the availability of e-business networks and applications. The evolution of high-speed and optical networking technologies places new demands on companies and IT professionals to maintain 24x7 availability and maximum performance of their e-business networks and Internet applications. Network management is evolving from supporting traditional LANs and WANs to complex high-speed network infrastructures. This is forcing a shift in the methods and tools used to manage these networks, which are critical to the success of e-business. "The rapidly changing landscape of internetworking technologies is creating a shortage of qualified, trained professionals to manage e-business-critical networks," said Paul Farr, president of Sniffer Technologies. "Companies recognize the critical role network availability plays in the success of their e-business, and CNX certification ensures they have trained skilled professionals to ensure maximum uptime of their network." Major vendors and their customers recognize the need for a standardized certification program, such as CNX that measures and documents the level of expertise of their networking staff and other professionals they may consider hiring. Sniffer Technologies, Agilent, AG Group, and Optimized Engineering Corporation are part of an informal consortium of vendors attempting to fill the need for standardization and certification. "Network availability and performance is critical to the success of our business, and we need properly trained professionals, who can manage the latest networking technologies to ensure maximum uptime," said Gary Roesler at Electronic Data Systems. "The CNX certification is an excellent way for EDS to assess the level of training for our current and prospective networking staff." At the entry level, a Certified Network Expert - Associate (CNX-A) demonstrates knowledge and field experience in core networking technologies by successfully completing the CNX-A exam. At Level 2, Certified Network Experts demonstrate their competency by passing an advanced exam in a specialty area. The specialty areas include Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet/VLAN Switching, TCP/IP, Wide Area Networking and High Speed Technologies (ATM, PoS). Passing of three or more CNX specialty area exams achieves the "Master CNX" level of certification. Current CNX certificate holders are eligible for Master CNX status by completing two specialty exams. The CNX test is administered by Sylvan Prometric, a leading worldwide provider of comprehensive technology-based testing and assessment services. "The updated CNX certification program will benefit not only our own customers, but the networking industry as a whole," said Michael Pozzi, training manager for communications test products at Agilent Technologies. "CNX provides a solid goal for participants in AgilentÍs training classes." "AG Group is proud to be a founding member of the original consortium that created the CNX Certification program - a program that now provides the professional networking community with the skills validation they both need and deserve," said Janice Spampinato vice president, sales and marketing AG Group. "CNX Certification is a recognized mark of true network and protocol analysis expertise. The path to certification requires significant, real-world troubleshooting experience and in-depth knowledge of information technology." "The CNX program provides a way for network engineers to demonstrate their knowledge of the internal operations that underlie network and application communications," said Joseph Bardwell, president and director of engineering at Optimized Engineering Corporation. "They need to demonstrate they can use a protocol analyzer to successfully keep the systems running and secure. About Optimized Engineering Corporation Optimized Engineering Corporation is a protocol analysis training and consulting company founded in 1994 and based in Mountain View, CA. Mr. Joseph Bardwell, President and Director of Engineering, was one of the architects of the original CNX examination program in 1994 and has worked closely with Network Associates in the development of CNX 2000. About AG Group, Inc. AG Group, Inc., a leading provider of cross-platform network management software, specializes in the development of powerful and affordable software-based tools to troubleshoot, optimize and maintain small, medium and enterprise network environments. Our goal of bringing superior technology, accessibility, value and flexibility to the ever-expanding realm of network management incorporates software, service and training products. Currently, AG Group offerings include network and protocol analyzers, LAN/WAN and Internet traffic monitors, TCP/IP test utilities, and network management and protocol-specific training classes. AG Group headquarters are located at 2540 Camino Diablo, Walnut Creek, CA 94596. The AG Group website is located at http://www.aggroup.com/. About Agilent Technologies Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: A - news) is a diversified technology company, resulting from Hewlett-Packard Company's plan to strategically realign itself into two fully independent companies. With 42,000 employees serving customers in more than 120 countries, Agilent Technologies is a global leader in designing and manufacturing test, measurement and monitoring instruments, systems and solutions, and semiconductor and optical components. The company serves markets that include communications, electronics, life sciences and healthcare. The businesses comprising Agilent, a subsidiary of HP, had net revenues of more than $8.3 billion in fiscal year 1999. Information about Agilent Technologies can be found on the Web at www.agilent.com.
About Sniffer Technologies Sniffer Technologies, a Network Associates company, is the leading provider of network and application management solutions designed to insure e-business uptime. Supporting a vast range of network topologies in the industry, the Sniffer Total Network Visibility (TNV) suite is an integrated solution enabling enterprises and service providers to cost-effectively keep their networks and applications up and running at peak performance. As the most trusted solution for monitoring, troubleshooting, reporting, and proactively managing network availability and performance, the Sniffer TNV suite meets the demanding 24x7 availability requirements of e-business Web sites, Internet applications, converged voice, video, and data networks, and high speed switched networks. For more information, Sniffer Technologies can be reached on the Internet at http://www.sniffer.com. With headquarters in Santa Clara, Calif., Network Associates, Inc. is a leading supplier of security and availability solutions for e-business. Network Associates' five business units, PGP Security, providing firewall, intrusion detection and encryption products, Sniffer Technologies, the leader in network and application management, Magic Solutions, providing web-based service desk solutions, McAfee, delivering world class anti-virus products, and myCIO.com, an infrastructure ASP providing security and anti-virus services, all produce best-of-breed solutions leveraging core technologies to provide the security and availability needed for e-business. Network Associates is also a majority owner of McAfee.com, one of the world's largest business to consumer application service providers. For more information, Network Associates can be reached at 972-308-9960 or on the Internet at http://www.nai.com. Network Associates, Sniffer, Total Network Visibility and Distributed Sniffer System are registered trademarks of Network Associates and/or its affiliates in the United States and/or other countries. All other registered and unregistered trademarks in this document are the sole property of their respective owners. |
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