Agilent Technologies Announces Strategic Partnership with Mentor Graphics on Automotive Network Design, Test and Validation Tools


Agilent to License LIN, CAN Test and Validation Products from Mentor Graphics

STUTTGART, Germany, Automotive Testing Expo 2007, Booth 5828, Hall 5, May 8, 2007 -- Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A) today announced a strategic partnership with Mentor Graphics (NASDAQ: MENT), licensing to Agilent certain products in the Mentor Graphics Volcano® product line. The Agilent LIN Tester, derived from Mentor's Volcano LIN Spector(TM) product, and the Agilent Vehicle Protocol Tester Series 500, derived from Mentor's Volcano TELLUS® product, help automotive engineers develop electronic products faster and under budget while meeting quality requirements.

The strategic partnership allows Agilent to provide a more complete solution for automotive customers:

o Agilent now provides test and validation tools beyond the physical layer up to the protocol layer, addressing the increasing complexity of the vehicle network topology and the need for higher network bandwidth and higher reliability;

o The Mentor Graphics workflow allows an engineer to design a vehicle network to correctness by capturing and validating high-level requirements in the early design phase, then automate the generation of the communication matrix. This enables a predictable and guaranteed data communications implemented by embedded software; and

o Customers using the Mentor Graphics vehicle network design tools with the Agilent Tester will get immediate validation results.

"Mentor Graphics' extensive vehicle protocol analysis and node emulation products complement Agilent's leading physical layer test tools," said Roland Jeutter, automotive business manager at Agilent Technologies Germany. "Customers using Mentor Graphics' vehicle network design tools with the Agilent test and validation products will be able to easily verify complex signal chains and network/signal timings."

"Our partnership with Agilent allows us to focus on our core competencies, the network and electronic design tool and embedded software for AUTOSAR and beyond," said Joachim Langenwalter, director, Automotive Networking Business Unit at Mentor Graphics Germany. "With Agilent, the market leader in test and measurement solutions, our customers will gain a continuous flow combining the best technologies, from design thorough implementation all the way to test and validation, far beyond classical protocol test."

Agilent is demonstrating its new products here this week:

o The Agilent 500 Series vehicle protocol tester (VPT501):
The VPT501 comes with an intuitive PC software application, providing easy network timing checks, signal chain analysis across multiple networks and physical I/Os, complemented by standalone data logging. The VPT501 has the following interfaces:
o 2x CAN, 2x LIN;
o 8x digital I/Os; and
o 100MBps Ethernet link to PC.

o The Agilent LIN Tester: This is a highly flexible analysis and emulation tool used for the testing and validation of LIN communication systems. The tool is divided into two components: an external hardware portion and a PC-based software portion. It supports both 12V and 24V designs. Some of the highlights are:
o Full master / slave capabilities of one or more nodes;
o LIN 2.0 compliant; and
o LIN Go editor to handle graphical objects.

U.S. Pricing and Availability

The Agilent J8115A LIN Tester will be available in July 2007. Pricing starts at $5,900. The Agilent J8120A Vehicle Protocol Tester (VPT501) will be available in the third calendar quarter of 2007. Pricing for the J8120A starts at $9,800.

More information about Agilent's automotive product offering is available at www.agilent.com/find/automotive-test.

About Mentor Graphics

Mentor Graphics Corp. (NASDAQ: MENT) is a world leader in electronic hardware and software design solutions, providing products, consulting services and award-winning support for the world's most successful electronics, semiconductor and automotive companies. Established in 1981, the company reported revenues over the last 12 months of more than $800 million and employs approximately 4,250 people worldwide. Headquartered in Wilsonville, Ore., the company has more than 70 offices worldwide, including Detroit, Munich and Tokyo.

More information is available at www.mentor.com.

About Agilent Technologies

Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A) is the world's premier measurement company and a technology leader in communications, electronics, life sciences and chemical analysis. The company's 19,000 employees serve customers in more than 110 countries. Agilent had net revenue of $5.0 billion in fiscal 2006.

Information about Agilent is available on the Web at www.agilent.com.

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