EXTREME NETWORKS INC
S-1/A, 1999-04-05
COMPUTER COMMUNICATIONS EQUIPMENT
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<PAGE>
 
     
  As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 5, 1999     
                                                     Registration No. 333-71921
 
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                      SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                             Washington, DC 20549
 
                               ----------------
                                
                             AMENDMENT NO. 3     
                                      to
                                   FORM S-1
                            REGISTRATION STATEMENT
                                     UNDER
                          THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933
 
                               ----------------
                            EXTREME NETWORKS, INC.
            (Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)
 
        Delaware                    3576                    77-0430270
    (State or other          (Primary Standard           (I.R.S. Employer
    jurisdiction of              Industrial            Identification No.)
    incorporation or       Classification Number)
     organization)
                               
                            3585 Monroe Street     
                       
                    Santa Clara, California 95051-1450     
                                 
                              (408) 579-2800     
  (Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of
                   Registrant's principal executive offices)
 
                               ----------------
                                Gordon L. Stitt
                                   President
                            Extreme Networks, Inc.
                               
                            3585 Monroe Street     
                       
                    Santa Clara, California 95051-1450     
                                 
                              (408) 579-2800     
(Name, address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code,
                             of agent for service)
 
                                  Copies to:
        Gregory M. Gallo, Esq.                 Jeffrey D. Saper, Esq.
         Jay M. Spitzen, Esq.                J. Robert Suffoletta, Esq.
        J. Howard Clowes, Esq.                   Robert G. Day, Esq.
   Gray Cary Ware & Freidenrich LLP       Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati
          400 Hamilton Avenue                 Professional Corporation
   Palo Alto, California 94301-1825              650 Page Mill Road
            (650) 328-6561                Palo Alto, California 94304-1050
                                                   (650) 493-9300
 
                               ----------------
 
   Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public: As soon as
practicable after the effective date of this Registration Statement.
 
                               ----------------
 
   If any of the securities being registered on this Form are being offered on
a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act of
1933, as amended (the "Securities Act") check the following box. [_]
 
   If this Form is filed to register additional securities for an offering
pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, please check the following
box and list the Securities Act registration number of the earlier effective
registration statement for the same offering. [_]
 
   If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c)
under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act
registration number of the earlier effective registration statement for the
same offering. [_]
 
   If delivery of the prospectus is expected to be made pursuant to Rule 434,
check the following box. [_]
 
                               ----------------
 
   The Registrant hereby amends this Registration Statement on such date or
dates as may be necessary to delay its effective date until the Registrant
shall file a further amendment which specifically states that this
Registration Statement shall thereafter become effective in accordance with
Section 8(a) of the Securities Act or until the Registration Statement shall
become effective on such date as the Securities and Exchange Commission,
acting pursuant to said Section 8(a), may determine.
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<PAGE>
 
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+The information in this prospectus is not complete and may be changed. We may +
+not sell these securities until the registration statement filed with the     +
+Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This prospectus is not an    +
+offer to sell these securities and it is not soliciting an offer to buy these +
+securities in any state where the offer or sale is not permitted.             +
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
PROSPECTUS (Subject to Completion)
   
Issued April 5, 1999     
 
                                5,000,000 Shares
 
                            [EXTREME NETWORKS LOGO]
 
                                  COMMON STOCK
 
                                  -----------
 
  Extreme Networks, Inc.  is offering  5,000,000 shares of  its common stock.
    This is  our  initial public  offering and  no public  market currently
      exists   for   our  shares.   We   anticipate  that   the   initial
        public offering price will be between $9 and $11 per share.
 
                                  -----------
          
        The common stock has been approved for
       quotation on the Nasdaq National Market
            under the symbol "EXTR."     
 
                                  -----------

                 Investing in the common stock involves risks.
                    See "Risk Factors" beginning on page 6.
 
                                  -----------
 
                               PRICE $    A SHARE
 
                                  -----------
 
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                                                  Underwriting
                                  Price to        Discounts and      Proceeds to
                                   Public          Commissions         Extreme
                                  --------        -------------      -----------
<S>                           <C>               <C>               <C>
Per Share....................       $                 $                 $
Total........................       $                 $                 $
</TABLE>
 
The Securities and Exchange Commission and state securities regulators have not
approved or disapproved these securities, or determined if this prospectus is
truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
 
Extreme has granted the underwriters the right to purchase up to 750,000
additional shares to cover any over-allotments. Morgan Stanley & Co.
Incorporated expects to deliver the shares of common stock to purchasers on
     , 1999.
 
                                  -----------
 
MORGAN STANLEY DEAN WITTER
 
              BANCBOSTON ROBERTSON STEPHENS
 
                            DAIN RAUSCHER WESSELS
                              a division of Dain Rauscher Incorporated
      , 1999
<PAGE>
 
[Inside front cover]

The following statements appear on this page

Internet technologies have enabled a new generation of computing applications
that are burdening today's enterprise LANs. However, the performance of
yesterday's legacy routers is being taxed by the high volume of traffic created
by these applications.

This has opened up an opportunity to improve the state of the art of enterprise 
networking...

