Solarflare Now Sampling Next-Generation
10GBASE-T PHY

Smallest and lowest-power 65nm transceiver chip available for switch and server vendors to build 10 Gigabit Ethernet over copper solutions

IRVINE, Calif. – August 4, 2008 – Solarflare Communications, the leading provider of standards-compliant 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE) silicon, today announced its next-generation 10GBASE-T PHY chip is now sampling to Tier 1 switch and server original equipment and design manufacturers. Running at under 6.0 watts, the 10Xpress® SFT9001 is the industry's smallest and lowest-power 65nm PHY, enabling products for data centers and enterprises to easily upgrade to standards-based 10 Gigabit Ethernet networking.

Solarflare's fully standards-compliant 10GBASE-T PHY supports 100 meter reach over copper Ethernet cabling and features triple speed auto-negotiation for 10GBASE-T, 1000BASE-T and 100BASE-TX, providing investment protection by enabling backward compatibility with current data center equipment and overall support for legacy infrastructure. With this technology, data centers and enterprises can easily upgrade to 10GbE for increased bandwidth without conducting a full network overhaul. Other key features of the PHY include scaling from 6 watts down to 100s of milliwatts and Wake-on-LAN support, both critical for network equipment power conservation. In addition, Solarflare's PHY provides 10GBASE-T cable diagnostics capability to help ease deployment and reduce network downtime by assessing line characteristics.

"10GBASE-T solutions that dramatically reduce 10GbE port prices while achieving lower power consumption can boost 10GbE mass adoption within the datacenter," said Aileen Arcilla, senior analyst at IDC. "Low power silicon solutions will allow the industry to meet the demand for high-density switch designs while power saving modes, such as Wake-on-LAN, are a pre-requisite for data centers needing to focus on energy efficiency."

The advanced features of Solarflare's next-generation PHY silicon enable switch, storage and server manufacturers to build cost effective, standards-compliant products so enterprises and data centers can confidently deploy advanced applications over their networks. Products based on Solarflare's 10GBASE-T technology are currently available from Dell, Ixia and SMC Networks.

"There is a tremendous demand for high-performing, low-power networking technology from data centers and IT managers," said Bruce Tolley, vice president of marketing for Solarflare. "The sampling of Solarflare's next-generation PHY marks the beginning of the next wave of energy efficient 10GBASE-T transceiver silicon solutions and provides our customers with the technology that will enable the widespread deployment of 10GbE networks."

About Solarflare® 10 Gigabit Products
Solarflare designs and develops the highest-performing, lowest-power, standards-compliant 10GbE controllers and 10GBASE-T transceivers on the market. Optimized for all key virtualization platforms including Citrix XenEnterprise, Microsoft’s Hyper-V and VMware’s ESX server, Solarflare’s Solarstorm® Ethernet controller consumes less than 2.2 watts at full line-rate performance delivering the optimal balance in performance and power efficiency. Solarflare's 10Xpress® 10GBASE-T PHY supports distances of greater than 100 meters on UTP Category 6A cabling, 100 meters on STP Category 6, 55 meters on UTP Category 6, and 45 meters on UTP Category 5E cabling. When combined on a server adapter, Solarflare’s 10Xpress 10GBASE-T PHY and Solarstorm 10GbE controller deliver 10 times the performance of a 1 Gigabit NIC at half the power consumption of previous 10GbE server adapters. For additional product information and pricing, send a request to productinfo@solarflare.com .

About Solarflare Communications, Inc.
Solarflare Communications is a semiconductor company delivering the next level of high-performance 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE). As the leading provider of standards-compliant 10GbE silicon, Solarflare’s robust and power-efficient solutions are cost effective and easy to deploy. Now real and ready for primetime, Solarflare 10 Gigabit Ethernet makes possible next-generation applications such as streaming rich media, Web 2.0, server virtualization and network convergence. Solarflare is working with key industry partners and customers to ensure interoperability and drive a complete 10GBASE-T ecosystem. The privately held company is headquartered in Irvine, California, with a development center in Cambridge, UK, and has announced relationships with Accton, Citrix, CommScope, Delta, Ixia, Panduit, SMC and VMware.

All product and company names herein may be trademarks of their registered owners.
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Katie Eakins / Amy Robinson
LEWIS PR for Solarflare 
619.677.2700
solarflare@lewispr.com