NETGEAR STACKABLE, MANAGED GIGABIT SWITCHES PROVIDE RESILIENT ACCESS LAYER FOR 10-GIGABIT ETHERNET BACKBONE

SAN JOSE, Calif. — October 9, 2012 — NETGEAR®, Inc. (NASDAQGM: NTGR), a global networking company that delivers innovative products to consumers, businesses and service providers, today announced the launch of the new NETGEAR ProSafe® Next-Gen Edge M5300 series, a family of top-of-the line stackable managed Gigabit switches that satisfy 10-Gigabit Ethernet backbone requirements and provide a resilient, future-proof access layer. The switches deliver line-rate performance for virtualization or convergence with two embedded 10-Gigabit uplinks, 10 Gbase-T (RJ45) and SFP+ (fiber), and two additional 10-Gigabit I/O bays for uplink or stacking. In an industry-first, NETGEAR is offering customers an easy path to upgrade from Gigabit Layer 2+ models to full Layer 3. As new applications and network requirements are added, the affordable upfront costs and the upgrade path to Layer 3 make it easy for customers to protect their investment. 

NETGEAR ProSafe Next-Gen Edge M5300 switches feature virtual chassis stacking technology with 48 Gbps interconnect per switch to simplify network operations, and meshed stacking provides multi-resiliency and advanced load balancing capabilities. The modular main power supply and hot-swap redundant power supply/external power supply (RPS/EPS) capabilities ensure that networks operate at industry-leading high availability to support mission-critical applications. 

Mid-sized organizations, hospitals and schools today have the same bandwidth needs as large enterprises. With the wide adoption of virtualization, the convergence of audio, video, and data and the rapid proliferation of bandwidth intensive applications, the widespread deployment of Gigabit to the desktop has become a bottleneck for any network access layer. High-performance connectivity enabled by10-Gigabit Ethernet has made it the de facto solution for supporting bandwidth-intensive business applications such as desktop and workstation data workload aggregation, IP voice and video applications and vertical industry applications, such as digital imaging for healthcare and computer-aided manufacturing (CAM). 

The NETGEAR ProSafe Next-Gen Edge M5300 series, consisting of fully managed Gigabit Ethernet switches with embedded 10-Gigabit Ethernet connectivity, are a reliable, affordable and simple solution for any mid-sized organization considering 10-Gigabit Ethernet backbone architectures. As components of converged voice, video and data networking solutions, the switches deliver a resilient access layer in server rooms for virtualization, campus LAN environments and commercial buildings. Virtual chassis stacking technology, including meshed stacking, scales both the entire network's performance and its redundancy. 

The NETGEAR ProSafe Next-Gen Edge M5300 series enables successful 10-Gigabit Ethernet deployments with advanced features such as integrated security, high availability, delivery optimization, enhanced manageability and support for new applications: 

• 10-Gigabit virtual chassis hardware stacking technology and 10-Gigabit distributed link aggregation scale both the entire network’s performance and its redundancy.
• NETGEAR ProSafe Next-Gen Edge M5300 switches working with servers benefit from greater bandwidth capacity with active-active teaming (link aggregation control protocol [LCAP]) and load balancing.
• Redundancy is assured by distributing multiple connections across the stack, which acts as a single logical switch that is transparent to the server and aggregation switch.
• Thanks to virtual chassis stacking, IT administrators can easily add more ports to the switch fabric, simplifying management and increasing network resiliency.

“NETGEAR's new line of fully managed switches are ideal for growing organizations with evolving networking requirements,” said Matthias Machowinski, directing analyst with Infonetics Research. “With a long list of standard features, including PoE+ and 10GbaseT, and the ability to upgrade to layer 3, these switches allow organizations to adapt as their requirements become more complex.” 