Leveraging Ethernet and the Internet protocol - today's most dominant and stable
LAN technologies - and combining them with wire-speed Layer 3 switching, the 
Extreme Networks solution enables the enterprise LAN to deliver more information
faster, while allowing businesses to accommodate future growth.

The Extreme Networks solution uses the same hardware, software and management 
architecture for end-to-end simplicity across the enterprise LAN - to desktops, 
segments, servers and the network core.  This makes it easier to manage and 
scale enterprise LANs, while reducing network ownership costs.


<PAGE>
 
[text to accompany inside spread, next to diagram]

Depicted on this page is an enterprise LAN architecture with Extreme Networks' 
products. 

High Performance
Wire-speed Layer 3 switching 
Non-blocking architecture
10/100/1000 Mbps Ethernet

Easy to Use and Implement
Consistent architecture
Consistent product feature set
Web-based management

Scaleable
Speed, bandwidth, network size, QoS
Support future applications 
Upgrade from layer 2 to Layer 3

Quality of Service
Policy-based QoS from Layer 1-4
Prioritize applications
Allocate bandwidth

Lower Cost of Ownership
Less expensive, yet faster than legacy routers
Leverages existing knowledge and resources
Reduces enterprise LAN complexity
<PAGE>
 
                               TABLE OF CONTENTS
 
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                                                                          Page
                                                                          ----
<S>                                                                       <C>
Prospectus Summary.....................................................     4
Risk Factors...........................................................     6
Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements......................    17
Use of Proceeds........................................................    18
Dividend Policy........................................................    18
Capitalization.........................................................    19
Dilution...............................................................    20
Selected Consolidated Financial Data...................................    21
Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and 
 Operating Results.....................................................    22 

<CAPTION>
                                                                          Page
                                                                          ----
<S>                                                                       <C>
Business...............................................................    31
Management.............................................................    46
Certain Transactions...................................................    52
Principal Stockholders.................................................    53
Description of Capital Stock...........................................    55
Shares Eligible for Future Sale........................................    58
Underwriters...........................................................    60
Legal Matters..........................................................    62
Experts................................................................    62
Where You Can Find More Information....................................    62
Index to Consolidated Financial Statements.............................   F-1 
</TABLE>
 
   You should rely only on the information contained in this prospectus. We
have not authorized anyone to provide you with information different from that
contained in this prospectus. We are offering to sell, and seeking offers to
buy, shares of common stock only in jurisdictions where offers and sales are
permitted. The information contained in this prospectus is accurate only as of
the date of this prospectus, regardless of the time of delivery of the
prospectus or of any sale of the common stock.
 
   Until       , 1999, 25 days after commencement of the offering, all dealers
effecting transactions in Extreme common stock, whether or not participating
in this offering, may be required to deliver a prospectus. This delivery
requirement is in addition to the dealers' obligation to deliver a prospectus
when acting as underwriters and with respect to their unsold allotments or
subscriptions.
 
                                       3
<PAGE>
 
                               PROSPECTUS SUMMARY
   
   You should read the following summary together with the more detailed
information regarding our company and the common stock being sold in this
offering and our Consolidated Financial Statements and Notes to Consolidated
Financial Statements appearing elsewhere in this prospectus.     
 
                                  The Company
   
   Extreme Networks is a leading provider of a next generation of switching
solutions that meet the increasing needs of enterprise local area networks, or
LANs. The key advantages of our LAN solutions are increased performance, the
ability to easily grow, or "scale," in size as customer needs change, flexible
allocation of LAN resources, ease of use and lower cost of ownership. These
advantages are obtained through the use of custom semiconductors, known as
ASICs, in our products and through hardware and software designs that are
common and uniform across our product line. The routing of network traffic, a
function referred to as Layer 3 switching, is done primarily with ASICs in our
products, and consequently, is faster than the software implementations used in
many competing products. Traditional Layer 3 products rely primarily on
software which can slow traffic speeds below those which could otherwise be
achieved and result in message packets being lost when LAN traffic is high. Our
products incorporate an ASIC-based, wire-speed architecture and are designed to
avoid the loss of message packets in the switch, or "non-blocking." The
Dell'Oro Group, a research and consulting firm, estimates in an independently
prepared market report dated March 1999, that the market for Layer 3 switching
totaled $637 million in 1998 and is expected to increase to approximately $3.4
billion in 2001.     
 
   The increased use of data and multi-media intensive, mission-critical
applications, the widespread implementation of various kinds of enterprise-wide
networks, and the ubiquity of Internet technologies have burdened the LAN
infrastructure with unpredictable traffic patterns and unpredictable traffic
loads. To address the need to improve LAN performance, new and faster
technologies employing multiple hardware and software protocols were developed.
These multiple protocols caused enterprise LANs to become more complex,
expensive and difficult to manage in part because of the need for multiple-
protocol routers that are based on software and expensive microprocessors. With
the wide acceptance of Ethernet and the Internet Protocol, the need to support
a multi-protocol environment has diminished. Extreme has developed Layer 3
switches based on our custom ASICs which function as less expensive and
significantly faster routers. Our Layer 3 switches support connections
operating at Gigabit speeds, 1 billion bits per second. They can support large
networks, have a sophisticated ability to assign different priorities to
different kinds of network traffic and, unlike most Layer 3 products, do not
drop message packets even if network LAN traffic is high.
 
