Avnet Electronics Marketing Announces Immediate Availability Of Xilinx ATCA Design Kit

Avnet is the Exclusive Distributor of the Only FPGA-based Platform Available for the Development of PICMG ATCA-based Networking and Communications Equipment

PHOENIX, Ariz. and SAN JOSE, Calif., December 15, 2004 - Avnet Electronics Marketing, an operating group of Avnet, Inc. (NYSE: AVT) and Xilinx, Inc. (NASDAQ: XLNX), today announced the immediate availability of the Xilinx FPGA-based PICMG ATCA™ 3.0 Design Kit. The kit, featuring a development board using a Xilinx Virtex-II Pro device, is the first solution stemming from the joint effort between Avnet and Xilinx to accelerate the adoption of the ATCA PICMG standard for high-speed networking and communication designs.

Access to affordable, standardized and scalable platforms is paramount to addressing the challenges of next-generation systems. The programmable PICMG ATCA 3.0 Design Kit contains a complete reference design platform to assist with developing, prototyping and testing high-speed PICMG ATCA based networking, communications and storage equipment. By way of the ATCA Development Platform Program announced earlier this year, Xilinx has selected Avnet as the exclusive source for these platforms based on its extensive expertise in high-speed systems design. The ATCA Design Kit provides a proven physical layer interface and other capabilities that can help reduce design cycles by as much as several man-years for equipment compatible with this emerging standard.

Crystal Cube Consulting, ATCA market specialists, expect shipments could reach a potential of over 1.5 million serial backplanes based upon the ATCA standard in 2007. Crystal Cube Consulting also predicts the market for ATCA-based product designs has the potential of generating more than $20 billion by the end of 2007.

"Today's announcement affirms ATCA is a highly viable and cost-effective solution for addressing next-generation applications requirements that cannot be served by the CompactPCI standard or proprietary solutions," said Ernie Bergstrom, principal analyst at Crystal Cube Consulting.

"The Xilinx and Avnet collaboration provides a complete development and prototyping platform for ATCA designs and we are honored Xilinx has chosen us as its exclusive distribution partner," said Jim Schaeffer, senior vice president of Avnet Design Services. "This decision reinforces Xilinx's confidence in our ability to provide outstanding engineering support for customers utilizing this exciting new standard."

About the Design Kit
The PICMG ATCA 3.0 Design Kit can be used as a development platform for PICMG 3.0 full-mesh line cards supporting system configurations of up to 16-cards and port rates to 2.5 Gbps. The kit comes with a development board that uses the Xilinx Virtex™-II Pro RocketIO™ multi-gigabit transceivers (MGT) to connect to the PICMG ATCA full-mesh backplane. The full-mesh card allows application flexibility by reserving an area of the board for a plug-in "personality module" (PM), where users can implement any application-specific line card and easily connect to the full-mesh card through the included headers. The kit uses a standard footprint and ensures interoperability via full compliance with the PICMG 3.0 standard.

"Avnet's ability to provide customers with superior high-speed I/O board design and signal integrity support is the main reason we selected them to exclusively market our platform," stated Robert Bielby, senior director of Strategic Solutions Marketing at Xilinx. "Our customers will benefit greatly from Avnet's ability to provide complete design support from initial concept through mass production."

Pricing and Availability
The PICMG ATCA 3.0 Design Kit, which includes a development board using a Xilinx Virtex-II Pro 2VP50 or 2VP70 device, example test design, user's guide, schematics, bill of materials and documentation CD-ROM, is readily available. Avnet also offers optional elements such as training and design services support. Customers who wish to learn more about this solution can arrange a site visit for a full demonstration and application discussion of the ATCA platform. For more information on the design kit, contact your local Avnet sales office or visit www.em.avnet.com/atca.

Ordering part numbers and prices for the PICMG ATCA 3.0 Design Kit follows:

About PICMG ATCA
In 2001, experts across a broad range of over 600 industries and companies including network equipment providers, computer OEMs, Applied Computing Platform Providers, and third-party hardware and software vendors collaborated to define a standardized platform to address the challenges of next-generation platforms under the PCI Industrial Computer Manufacturers Group, (PICMG). In January 2003, the platform standard, ATCA (Advanced Telecom Compute Architecture), was developed 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 the next generation systems with sufficient flexibility to be used across a broad class of applications without imposing constraints that might impact product differentiation.

About The ATCA Development Platform Program
Through the Xilinx/Avnet ATCA Development Platform Program, designers are provided a complete design kit for taking products from development through production. FPGA integration and customization efforts are supported by Avnet in its Xilinx ATCA Platform Certified FPGA Design Centers in North America. In addition to providing outsourced design resources, Avnet offers customer training with hands-on demonstrations. Avnet has also created an extensive network of third-party electronics component suppliers, intellectual property, design tool and design service companies that will develop solutions specifically targeted for the ATCA development platform. This best-in-class network covers all aspects of design and manufacturing to further speed the industry's migration to ATCA PICMG-based implementations.

About Avnet Electronics Marketing
Avnet Electronics Marketing is the largest operating group of Phoenix-based Avnet Inc. (NYSE:AVT), a Fortune 500 company with fiscal 2004 sales of more than $10 billion, and one of the world's largest technology marketing, distribution and services companies. Avnet Electronics Marketing, Americas (EMA) serves electronic original equipment manufacturers (EOEMs) and electronic manufacturing services (EMS) providers in North America and Brazil, distributing electronic components from leading manufacturers and providing associated services. The company's Web site is located at www.em.avnet.com.

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