“The NETGEAR ProSafe Next-Gen Edge M5300 Gigabit series is the ideal access layer for campus and enterprise networks with 10-Gigabit Ethernet backbone requirements. The switches deliver pure line-rate performance for virtualization or convergence, without the exorbitant acquisition and maintenance costs of solutions offered by legacy big IT networking vendors. The NETGEAR ProSafe Next-Gen Edge M5300 series combines the latest advances in hardware and software engineering for higher availability, stronger security, better scalability, better usability and greater energy efficiency,” said Laurent Masia, product line manager for managed infrastructure, NETGEAR commercial business unit. 

Pricing and Availability 
The NETGEAR ProSafe Next-Gen Edge M5300 series will be available from authorized NETGEAR channel partners worldwide: 

• M5300-28G, 24 ports Gigabit, Layer 2+ software package, GSM7228S-100NAS: USD $2,270
• M5300-52G, 48 ports Gigabit, Layer 2+ software package, GSM7252S-100NAS: USD $3,650
• M5300-52G, Layer 3 license upgrade for M5300-28G, GSM7228L-10000S: USD $660
• M5300-52G, Layer 3 license upgrade for M5300-52G, GSM7252L-10000S: USD $1,250
• M5300-28GF3, 24 ports Gigabit Fiber, Layer 3 software package, GSM7328FS-200NAS: USD $2,930

More Information 
Learn more about the NETGEAR ProSafe Next-Gen Edge M5300 series at www.netgear.com/managed/m5300. To learn more about other new NETGEAR consumer products and services, please visit www.netgear.com. 

About NETGEAR, Inc.
NETGEAR (NASDAQGM: NTGR) is a global networking company that delivers innovative products to consumers, businesses and service providers. For consumers, the company makes high performance, dependable and easy to use home networking, storage and digital media products to connect people with the Internet and their content and devices. For businesses, NETGEAR provides networking, storage and security solutions without the cost and complexity of big IT. The company also supplies top service providers with retail proven, whole home solutions for their customers. NETGEAR products are built on a variety of proven technologies such as wireless, Ethernet and Powerline, with a focus on reliability and ease-of-use. NETGEAR products are sold in approximately 32,000 retail locations around the globe, and through approximately 42,000 value-added resellers. The company's headquarters are in San Jose, Calif., with additional offices in 25 countries. More information is available at http://www.NETGEAR.com or by calling (408) 907-8000. Connect with NETGEAR athttp://twitter.com/NETGEAR and http://www.facebook.com/NETGEAR. 

© 2012 NETGEAR, Inc. NETGEAR, the NETGEAR logo and ProSafe are trademarks or registered trademarks of NETGEAR, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. Other brand and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders. Information is subject to change without notice. All rights reserved. 

Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 for NETGEAR, Inc.: This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Specifically, statements concerning NETGEAR's business and the expected performance characteristics, specifications, reliability, market acceptance, market growth, specific uses, user feedback and market position of NETGEAR's products and technology are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Safe Harbor. These statements are based on management's current expectations and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation, the following: the actual price, performance and ease of use of NETGEAR's products may not meet the price, performance and ease of use requirements of customers; product performance may be adversely affected by real world operating conditions; failure of products may under certain circumstances cause permanent loss of end user data; new viruses or Internet threats may develop that challenge the effectiveness of security features in NETGEAR's products; the ability of NETGEAR to market and sell its products and technology; the impact and pricing of competing products; and the introduction of alternative technological solutions. Further information on potential risk factors that could affect NETGEAR and its business are detailed in the Company's periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including, but not limited to, those risks and uncertainties listed in the section entitled "Part II - Item 1A. Risk Factors," pages 45 through 63, in the Company's quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended July 1, 2012, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 8, 2012. NETGEAR undertakes no obligation to release publicly any revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. 

U.S. Media Contact: Jeff Norris, Weber Shandwick for NETGEAR, (408) 530-8458,JNorris2@webershandwick.com
U.S. Sales Inquiries: (408) 907-8000, sales@netgear.com
U.S. Customer Inquiries: (888) NETGEAR