Enterasys Delivers Voice Over IP (VoIP) Security

ANDOVER, MA--(Marketwire - August 20, 2007) - Enterasys Networks Inc., the Secure Networks Company™, announced today a comprehensive approach to secure IP Telephony solutions from leading voice vendors. Enterprises worldwide want to ensure the same reliability, quality, manageability, mobility and security of the traditional PBX with new voice-over-IP (VoIP) and unified communications solutions. The Enterasys Secure Open Convergence solution delivers a way to sense and automatically respond to security threats against the IP telephony infrastructure; enforce network access control policies; and comply with regulations for monitoring and safety such as CALEA and E911 in the United States.

"The Enterasys integrated open-architecture approach to understanding and managing the priority and security of unified communications doesn't lock you into a particular voice, video or data vendor," said Mike Fabiaschi, President and CEO of Enterasys. "Whether you have invested in VoIP solutions from 3Com, Alcatel, Asterisk, Avaya, Cisco, Mitel, NEC (Sphere), Nortel, Panasonic, Polycom, ShoreTel, and/or Siemens -- we can protect the confidentiality, integrity and availability of voice services while ensuring compliance with internal policies and government regulations."

Bangkok's new Suvarnabhumi Airport has deployed more than 12,000 Enterasys PoE connections to support airport operations through converged voice, video and data communications. Pornchai Krivichian, Vice President for SAMART TELCOMS, said: "We needed a networking solutions partner who could deliver on their promises -- and that is exactly what Enterasys did. SAMART TELCOMS has found the Enterasys technology to be very reliable and we appreciate the highly responsive support we receive."

"Security is among the top concerns of enterprises deploying voice over IP systems today," said Brian Riggs, Research Director for Enterprise Communications at Current Analysis. "Software that detects unauthorized use of VoIP systems, prevents service disruption and eavesdropping, and monitors voice networks for new threats will be absolutely vital for businesses considering IP telephony as an alternative to more traditional forms of communication. With VoIP security often addressed in a haphazard fashion, a comprehensive solution for securing voice over both wireline and wireless IP networks will be a vital asset to enterprises of all sizes."

Security is provided by the Enterasys® NAC and Dragon® advanced security applications and Enterasys security enabled infrastructure components for switching, routing and wireless. When voice is delivered as another application over the existing data infrastructure, it is vulnerable to all the threats associated with the data network. Enterasys Secure Networks embed security protections for every user and application to predict and proactively prevent such threats from disrupting voice, video and data communications. User-based and application-based Secure Networks policies save time and avoid costly errors when compared to traditional port-based and VLAN-based access control list (ACL) methods for network security. The Dragon Intrusion Detection/Prevention System (IDS/IPS) offers specific signatures and protocol behavioral analysis for required protocols such as H.323 and SIP which are used in IP telephony environments. The Enterasys NAC solution assesses, authenticates and authorizes VoIP users and telephony devices before allowing them onto the network while enforcing role-based policies after they are connected. E911 compliance is enabled by unique location services in Enterasys NAC that immediately identify the user and physical location when an emergency call is placed. Compliance with the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA) allows individual voice conversations or calls to/from a specific user to be redirected from an Enterasys Matrix switch for subsequent recording and analysis. Enterasys switching, routing and wireless connectivity solutions embed policy-based security features on every interface and each device is protected from denial-of-service (DoS/DDoS), man-in-the-middle and spoofing attacks.

Mobility is delivered by Enterasys RoamAbout® Direct Path Forwarding to provide Voice over wireless (VoWiFi) without compromise or delay. Enterasys wireless switch controllers optimize network traffic based on the underlying application which allows latency-sensitive voice and video applications to intelligently communicate at the access point without requiring all traffic to be forwarded back through a WLAN controller. RoamAbout solutions migrate to IEEE 802.11n performance and scalability without upgrading the switching infrastructure or Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) environment to provide unified wired and wireless management of security and quality of service (QoS) policies.

Manageability is provided through the Enterasys NetSight® suite of management applications that deliver policy-based visibility and control over convergence users, applications and devices to ensure mission critical applications such as voice are delivered reliably. One click can equal a thousand actions as NetSight software enables organizations to manage their network as a cohesive whole, rather than as a disparate set of individual devices.

Quality of voice services is assured as convergence endpoints are automatically discovered using standards-based Link Layer Discovery Protocol for Media Endpoint Discovery (LLDP-MED), Cisco Discovery Protocol (CDP) and other vendor-specific discovery protocols. Granular end-to-end QoS capabilities then prioritize voice traffic throughout the network using Layer 2 and Layer 3 mechanisms such as IEEE 802.1p and IP ToS/DSCP. Enterasys Matrix® switches feature a unique ability to separately secure and prioritize a phone, camera, printer and computer connected to a single network port to provide the business with granular flow-based visibility and control over individual voice, video and data conversations for each user and application.

Reliability is assured with high-availability hardware and software components of the Enterasys Matrix and SecureStack™ switches and routers whose architecture has no single point of failure and supports 15.4 watt IEEE 802.3af PoE on all interfaces to power IP telephone handsets or other PoE devices. Standards-based rapid recovery Layer 2 and Layer 3 topology protocols immediately route around failed network connections.

To learn more about Enterasys Secure Convergence capabilities, please download the whitepaper or schedule a live demonstration at 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