MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA—April 14, 2005—The Linley Group, the leading supplier of technology analysis for networking silicon, is hosting a free seminar on switch fabrics and high-speed interconnects, to be held April 27, 2005 in San Jose. Sponsored by IDT, Intel, Sandburst, StarGen, Xilinx, and InfiniBand Trade Association, the seminar is designed to educate system designers, equipment vendors, OEMs, VARs, and the financial community about the technologies competing for dominance in these markets.

While many industry events these days are organized by a single vendor to promote the use of its products, The Linley Group continues its tradition of providing independent coverage of important topics in networking-system design. Instead of the marketing and sales pitches heard at most events, this seminar will feature technical experts presenting real solutions to the problems many system designers face today.

"We have put together an outstanding technical program and are pleased to have so many industry leaders participating in this seminar," says Linley Gwennap, president and principal analyst at The Linley Group. "This will be a don't-miss event for those interested in this market."

Presenters include Michael Miller, VP and Chief Technical Officer, IDT; David Mayhew, Founder and Chief Scientist, StarGen; Steph Bailey, Chief Technology Officer, Sandburst; Craig Lund, VP and Chief Technology Officer, Mercury Computer; Francois LeMaut, Chief Architect, AMCC; David Formisano, Technical Marketing Manager, Intel; Delfin Rodillas, Staff System Architect, Xilinx; and Richard Cam, Manager, Product Research, PMC-Sierra.

"Because of modern data rate requirements, next-generation applications are adopting serial technologies. OEMs must carefully select the right one to meet system requirements," says Michael Miller, VP and CTO at IDT. "We believe that PCI Express will be a strategic technology that will have dramatic effects on improving the cost/benefit model of server, storage and communications applications."

The seminar will include a tutorial by The Linley Group, followed by in-depth sessions on fabrics, chassis and board-level interconnects, as well as panel discussions by industry-leading chip companies. Technologies covered include Advanced Switching based on PCI Express, Serial RapidIO, AdvancedTCA, and much more. A chassis and form factor panel will include representatives from industry associations, including VME, ATCA, and SIOM.

"StarGen has pioneered the development of standards-based high speed interconnects. Advanced Switching, which leverages the momentum and infrastructure of PCI Express, provides significant advantages in terms of features and performance to OEMs designing a variety of platforms," states David Mayhew, Chief Scientist at StarGen.

"The selection of fabric and interconnect components and technologies is a critical step in the development of a communications system. This is particularly true for high capacity, modular platforms," says Vince Graziani, CEO of Sandburst. "We applaud The Linley Group for developing targeted seminars that assist OEMs in assessing the choices available to them."

The seminar is free to qualified individuals who register by April 20. The seminar includes lunch and a networking reception complete with exhibits. For further details and registration information, visit our web site.

About The Linley Group

The Linley Group is the leading provider of independent technology analysis for the networking-silicon industry, covering emerging areas such as access processors, network processors, communications processors, Gigabit Ethernet, switch fabrics, high-speed interconnects, security and content processors, high-speed embedded processors, and storage networking silicon. The company provides in-depth technology reports and interactive seminars as well as strategic consulting services tailored to the individual client. To get free access to The Linley Group's analysis of recent news and events in this market segment, subscribe to The Linley Wire, our e-mail newsletter.