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Press Release

WildPackets Provides Edge to Core Network Services for Napier University

IT staff relies on EtherPeek NX™ for network security monitoring and expert performance analysis

Walnut Creek, CA - June 16, 2004

WildPackets Inc., innovators in advanced network services fault analysis, today announced that Napier University in Edinburgh, Scotland, has deployed EtherPeek NX to help over 1,500 staff and 8,000 students across multiple campuses achieve optimum performance from the University’s IT network.

Napier University had been suffering from slow log-in times and degraded network throughput from virus-infected laptops being loaded onto the system. The University’s Network Services Group, based within the IT Department, realized that a holistic network management and fault diagnosis system was required to quickly and effectively identify virus attacks and other faults adversely affecting network performance and security.

James Archbold, Senior Network Analyst at Napier University, said: "We faced real security and performance issues on our network from the transfer of viruses by infected laptops. EtherPeek NX from WildPackets was the only portable solution we found that allowed us to monitor the end user experience and network performance effectively from our various campus locations."

EtherPeek NX, supplied by MarQuest, a WildPackets UK channel partner, easily identified the recent Nachi virus outbreak which slowed performance dramatically on the campus network. Archbold and his team used EtherPeek NX to pinpoint which laptops were introducing the virus so they could be isolated and the virus removed before the whole network became infected.

"In addition to Nachi, we were also suffering slow log-in times of up to ten minutes on our network," says Archbold. "Using EtherPeek NX, we found a fault on one of our Novell servers that its management system had told us was functioning properly. This kind of quick and easy fault diagnosis has made EtherPeek NX an invaluable asset to our IT management armory."

"Our edge to core capability of monitoring network performance from an end user perspective is a major step forward in network management," said Richard Buchanan, WildPackets’ European Strategic Business Development Director. "Napier University’s use of EtherPeek NX shows the power of this product to analyze and troubleshoot multi-site network locations with thousands of users."

About WildPackets Inc.

Since 1990, WildPackets has been advancing the science of network fault analysis. 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. 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. On the Net: www.wildpackets.com.

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