Ixia (Nasdaq: XXIA), a leading provider of network testing, visibility, and security solutions, Cumulus Networks, and Mellanox Technologies, Ltd. (NASDAQ: MLNX), have joined forces to deliver the world’s first public demonstration of 50GbE interoperability of an open compute platform operating system running on the Mellanox Spectrum switch. This interoperability demonstration will be available for viewing in the Mellanox booth (#B4) at the OCP US Summit 2016 at the San Jose Convention Center on March 9 and 10, 2016.

The joint solution at the OCP US Summit has been designed specifically for today’s hyperscale datacenters, and the extreme testing needs of application intense Web 2.0 companies, cloud and telecommunications service providers, as well as leading network equipment manufacturers (NEMS) for switches, servers, and network interface cards. Attendees will see a live demonstration of Cumulus Linux running on a 50GbE Open Ethernet Switch System from Mellanox, using traffic generated by Ixia’s QSFP28 Xcellon-Multis load module, with Mellanox PSM4 QSFP28 transceivers transmitting Ethernet traffic over a single 2 kilometers (2km) optical fiber.

Xcellon-Multis is Ixia's next-generation test solution. The company’s 50GbE validation solution, initially demonstrated as a proof-of-concept at industry event Interop in May 2015, strengthens Ixia’s leadership in setting the pace for new Ethernet protocol and network interface support.

“Today’s demonstration illustrates that 50GbE interoperability on an open compute platform is real,” said Charles Seifert, Senior Manager, Product Management of Platform Hardware at Ixia. “Ixia, along with forward-thinking companies like Cumulus Networks and Mellanox Technologies, continually strives to prove that interoperability between open compute platforms and vendor-specific platforms in the same network is here today and available. The next evolution in Ethernet technology for data centers is ripe for deployment. Ixia is proud to show this significant advancement at this event.”

Cumulus Linux, from Cumulus Networks, is the first Linux operating system for data center networking that unleashes the power of Open Networking by running on industry standard networking hardware and enabling the disaggregation, i.e. separation into component parts, of data center switches.

“50GbE is a natural evolution for Cloud data centers looking to take advantage of the latest servers with Broadwell cores,” said William Choe, Vice President Products, Cumulus Networks. “50GbE interoperability with Ixia Xcellon-Multis QSFP28 in an open systems environment demonstrates readiness and reliability for datacenter requirements today and, most importantly, enables customer choice of technology that is right for them.”

The Mellanox 50GbE Open Ethernet switch enables converged data centers to operate at maximum performance while reducing operational costs and infrastructure complexity.

“Big data and faster solid state storage is driving the rapid adoption of our 25, 50, and 100 Gb/s Ethernet networking gear,” said Kevin Deierling, Vice President Marketing, Mellanox Technologies. “Thus it is imperative that we have full hardware and software interoperability with switches, adapters, cables, and test equipment. We are pleased to showcase Ixia’s advanced traffic generation Xcellon-Multis platform running 50GbE with our Spectrum Ethernet switches at OCP. The availability of advanced, multi-speed test equipment from Ixia will accelerate the adoption of next generation networks in the data center.”

Ixia continues to work with industry leaders to drive deployment and adoption of new Ethernet speeds, and helped to create the specifications for both 25GbE and 50GbE as a contributing member of the 25G/50G Ethernet Consortium, the IEEE P802.3by draft standard for 25GbE, and the recent IEEE Call For Interest for 50 Gb/s Ethernet Over a Single Lane and Next Generation 100 Gb/s and 200 Gb/s Ethernet.

In addition, Ixia is a member of the Open Compute Project, whose ultimate goal is to spark a collaborative community of hardware and software providers who strive to be interoperable, creating in the most efficient computing infrastructure possible for customers.

About Ixia

Ixia (Nasdaq: XXIA) provides testing, visibility, and security solutions, strengthening applications across physical and virtual networks for enterprises, service providers, and network equipment manufacturers. Ixia offers companies trusted environments in which to develop, deploy, and operate. Customers worldwide rely on Ixia to verify their designs, optimize their performance, and ensure protection of their networks to make their applications stronger. Learn more at www.ixiacom.com.

Ixia, the Ixia logo, Xcellon, and Xcellon-Multis are trademarks or registered trademarks of Ixia in the United States and other jurisdictions. All other trademarks used herein are the property of their respective owners.

Safe Harbor under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995

Certain statements made in this press release may be deemed to be forward-looking statements including, without limitation, statements regarding the availability of advanced, multi-speed test equipment from Ixia accelerating the adoption of next generation networks in the data center. In some cases, such forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as "may," "will," "should," "could," "would," "expect," "plan," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "project," "predict," "potential," or the like. These statements reflect our current views with respect to future events and are based on assumptions and are subject to risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties, as well as other factors, may cause our future results, performance, or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements include, among others: market acceptance of our products; our products’ impact upon the adoption of next generation networks in the data center; our success in developing, producing, and introducing new products and in keeping pace with the rapid technological changes that characterize our market; our success in developing new sales channels and customers; competition; changes in the global economy and in market conditions; consistency of orders from significant customers; our success in leveraging our intellectual property portfolio, expertise, and market opportunities; our expectations regarding the transition into Software Defined Networks (SDN) and Network Functions Virtualization (NFV); and war, terrorism, political unrest, natural disasters, cybersecurity attacks, and other circumstances that could, among other consequences, reduce the demand for our products, disrupt our supply chain, and/or impact the delivery of our products. The factors that may cause future results to differ materially from our current expectations also include, without limitation, the risks identified in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015 and in our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

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