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Press Release

WildPackets Announces Omni³™ v1.5

Distributed Network Fault Analysis Platform Adds Full-Duplex Gigabit Capabilities

Walnut Creek, California, March 23, 2004

WildPackets Inc., innovators in advanced network services fault analysis, today announced the release of Omni³ 1.5, the latest iteration of its distributed network fault analysis platform. Omni³ reduces network downtime and boosts productivity by enabling real-time monitoring, analysis, and rapid troubleshooting of global 10/100/1000 Ethernet networks from a single console.

With its debut in November 2003, Omni³ broke new ground in deployment flexibility, cost of ownership, and extensibility in working with other network management systems, marking the first time that a fault analysis platform could be truly adaptable and affordable enough to be distributed throughout a global network. The Omni³ version 1.5 platform consists of OmniPeek™ , a centralized management console; Peek DNX™, a distributed analysis application that uses the Omni³ packet services engine to perform local packet processing on network segments; and the ability to employ the WildPackets full-duplex Gigabit Analyzer Card (GAC) that delivers full, uninterrupted visibility into enterprise core networks.

Omni³ allows network managers to view, analyze, and troubleshoot their networks - from the desktop to the data center - from a single location, in real time. "Before I had Omni³, I spent about an hour a day traveling to wiring closets to troubleshoot problems," said David Kelly, Network Manager for Baxter Regional Medical Center in Mountain Home, Arkansas. "Now, I can stay in my office and use OmniPeek to troubleshoot any node in any of our buildings in about five minutes."

While higher-level network management systems use performance statistics to report that faults are occurring, Omni³ provides the missing link to rapid problem resolution by delivering precise analysis at the network conversation and packet level. In addition, Omni³ costs only a fraction of other solutions, making it the first distributed analysis platform that is economically feasible for IT managers to deploy throughout their networks.

"The key to network diagnostics is accurate, pervasive, and actionable information," said Glenn O'Donnell, Program Director of Technology Research Services at META Group. "Most traditional network management tools can only partially fulfill this requirement, since they are tailored more for ongoing operations, not diagnostics. Another limitation is instrumentation provided by embedded technologies such as SNMP. Ideally, these embedded technologies would provide fine detail about traffic flows, but external collectors are the only realistic approach available for deep network diagnostics. These products must be inexpensive and support a strong distributed architecture to prove viable, since broad coverage and a centralized control are only practical if these conditions are met."

Omni³ 1.5’s Gigabit Analyzer Card, first introduced in WildPackets’ successful portable solution GigaPeek NX, is the only product of its type that enables sustained analysis over an indefinite period. Other Gigabit Ethernet analyzers require users to stop packet captures when their buffer is full (causing users to potentially miss the actual problem’s occurrence). WildPackets’ GAC uses flow-through capture technology that eliminates limits on the length of a capture and analysis session.

Omni³ can communicate with higher-level network management systems such as HP OpenView. The extensible Omni³ architecture will allow WildPackets to eventually integrate Omni³ products more closely with other network management systems to create custom monitoring, reporting, analysis, and alarm applications for everything from network transport to networked applications.

"Granular, global, real-time troubleshooting is a fundamental requirement for companies that want to maximize application performance and network uptime," said Mahboud Zabetian, president and CEO of WildPackets. "Omni³ gives network managers the real-time, detailed information they need to precisely identify and fix performance faults and keep the network in peak operating condition, and it does so at a price they can afford."

Pricing and Availability

Omni³ version 1.5 bundles that include the OmniPeek Console and 2 Peek DNX distributed analysis engine applications start at $10,000. The 1.5 release will begin shipping in April. WildPackets will be announcing additional products in the Omni³ family throughout 2004.

About WildPackets Inc.

Since 1990, WildPackets has been delivering real-time fault analysis solutions that enable organizations to optimize network performance and availability. From the desktop to the datacenter, from wireless LANs to Gigabit backbones, on local segments and across distributed networks, WildPackets products enable IT organizations to quickly find and fix problems affecting mission-critical network services. WildPackets products are sold in over 60 countries through a broad network of channel and strategic partners. Over 5,000 customers across all industrial sectors use WildPackets products including Agilent, Cisco Systems, Comcast, EDS, Microsoft, Siemens AG, Unisys, Motorola, and Deutsche Bank. Strategic partners include Aruba, Atheros, Cisco, 3Com, Intel and Symbol Technologies. For further information, please visit www.wildpackets.com.

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