News and Events

2006

STAN WINSTON STUDIO INCREASES SPECIAL EFFECTS PROCESSING CAPABILITIES WITH FORCE10 TERASCALE E-SERIES

MILPITAS, Calif., May 22, 2006 — Force10 Networks® today announced that Stan Winston Studio, a premier Hollywood special effects and creature development studio, is upgrading its production network to 10 Gigabit Ethernet with the TeraScale E-Series to increase its ability to create high quality special effects. With the unique combination of industry-leading density and unmatched resiliency, the Force10 TeraScale E-Series enables Stan Winston Studio to reduce the total cost of operating its network while providing a seamless path for future expansion.

“Developing high quality creatures and visual effects requires the fine tuning that comes from multiple iterations through our rendering servers,” said Bob Monaghan, head of systems at Stan Winston Studio. “The Force10 E-Series gives us the density we need to increase the capacity of our network and the resiliency to ensure that we can not only increase the number of times we get to work on our shots but also increase our workstation count on short notice.”

The Force10 TeraScale E-Series is at the core of the Stan Winston Studio network, connecting the company’s rendering servers and providing the 10 Gigabit Ethernet core. With the high Gigabit and 10 Gigabit Ethernet density, the TeraScale E-Series enables Stan Winston Studio to eliminate a full network layer, simplifying its architecture and reducing management, capital and operation costs.

The high density of the TeraScale E-Series combines with a unique multiprocessor architecture that distributes switching, routing and management functionality between three distinct processors to provide Stan Winston Studio with a level of resiliency that ensures no unplanned network downtime. The five Terabit backplane of the Force10 TeraScale E-Series also enables Stan Winston Studio to seamlessly expand its network in the future without the cost of a forklift upgrade.

“Stan Winston Studio relies on its network to design and perfect its special effects and requires the resiliency and high performance that only Force10 can provide,” said Mark Cooper, senior vice president of worldwide sales at Force10 Networks. “With the density and reliability of the TeraScale E-Series at the core of its production network, Stan Winston can continue to develop cutting edge characters and special effects.”

Stan Winston Studio has developed characters, creatures and special effects for movies, television, commercials and music videos for more than 30 years. Included among its works are the Budweiser frogs and lizards, Aliens, War of the Worlds, Terminator, Jurassic Park, What Lies Beneath, Galaxy Quest, The Sixth Sense, Edward Scissorhands and the upcoming movie Charlotte’s Web.

Contact:
Peter Ruzicka
Force10 Networks Inc.
408-965-5151
pruzicka@force10networks.com

Contact:
Jennifer Arculeo
Force10 Networks Inc.
408-965-5194
jarculeo@force10networks.com

About Force10 Networks
Force10 Networks is the pioneer in building and securing high performance networks. Based on a revolutionary system architecture that delivers best-in-class resiliency and massive scalability, Force10’s TeraScale E-Series switch/routers ensure predictable application performance, increase network availability, and reduce operating costs. Today, many of the world’s largest Gigabit Ethernet and 10 Gigabit Ethernet networks depend on Force10 Networks. For additional information, please visit www.force10networks.com.

Force10 Networks and E-Series are registered trademarks, and P-Series, S-Series, TeraScale and FTOS are trademarks of Force10 Networks, Inc. All other company names are trademarks of their respective holders.