   Our Summit stackable and BlackDiamond modular product families provide end-
to-end LAN solutions that meet the requirements of today's enterprise LANs. Our
products offer the following benefits:
 
  .  High performance: Our products provide Gigabit Ethernet and Fast
     Ethernet together with the non-blocking, wire-speed routing of Layer 3
     switching.
 
  .  Ease of use and implementation: Our products offer a common architecture
     and are compatible with existing LAN devices, making them easy to
     install and manage.
 
  .  Scalability: Our solutions offer customers the speed and bandwidth they
     need with the capability to scale their LANs to support demanding
     applications in the future.
 
  .  Quality of service: Our policy-based quality of service enables
     customers to prioritize mission-critical applications by providing
     industry-leading tools for allocating resources to specific
     applications.
 
  .  Lower cost of ownership: Our products are less expensive than software-
     based routers, yet offer higher routing performance throughout the
     enterprise LAN.
   
   We sell our products through domestic and international resellers and field
sales. We have entered into agreements with more than 100 resellers in 39
countries, and we have established four key relationships with leaders in the
telecommunications, personal computer and computer networking industries. Our
field sales organization supports and develops leads for our resellers and
establishes and maintains a limited number of key accounts and strategic
customers. Our products have been deployed in a broad range of organizations,
ranging from companies in the telecommunications, manufacturing, medical,
computer services, media and finance industries to educational industries and
federal agencies. We are incorporated in Delaware. Our executive offices are
located at 3585 Monroe Street, Santa Clara, California 95051-1450 and our
telephone number is (408) 579-2800.     
 
                                       4
<PAGE>
 
                                  The Offering
 
<TABLE>   
 <C>                                         <S>
 Common stock offered....................... 5,000,000 shares
 Common stock to be outstanding after this
  offering.................................. 45,852,510 shares
 Use of proceeds............................ We intend to use the proceeds for
                                              general corporate purposes,
                                              including working capital and
                                              capital expenditures. See "Use
                                              of Proceeds."
 Nasdaq National Market symbol.............. EXTR
</TABLE>    
 
   The foregoing information is based upon shares outstanding as of December
31, 1998 and excludes shares which may be issued upon the exercise of options.
Unless otherwise indicated, all information in this prospectus (1) gives effect
to the conversion of all outstanding shares of preferred stock into shares of
common stock effective upon the closing of the offering, (2) assumes no
exercise of the underwriters' over-allotment option and (3) assumes no exercise
of outstanding warrants to purchase 337,398 shares of our common stock.
 
                      Summary Consolidated Financial Data
                     (in thousands, except per share data)
 
   The "as adjusted" column below reflects the issuance and sale of 5,000,000
shares of our common stock at an assumed initial public offering price of
$10.00 per share, and the application of the net proceeds from the offering,
after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated
offering expenses payable by us, as set forth under "Use of Proceeds."
 
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                                            Year Ended       Six Months Ended
                                             June 30,          December 31,
                                         -----------------  -------------------
                                          1997      1998       1997      1998
                                         -------  --------  ----------- -------
                                                            (unaudited)
<S>                                      <C>      <C>       <C>         <C>
Consolidated statement of operations
 data:
Net revenue............................  $   256  $ 23,579  $ 6,104     $30,851
Gross profit (loss)....................     (132)    8,682    2,547      15,246
Total operating expenses...............    7,928    22,709    9,040      19,576
Operating loss.........................   (8,060)  (14,027)  (6,493)     (4,330)
Net loss...............................   (7,923)  (13,936)  (6,467)     (4,936)
Basic and diluted net loss per share...  $ (4.51) $  (3.18) $ (1.84)    $  (.72)
Weighted average shares outstanding
 used in computing basic and diluted
 net loss per share....................    1,758     4,379    3,510       6,867
Pro forma basic and diluted net loss
 per share.............................           $   (.44)             $  (.14)
Shares used in computing pro forma
 basic and diluted net loss per share..             31,701               35,929
</TABLE>
 
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                                                        At December 31, 1998
                                                        -----------------------
                                                         Actual    As Adjusted
                                                        ---------- ------------
                                                                   (unaudited)
<S>                                                     <C>        <C>
Consolidated balance sheet data:
Cash and cash equivalents.............................. $    5,792 $   50,992
Working capital........................................      9,284     54,484
Total assets...........................................     27,622     72,822
Long-term debt and capital lease obligations due after
 one year..............................................      2,719      2,719
Total stockholders' equity.............................     11,740     56,940
</TABLE>
 
                                       5
<PAGE>
 
                                 RISK FACTORS
 
   You should carefully consider the risks described below, together with all
of the other information included in this prospectus, before making an
investment decision. If any of the following risks actually occurs, our
business, financial condition or operating results could be materially
adversely affected. In such case, the trading price of our common stock could
decline, and you may lose all or part of your investment.
 
