KONTRON OPEN MODULAR PLATFORMS KEEP PACE WITH EXPANDING WIRELESS / IMS NETWORK INFRASTRUCTURE MARKET

Rollout of AdvancedMC Quad Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) and SATA Storage modules extends value of Kontron Open Modular Solutions for IMS-focused storage, processing and transcoding applications

CHICAGO, IL - June 7, 2005 - Kontron, a market leader in embedded computer technology, today introduced at Supercomm two new AdvancedMC modules, namely the Kontron AM4300 AdvancedMC Quad Gigabit Ethernet Module and the Kontron AM4500 High Capacity SATA Storage Module.

This further extends Kontron,s solution-set of pre-integrated open modular solutions specifically conceived for the design and production of new telecom gear supplied by Telecom Equipment Manufacturers (TEMs). In turn, this significantly relieves Service Providers, Carriers, and MSOs of the difficulty to find improved means to lower CAPEX costs, better control spiraling operating expenses, increase flexibility to grow network, and minimize the risks involved with deploying new services.

´The market interest for open modular platforms in the form of AdvancedTCA and AdvancedMC systems is mushrooming more rapidly than anyone previously first predicted,´ said Benoit Robert, Executive Director, product development, telecom, at Kontron. ´As the respective advantages for TEMs and, subsequently, service providers are becoming quite obvious, the market situation is now becoming more a question of how soon can new solutions be delivered.´

"For service providers, AdvancedMC modules are fast becoming a necessary component for AdvancedTCA systems," said Simon Stanley, Analyst at Large with Heavy Reading. "As hot swappable, field replaceable units, Advanced Mezzanine Cards are key to flexible AdvancedTCA solutions that can be configured to support a wide mix of processor, storage and networking capabilities."

Kontron ´AMC Everywhere´ strategy
A major factor in driving profits, for both TEMs and carriers, is to operate cost-optimized, flexible networks that can carry any new and innovative feature subscribers are demanding. To help achieve this objective, Kontron offers an ´AMC Everywhere´ approach to maximize the design possibilities for high density processing and I/O line card applications. This is why Kontron supports AdvancedMC modules at the AdvancedTCA processor board and base and fabric switch interface level.

AdvancedMCs are also proving to be an attractive solution for proprietary form factor base boards. For example legacy telecom systems can be outfitted with COTS AdvancedMCs to enable a smooth migration from purely proprietary technology to a 100 per cent AdvancedTCA system in the future.

Kontron AM4300 AdvancedMC QUAD GbE module
An ideal AdvancedMC module for applications that require multiple ports directly connected to the AdvancedTCA processor blade, the Kontron AM4300 module is available in full height, single width form factors and features 4 x 10Base-T/100Base-Tx/1000Base-T ports. The Am4300 also supports PCI-E x8, x4, x2 and x1 link, and provides ease of management via IPMI v1.5.

Kontron AM4500 AdvancedMC SATA module
As the ideal low-cost storage solution in open modular communications solutions, the Kontron AM4500 module is available in full height, single width form factors, and up to 120 GByte storage capacity. Built in accordance to the AMC.0 specification, the AM4500 is also AMC.3 compliant, features Native Command Queuing (NCQ) with up to 32 instructions to be queued and reordered, and is easily managed via IPMI v1.5.

Both AdvancedMC modules are fully compatible with the AdvancedTCA RASM concept of Reliability, Availability, Serviceability, and Maintainability.

Faster-Go-To-Market strategy
Kontron shortens the application design process by ensuring that each AdvancedTCA / AdvancedMC building block is fully interoperable and designed to be both the right technology and the right architecture in mind to suit any development needs. Pre-integrated and application ready right out-of-the-box, Kontron open modular solutions are customizable and also feature best-in-class carrier-grade software such as MontaVistaâ Linuxâ Carrier Grade Edition (CGE), and hot-standby Solid CarrierGradeâ d

ata manager from Solid Information Technology. This complements Kontrons existing offering of Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI v1.5) firmware, Hardware Platform Interface (HPI) support, and operating system and applications software.

AM4300 and AM4500 pricing and availability
Price: OEM pricing upon request
Availability: Q3, 2005

About Kontron: A leading global embedded computer technology company, Kontron supplies a diversified customer base of OEMs, system integrators and application providers in the communications, automation, transportation, medical, military, aerospace, and test and measurement markets. The company helps its customers to considerably reduce their time-to-market and to gain a competitive advantage with products including high-performance open computer platforms and systems, single board computers, man-machine interfaces and mobile computers. Kontron employs more than 1,500 people worldwide and has manufacturing facilities in Europe, North America and Asia Pacific. The company is listed on the German TecDAX 30 stock exchange under the symbol "KBC". Kontron is a member of the Intel Communications Alliance. For additional information on Kontron, please visit:

At Supercomm 2005:
Kontron is exhibiting at Booth #38046

For Further Information, Editors Contact:

Media Relations and Technical Information

Peter Matz
Product Marketing Manager
Kontron North America
Phone: 450-437-5682, x2415
Peter.Matz@ca.kontron.com


Claudia Bestler, Marketing Manager
Kontron EMEA
Phone: +49 (0)8341 803 427
claudia.bestler@kontron.com