Xilinx And Mercury Computer Systems Demonstrate Interoperable Serial RapidIO Solutions On An ATCA Platform

Product Availability Drives Quick Adoption of the Serial RapidIO Protocol into ATCA Backplanes

FRANKFURT, Germany, September 28, 2004 - At Euro Smart Network Developer Forum, Xilinx, Inc. (NASDAQ: XLNX) and Mercury Computer Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: MRCY) today demonstrated the successful interoperability between RapidIO solutions from Xilinx and Mercury Computer Systems using Ensemble ATCA serial RapidIO development platform. This industry-first demonstration will enable designers to build next generation RapidIO based systems with confidence using leading products available today, including the Xilinx RapidIO LogiCORE™ IP Core and ATCA line card designed for the Virtex-II Pro™ FPGA and Freescale's PowerQUICC III communications processor.

"Interoperability testing and the availability of system level platforms are essential elements in building a strong RapidIO ecosystem," said Iain Scott, president of the RapidIO Trade Association (a key sponsor of Euro SNDF). "In addition, designers need a standards-based prototyping platform to accelerate the development of enhanced control and data plane processing for the next generation of imaging, wired and wireless communications and applications requiring increased processing power with lower system cost."

"The Ensemble platform was designed to enable Telecom OEMs to evaluate RapidIO for cost reduction and time-to-market acceleration," said Mark Skalabrin, vice president and general manager, OEM Solutions Group, Mercury Computer Systems. "The ease in which the Xilinx ATCA line card was implemented into this platform is a testimony to the system-level design of the Ensemble platform as well as the robustness of the Mercury and Xilinx RapidIO IP and the RapidIO specification."

According to Mark Aaldering, vice president of the IP Solutions and Embedded Processing Divisions at Xilinx, "The interoperability demonstration of the Xilinx RapidIO solution in Mercury's Ensemble ATCA environment with the industry leading PowerQUICC III communications processor allows architects to jump start their system design. The immediate availability of our ATCA design kit with a Virtex-II Pro based line card, RapidIO reference designs, test and demonstration programs, as well as schematic and board layout can easily save six months to years in engineering efforts over the lifetime of a product."

Drilling Down on the Demonstration
Featured during the keynote address of Freescale's Euro Smart Network Developers Forum 2004 in Frankfurt, Germany, the backbone of the demonstration highlighted Ensemble, a multipoint to multipoint (full mesh) architecture. Also highlighted were two RapidIO endpoints, including the Freescale PowerQUIIC III processor and the Xilinx Virtex-II Pro FPGA, incorporating two 1-lane Serial RapidIO Endpoint LogiCOREs switched over RapidIO RapidIO packets are generated from an application running on the PowerQUICC III with a Parallel RapidIO port. The packets are translated from a Parallel to Serial RapidIO to be sent over the ATCA backplane to the Xilinx ATCA line card. The Virtex-II Pro consumes the packets and implements a Serial RapidIO extender/repeater function and transmits the packets to the PowerQUICC III to display status and statistic information.

About Ensemble
Ensemble from Mercury Computer Systems is a serial RapidIO® Advanced Telecom Computing Architecture (AdvancedTCA®) development system that leverages industry standards including the high-bandwidth, scalable serial RapidIO switch fabric and AdvancedTCA ("ATCA ") PICMG 3.5 spec - that defines RapidIO on ATCA - to enable telecom equipment manufacturers to start their next-generation infrastructure designs. The interoperability between these products ensures high-speed telecommunication designers of electrical components, protocol compliance between the various solutions.

About the Advanced Telecom Computing Architecture
The ATCA platform standard was developed through the PCI Industrial Computer Manufacturers Group to address the requirements of next-generation applications that could not be served by the CompactPCI standard or proprietary solutions. The prime objectives of the ATCA are to provide the broad benefits of a standardized, yet scalable platform to addresses the key challenges of next generation systems with sufficient flexibility to be used across a broad class of applications without imposing constraints that might impact product differentiation.

About Mercury Computer Systems
Mercury Computer Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: MRCY) is the leading provider of high-performance embedded, real-time digital signal and image processing computer systems. Mercury's products play a critical role in a wide range of applications, transforming sensor data to information for analysis and interpretation. In military reconnaissance and surveillance platforms the Company's systems process real-time radar, sonar, and signals intelligence data. Mercury's systems are also used in state-of-the-art medical diagnostic imaging devices including MRI, CT, PET, and digital X-ray, and in semiconductor imaging applications including photomask generation and wafer inspection. Mercury provides advanced 3D image processing and visualization software and optimized systems to diverse end markets including life sciences, geosciences, and simulation. The Company also develops radio frequency (RF) products for enhanced communications capabilities in military and commercial applications. Based in Chelmsford, Massachusetts, Mercury serves customers in North America, Europe and Asia through its direct sales force and a network of subsidiaries and distributors. Visit Mercury on the web at www.mc.com.

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