Extreme Has a History of Losses, Expects Future Losses and Cannot Assure You
that It Will Achieve Profitability
 
   We have not achieved profitability and although our revenue has grown in
recent quarters, we cannot be certain that we will realize sufficient revenue
to achieve profitability. Extreme has incurred net losses of $7.9 million from
inception through June 30, 1997, $13.9 million for fiscal year 1998 and $4.9
million for the six-months ended December 31, 1998. As of December 31, 1998,
we had an accumulated deficit of $26.8 million. We have not achieved
profitability and expect to continue to incur net losses. We anticipate
continuing to incur significant sales and marketing, product development and
general and administrative expenses and, as a result, we will need to generate
significantly higher revenue to achieve and sustain profitability.
 
A Number of Factors Could Cause Extreme's Quarterly Financial Results to Be
Worse Than Expected, Resulting in a Decline in Its Stock Price
 
   We plan to significantly increase our operating expenses to expand our
sales and marketing activities, broaden our customer support capabilities,
develop new distribution channels, fund increased levels of research and
development and build our operational infrastructure. We base our operating
expenses on anticipated revenue trends and a high percentage of our expenses
are fixed in the short term. As a result, any delay in generating or
recognizing revenue could cause our quarterly operating results to be below
the expectations of public market analysts or investors, which could cause the
price of our common stock to fall.
 
   We may experience a delay in generating or recognizing revenue because of a
number of reasons. Orders at the beginning of each quarter typically do not
equal expected revenue for that quarter and are generally cancelable at any
time. Accordingly, we are dependent upon obtaining orders in a quarter for
shipment in that quarter to achieve our revenue objectives. In addition, the
timing of product releases, purchase orders and product availability could
result in significant product shipments at the end of a quarter. Failure to
ship theses products by the end of a quarter may adversely affect our
operating results. Furthermore, our customer agreements typically provide that
the customer may delay scheduled delivery dates and cancel orders within
specified time frames without significant penalty.
 
   Our quarterly revenue and operating results have varied significantly in
the past and may vary significantly in the future due to a number of factors,
including:
 
  .  fluctuations in demand for our products and services, including
     seasonality, particularly in Asia;
 
  .  unexpected product returns or the cancellation or rescheduling of
     significant orders;
 
  .  our ability to develop, introduce, ship and support new products and
     product enhancements and manage product transitions;
 
  .  announcements and new product introductions by our competitors;
 
  .  our ability to achieve required cost reductions;
 
  .  our ability to obtain sufficient supplies of sole or limited sourced
     components for our products;
 
  .  unfavorable changes in the prices of the components we purchase;
 
  .  our ability to attain and maintain production volumes and quality levels
     for our products;
 
                                       6
<PAGE>
 
  .  the mix of products sold and the mix of distribution channels through
     which they are sold; and
 
  .  costs relating to possible acquisitions and integration of technologies
     or businesses.
 
   Due to the foregoing factors, we believe that period-to-period comparisons
of our operating results should not be relied upon as an indicator of our
future performance.
 
Intense Competition in the Market for Enterprise LAN Equipment Could Prevent
Extreme From Increasing Revenue and Prevent Extreme From Achieving or
Sustaining Profitability
 
   The market for enterprise LAN switches is intensely competitive. Our
principal competitors include Alcatel, Bay Networks, Cabletron Systems, Cisco
Systems, Ericsson, FORE Systems, IBM, Lucent Technologies, Nokia, Nortel
Networks, Siemens, 3Com and Xylan. Many of our current and potential
competitors have longer operating histories and substantially greater
financial, technical, sales, marketing and other resources, as well as greater
name recognition and larger installed customer bases, than we do. These
competitors may have developed or could in the future develop new technologies
that compete with our products or even render our products obsolete.
 
   To remain competitive, we believe we must, among other things, invest
significant resources in developing new products and enhancing our current
products and maintaining customer satisfaction. If we fail to do so, our
products may not compete favorably with those of our competitors and our
revenue and future profitability could be materially adversely affected. For
more information about competitive risks to Extreme, see "Business--
Competition."
 
Extreme Expects the Average Selling Prices of Its Products to Decrease Rapidly
Which May Reduce Gross Margins or Revenue
 
   The enterprise LAN equipment industry has experienced rapid erosion of
average selling prices due to a number of factors, including competitive
pricing pressures and rapid technological change. We may experience
substantial period-to-period fluctuations in future operating results due to
the erosion of our average selling prices. We anticipate that the average
selling prices of our products will decrease in the future in response to
competitive pricing pressures, increased sales discounts, new product
introductions by us or our competitors or other factors. Therefore, to
maintain our gross margins, we must develop and introduce on a timely basis
new products and product enhancements and continually reduce our product
costs. Our failure to do so would cause our revenue and gross margins to
decline, which could materially adversely affect our operating results and
cause the price of our common stock to decline.
 
