Cisco Systems Becomes a Founding Member of ODVA; Users Can Expect ODVA to Lead Industry in Innovation and Adoption of Network Standards that Unify Plant Floor Automation with Factory IT

ANN ARBOR, Mich.--Nov. 1, 20056, 2005--ODVA today announced that Cisco Systems, Inc. (CISCO) , a worldwide leader in networking for the Internet and a member of ODVA since 2003, has significantly increased its level of support to the association by becoming one of its founding members. In this role, Cisco will provide broad-based support to ODVA in the development and management of its industrial network technologies, included serving on its Board of Directors and Technical Review Board. Cisco's increased involvement in ODVA will further enhance ODVA's ability to drive open, interoperable and sustainable network standards directed at unifying plant floor automation with Factory IT.

"Cisco is committed to bringing Ethernet to the factory floor," said Scott Westlake, Worldwide Manufacturing Industry Director, Cisco Systems. "ODVA's EtherNet/IP is fully compatible with Cisco's commercial networking technologies and it is the most developed, proven and complete standard industrial Ethernet network available today. Cisco has increased its level of support to ODVA because the association provides an excellent community of leading manufacturers of industrial network technologies with which Cisco can work to develop network standards and interoperability for the manufacturing enterprise, including security, wireless, IP telephony, power over Ethernet and real-time Ethernet."

This action, by one of the major global suppliers of network and Internet business solutions, reflects both the continued convergence of industrial and commercial networks and the growing, widespread adoption of EtherNet/IP(TM), ODVA's adaptation of the Common Industrial Protocol ("CIP(TM)") using Internet and Ethernet standards. EtherNet/IP has led the industry in extending Ethernet TCP/IP to the plant floor. By incorporating CIP, a media-independent protocol that can coexist with any other Internet protocol running on top of the standard TCP/UDP Transport Layer (such as FTP, HTTP, SMTP, BOOTP, SNMP, DHCP and OPC), EtherNet/IP provides interoperability among manufacturing enterprise networks and enables Internet and enterprise connectivity anywhere, at any time. Thus, CIP Networks allow businesses to integrate their manufacturing networks -- including control, synchronization and motion, safety, information, configuration and diagnostics -- with enterprise-level Ethernet networks and the Internet.

"Rockwell Automation, an original founding member of ODVA, is committed to the use of standard, unmodified Ethernet to help bridge the gap between IT and automation," said Steve Eisenbrown, Sr. Vice President, Automation, Control and Information Group, Rockwell Automation . "EtherNet/IP will greatly benefit from the increased participation of Cisco in ODVA. Combining the resources and expertise of Rockwell Automation and Cisco with ODVA will accelerate the integration of information throughout the enterprise."

"ODVA is dedicated to providing users with industrial network standards that enable them to achieve measurable and ongoing increases in manufacturing, process and enterprise productivity," said Katherine Voss, Executive Director of ODVA. "Cisco's expanded support in ODVA will provide the association with technical leadership and additional resources from a world leader in networking and Internet technology, further increasing our ability to develop industrial network standards that deliver productivity benefits to industry."

About EtherNet/IP

EtherNet/IP extends commercial off-the-shelf Ethernet to the Common Industrial Protocol (CIP(TM)) -- the same upper-layer protocol and object model found in DeviceNet. CIP allows EtherNet/IP and DeviceNet(TM) product developers, system integrators and users to apply the same objects and profiles for plug-and-play interoperability among devices from multiple vendors and in multiple sub-nets. Combined, DeviceNet and EtherNet/IP promote transparency from sensors to the enterprise software.

About ODVA

ODVA, founded in 1995, is an international association comprised of members from the world's leading automation companies. Collectively, ODVA and its members support network technologies based on the Common Industrial Protocol (CIP(TM)). These currently include DeviceNet(TM), EtherNet/IP(TM), CIP Motion(TM), CIP Safety(TM) and CIP Sync(TM). ODVA manages the development of these open technologies, and assists manufacturers and users of CIP Networks through tools, training and marketing activities. In addition, ODVA offers conformance testing to help ensure that products built to its specifications operate in multi-vendor systems. ODVA also is active in other standards development organizations and industry consortia to drive the growth of open communication standards. For more information, visit its web site at www.odva.org.

DeviceNet, DeviceNet Safety, CIP, CIP Motion, CipNet, CipNet SA, CIP Safety and CIP Sync are trademarks of ODVA.

EtherNet/IP is a trademark of ControlNet International under license by ODVA.

Other trademarks are property of their respective owners.