Extreme's Market is Subject to Rapid Technological Change and to Compete,
Extreme Must Continually Introduce New Products that Achieve Broad Market
Acceptance
 
   The enterprise LAN equipment market is characterized by rapid technological
change, frequent new product introductions, changes in customer requirements
and evolving industry standards. If we do not address these changes by
regularly introducing new products, our product line will become obsolete.
Developments in routers and routing software could also significantly reduce
demand for our product. Alternative technologies, including asynchronous
transfer mode, or ATM, could achieve widespread market acceptance and displace
Ethernet technology on which our product lines and architecture are based. We
cannot assure you that our technological approach will achieve broad market
acceptance or that other technologies or devices will not supplant our
approach.
 
   When we announce new products or product enhancements that have the
potential to replace or shorten the life cycle of our existing products,
customers may defer purchasing our existing products. These actions could
materially adversely affect our operating results by unexpectedly decreasing
sales, increasing our inventory levels of older products and exposing us to
greater risk of product obsolescence. The market for enterprise LAN
 
                                       7
<PAGE>
 
switching products is evolving and we believe our ability to compete
successfully in this market is dependent upon the continued compatibility and
interoperability of our products with products and architectures offered by
other vendors. In particular, the networking industry has been characterized
by the successive introduction of new technologies or standards that have
dramatically reduced the price and increased the performance of enterprise LAN
equipment. To remain competitive we need to introduce products in a timely
manner that incorporate or are compatible with these new technologies as they
emerge. We have experienced delays in releasing new products and product
enhancements in the past which delayed sales and resulted in lower quarterly
revenue than anticipated. We may experience similar delays in product
development in the future and any delay in product introduction could
adversely affect our ability to compete and cause our operating results to be
below our expectations or the expectations of public market analysts or
investors.
 
Continued Rapid Growth Will Strain Extreme's Operations and Will Require
Extreme to Incur Costs to Upgrade Its Infrastructure
 
   Since the introduction of our product line, we have experienced a period of
rapid growth and expansion which has placed, and continues to place, a
significant strain on our resources. Unless we manage such growth effectively,
we may make mistakes in operating our business such as inaccurate sales
forecasting, incorrect material planning or inaccurate financial reporting,
which may result in unanticipated fluctuations in our operating results. Our
net revenue increased significantly during the last year, and from December
31, 1997 to December 31, 1998, the number of our employees increased from 80
to 159. We expect our anticipated growth and expansion to strain our
management, operational and financial resources. Our management team has had
limited experience managing such rapidly growing companies on a public or
private basis. In January 1999, we hired a new Chief Financial Officer. To
accommodate this anticipated growth, we will be required to:
 
  .  improve existing and implement new operational and financial systems,
     procedures and controls;
 
  .  hire, train and manage additional qualified personnel, including in the
     near future sales and marketing personnel; and
 
  .  effectively manage multiple relationships with our customers, suppliers
     and other third parties.
 
   We may not be able to install adequate control systems in an efficient and
timely manner, and our current or planned personnel systems, procedures and
controls may not be adequate to support our future operations. For example, in
the quarter ended June 30, 1998, our operating results were adversely impacted
due to a provision of approximately $900,000 that we recorded for purchase
order commitments for certain components that exceeded our estimated
requirements at the end of that quarter. This was due primarily to an
engineering change in certain of our Summit family of products and a reduced
demand forecast from one of our customers. In August 1998, we installed a new
management information system, but we have not fully implemented its
functionality. The difficulties associated with installing and implementing
these new systems, procedures and controls may place a significant burden on
our management and our internal resources. In addition, if we grow
internationally, we will have to expand our worldwide operations and enhance
our communications infrastructure. Any delay in the implementation of such new
or enhanced systems, procedures or controls, or any disruption in the
transition to such new or enhanced systems, procedures or controls, could
adversely affect our ability to accurately forecast sales demand, manage our
supply chain and record and report financial and management information on a
timely and accurate basis.
   
   As a result of our rapid growth, we moved our entire operations in March
1999 to an approximately 77,000 square foot facility located in Santa Clara,
California. This move may disrupt our business and materially adversely affect
our operating results.     
 
                                       8
<PAGE>
 
Extreme Must Develop and Expand Its Indirect Distribution Channels to Increase
Revenues and Improve Its Operating Results
 
   Our distribution strategy focuses primarily on developing and expanding
indirect distribution channels through resellers and, to a lesser extent,
OEMs, as well as expanding our field sales organization. If we fail to
develop and cultivate relationships with significant resellers, or if these
resellers are not successful in their sales efforts, sales of our products may
decrease and our operating results would suffer. Many of our resellers also
sell products that compete with our products. We are developing a two-tier
distribution structure which would require us to enter into agreements with a
small number of stocking distributors. We cannot assure you that we will be
able to enter into such agreements or successfully develop a two-tier
distribution structure. Our failure to do so could limit our ability to grow
or sustain revenue. In addition, our operating results will likely fluctuate
significantly depending on the timing and amount of orders from our resellers.
We cannot assure you that our resellers will market our products effectively
or continue to devote the resources necessary to provide us with effective
sales, marketing and technical support.
 
   In order to support and develop leads for our indirect distribution
channels, we plan to expand our field sales and support staff significantly.
We cannot assure you that this internal expansion will be successfully
completed, that the cost of this expansion will not exceed the revenues
generated or that our expanded sales and support staff will be able to compete
successfully against the significantly more extensive and well-funded sales
and marketing operations of many of our current or potential competitors. Our
inability to effectively establish our distribution channels or manage the
expansion of our sales and support staff would materially adversely affect our
ability to grow and increase revenue.
 
Because Substantially All of Extreme's Revenue is Derived From Sales of Two
Product Families, Extreme is Dependent on Widespread Market Acceptance of
These Products
 
   We currently derive substantially all of our revenue from sales of our
Summit and BlackDiamond product families. We expect that revenue from these
product families will account for a substantial portion of our revenue for the
foreseeable future. Accordingly, widespread market acceptance of our product
families is critical to our future success. Factors that may affect the market
acceptance of our products include market acceptance of enterprise LAN
switching products, and Gigabit Ethernet and Layer 3 switching technologies in
particular, the performance, price and total cost of ownership of our
products, the availability and price of competing products and technologies,
and the success and development of our resellers, OEMs and field sales
channels. Many of these factors are beyond our control. Our future performance
will also depend on the successful development, introduction and market
acceptance of new and enhanced products that address customer requirements in
a cost-effective manner. The introduction of new and enhanced products may
cause our customers to defer or cancel orders for existing products. We have
in the past experienced delays in product development and such delays may
occur in the future. Therefore, to the extent customers defer or cancel orders
in the expectation of any new product release, any delay in development or
introduction could cause our operating results to suffer. Failure of our
existing or future products to maintain and achieve widespread levels of
market acceptance may significantly impair our revenue growth.
 
If a Key Reseller, OEM or Other Significant Customer Cancels or Delays a Large
Purchase, Extreme's Revenues May Decline and the Price of Its Stock May Fall
 
   To date, a limited number of resellers, OEMs and other customers have
accounted for a significant portion of our revenue. If any of our large
customers stop or delay purchases, our revenue and profitability would be
adversely affected. For fiscal 1998, 3Com and Compaq accounted for 25% and 21%
of our net revenue, respectively, and for the six-month period ended December
31, 1998, Compaq and Hitachi Cable accounted for 17% and 11% of our net
revenue, respectively. Compaq is both an OEM and an end-user customer. Because
our expense levels are based on our expectations as to future revenue and to a
large extent are fixed in the short term, a substantial reduction or delay in
sales of our products to, or the loss of any significant reseller, OEM or
other customer, or unexpected returns from resellers could materially
adversely affect our business, operating
 
                                       9
<PAGE>
 
results and financial condition. Although our largest customers may vary from
period-to-period, we anticipate that our operating results for any given
period will continue to depend to a significant extent on large orders from a
small number of customers, particularly in light of the high sales price per
unit of our products and the length of our sales cycles.
 
   While our financial performance depends on large orders from a few key
resellers, OEMs and other significant customers, we do not have binding
commitments from any of them. For example:
 
  .  our customers can stop purchasing and our resellers and OEMs can stop
     marketing our products at any time;
 
  .  our reseller agreements generally are not exclusive and are for one year
     terms, with no obligation of the resellers to renew the agreements;
 
  .  our reseller agreements provide for discounts based on expected or
     actual volumes of products purchased or resold by the reseller in a
     given period; and
 
  .  our reseller and OEM agreements generally do not require minimum
     purchases.
 
   We have established a program which, under specified conditions, enables
some third party resellers to return products to us. The amount of potential
product returns is estimated and provided for in the period of the sale. Some
of our OEM agreements also provide manufacturing rights and access to our
source code upon the occurrence of specified conditions of default. If we were
to default on these agreements, our OEMs could use our source code to develop
and manufacture competing products, which would materially adversely affect
our performance and ability to compete.
 
The Sales Cycle for Extreme's Products is Long and Extreme May Incur
Substantial Non-Recoverable Expenses or Devote Significant Resources to Sales
that Do Not Occur When Anticipated
 
   The timing of our sales revenue is difficult to predict because of our
reliance on indirect sales channels and the length and variability of our
sales cycle. Our products have a relatively high sales price per unit, and
often represent a significant and strategic decision by an enterprise
regarding its communications infrastructure. Accordingly, the purchase of our
products typically involves significant internal procedures associated with
the evaluation, testing, implementation and acceptance of new technologies.
This evaluation process frequently results in a lengthy sales process,
typically ranging from three months to longer than a year, and subjects the
sales cycle associated with the purchase of our products to a number of
significant risks, including budgetary constraints and internal acceptance
reviews. The length of our sales cycle also may vary substantially from
customer to customer. While our customers are evaluating our products and
before they may place an order with us, we may incur substantial sales and
marketing expenses and expend significant management effort. Consequently, if
sales forecasted from a specific customer for a particular quarter are not
realized in that quarter, we may be unable to compensate for the shortfall,
which could materially adversely affect our operating results.
 
Extreme Purchases Several Key Components for Products From Single or Limited
Sources and Could Lose Sales if These Sources Fail to Fill Its Needs
 
   We currently purchase several key components used in the manufacture of our
products from single or limited sources and are dependent upon supply from
these sources to meet our needs. We are likely to encounter shortages and
delays in obtaining components in the future which could materially adversely
affect our ability to meet customer orders. Our principal sole sourced
components include:
 
  .  ASICs;
 
  .  microprocessors;
 
  .  programmable integrated circuits;
 
  .  selected other integrated circuits;
 
  .  cables; and
 
  .  custom-tooled sheet metal.
 
                                      10
<PAGE>
 
   Our principal limited sourced components include:
 
  .  flash memories;
 
  .  dynamic and static random access memories, commonly known as DRAMs and
     SRAMs, respectively; and
 
  .  printed circuit boards.
 
   For more information about our single and limited sources, see "Business--
Manufacturing."
 
   We use a rolling six-month forecast based on anticipated product orders to
determine our material requirements. Lead times for materials and components
we order vary significantly, and depend on factors such as the specific
supplier, contract terms and demand for a component at a given time. If orders
do not match forecasts, we may have excess or inadequate inventory of certain
materials and components, which could materially adversely affect our
operating results and financial condition. From time to time we have
experienced shortages and allocations of certain components, resulting in
delays in filling orders. In addition, during the development of our products
we have experienced delays in the prototyping of our ASICs, which in turn has
led to delays in product introductions.
 
Extreme Needs to Expand Its Manufacturing Operations and Depends on Contract
Manufacturers for Substantially All of Its Manufacturing Requirements
 
   If the demand for our products grows, we will need to increase our material
purchases, contract manufacturing capacity and internal test and quality
functions. Any disruptions in product flow could limit our revenue, adversely
affect our competitive position and reputation and result in additional costs
or cancellation of orders under agreements with our customers.
 
   We rely on third party manufacturing vendors to manufacture our products.
We currently subcontract substantially all of our manufacturing to two
companies--Flextronics International, Ltd., located in San Jose, California,
which manufactures our Summit1, Summit2 and Summit4 and BlackDiamond products,
and MCMS, Inc., located in Boise, Idaho, which manufactures our Summit24 and
Summit48 products. We have experienced a delay in product shipments from a
contract manufacturer in the past, which in turn delayed product shipments to
our customers. We may in the future experience similar or other problems, such
as inferior quality and insufficient quantity of product, any of which could
materially adversely affect our business and operating results. There can be
no assurance that we will effectively manage our contract manufacturers or
that these manufacturers will meet our future requirements for timely delivery
of products of sufficient quality and quantity. We intend to regularly
introduce new products and product enhancements, which will require that we
rapidly achieve volume production by coordinating our efforts with those of
our suppliers and contract manufacturers. The inability of our contract
manufacturers to provide us with adequate supplies of high-quality products or
the loss of either of our contract manufacturers would cause a delay in our
ability to fulfill orders while we obtain a replacement manufacturer and would
have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and
financial condition.
 
   As part of our cost-reduction efforts, we will need to realize lower per
unit product costs from our contract manufacturers as a result of volume
efficiencies. However, we cannot be certain when or if such price reductions
will occur. The failure to obtain such price reductions would adversely affect
our gross margins and operating results.
 
If Extreme Loses Key Personnel or is Unable to Hire Additional Qualified
Personnel as Necessary,It May Not Be Able to Successfully Manage Its Business
or Achieve Its Objectives
 
   Our success depends to a significant degree upon the continued
contributions of our key management, engineering, sales and marketing and
manufacturing personnel, many of whom would be difficult to replace. In
particular, we believe that our future success is highly dependent on Gordon
Stitt, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Stephen Haddock, Vice
President and Chief Technical Officer, and Herb Schneider, Vice
 
                                      11
<PAGE>
 
President of Engineering. We neither have employment contracts with nor key
person life insurance on any of our key personnel.
 
   We believe our future success will also depend in large part upon our
ability to attract and retain highly skilled managerial, engineering, sales
and marketing, finance and manufacturing personnel. Competition for these
personnel is intense, especially in the San Francisco Bay Area, and we have
had difficulty hiring employees in the timeframe we desire, particularly
software engineers. There can be no assurance that we will be successful in
attracting and retaining such personnel. The loss of the services of any of
our key personnel, the inability to attract or retain qualified personnel in
the future or delays in hiring required personnel, particularly engineers and
sales personnel, could make it difficult for us to manage our business and
meet key objectives, such as product introductions, on time. In addition,
companies in the networking industry whose employees accept positions with
competitors frequently claim that competitors have engaged in unfair hiring
practices. We have from time to time received claims like this from other
companies and, although to date they have not resulted in material litigation,
we cannot assure you that we will not receive additional claims in the future
as we seek to hire qualified personnel or that such claims will not result in
material litigation. We could incur substantial costs in defending ourselves
against any such claims, regardless of the merits of such claims.
 
Extreme's Products Must Comply With Evolving Industry Standards and Complex
Government Regulations or Its Products May Not Be Widely Accepted, Which May
Prevent Extreme From Sustaining Its Revenues or Achieving Profitability.
 
   The market for enterprise LAN equipment products is characterized by the
need to support industry standards as different standards emerge, evolve and
achieve acceptance. We will not be competitive unless we continually introduce
new products and product enhancements that meet these emerging standards. In
the past, we have introduced new products that were not compatible with
certain technological changes, and in the future we may not be able to
effectively address the compatibility and interoperability issues that arise
as a result of technological changes and evolving industry standards. In
addition, in the United States, our products must comply with various
regulations and standards defined by the Federal Communications Commission and
Underwriters Laboratories. Internationally, products that we develop may be
required to comply with standards established by telecommunications
authorities in various countries as well as with recommendations of the
International Telecommunication Union. If we do not comply with existing or
evolving industry standards or if we fail to obtain timely domestic or foreign
regulatory approvals or certificates we would not be able to sell our products
where these standards or regulations apply, which may prevent us from
sustaining our revenues or achieving profitability.
   
Extreme Needs to Expand Its Sales and Support Organizations to Increase Market
Acceptance of Its Products and If It Fails to Do So, Extreme Will Not Be Able
to Increase Revenues     
 
   Our products and services require a sophisticated sales effort targeted at
several levels within a prospective customer's organization. Unless we expand
our sales force we will not be able to increase revenues. We have recently
expanded our sales force and plan to hire additional sales personnel. However,
competition for qualified sales personnel is intense, and we might not be able
to hire the kind and number of sales personnel we are targeting.
 
   We currently have a small customer service and support organization and
will need to increase our staff to support new customers and the expanding
needs of existing customers. The design and installation of networking
products can be complex; accordingly, we need highly-trained customer service
and support personnel. Hiring customer service and support personnel is very
competitive in our industry due to the limited number of people available with
the necessary technical skills and understanding of our products.
 
                                      12
<PAGE>
 
Extreme Depends Upon International Sales for Much of Its Revenue and Extreme's
Ability to Sustain and Increase Its International Sales Depends on
Successfully Expanding Its International Operations
   
   Our ability to grow will depend in part on the expansion of international
sales and operations which have and are expected to constitute a significant
portion of our sales. Sales to customers outside of North America accounted
for approximately 61% and 56% of our net revenue in fiscal 1998 and the six-
months ended December 31, 1998, respectively. Our international sales
primarily depend on our resellers and OEMs. The failure of our resellers and
OEMs to sell our products internationally would limit our ability to sustain
and grow our revenue. In addition, there are a number of risks arising from
our international business, including:     
 
  .  longer accounts receivable collection cycles;
 
  .  difficulties in managing operations across disparate geographic areas;
 
  .  difficulties associated with enforcing agreements through foreign legal
     systems;
 
  .  import or export licensing requirements;
 
  .  potential adverse tax consequences; and
 
  .  unexpected changes in regulatory requirements.
 
   Our international sales currently are U.S. dollar-denominated. As a result,
an increase in the value of the U.S. dollar relative to foreign currencies
could make our products less competitive in international markets. In the
future, we may elect to invoice some of our international customers in local
currency. Doing so will subject us to fluctuations in exchange rates between
the U.S. dollar and the particular local currency. Because we currently
denominate sales in U.S. dollars, we do not anticipate that the adoption of
the Euro as a functional legal currency of certain European countries will
materially affect our business.
 
Extreme May Engage in Future Acquisitions that Dilute the Ownership Interests
of Our Stockholders, Cause Us to Incur Debt and Assume Contingent Liabilities
 
   As part of our business strategy, we expect to review acquisition prospects
that would complement our current product offerings, augment our market
coverage or enhance our technical capabilities, or that may otherwise offer
growth opportunities. While we have no current agreements or negotiations
underway with respect to any such acquisitions, we may acquire businesses,
products or technologies in the future. In the event of any future
acquisitions, we could:
 
  .  issue equity securities which would dilute current stockholders'
     percentage ownership;
 
  .  incur substantial debt; or
 
  .  assume contingent liabilities.
 
   Such actions by us could materially adversely affect our operating results
and/or the price of our common stock. Acquisitions also entail numerous risks,
including:
 
  .  difficulties in the assimilation of acquired operations, technologies or
     products;
 
  .  unanticipated costs associated with the acquisition;
 
  .  diversion of management's attention from other business concerns;
 
  .  adverse effects on existing business relationships with suppliers and
     customers;
 
  .  risks associated with entering markets in which we have no or limited
     prior experience; and
 
  .  potential loss of key employees of acquired organizations.
 
   We cannot assure you that we will be able to successfully integrate any
businesses, products, technologies or personnel that we might acquire in the
future, and our failure to do so could materially adversely affect our
business, operating results and financial condition.
 
                                      13
<PAGE>
 
   
Extreme May Need Additional Capital to Fund Its Future Operations Which, If It
Is Not Available When Needed, Extreme May Need to Reduce Its Planned
Development and Marketing Efforts, Which May Reduce Its Revenues and Prevent
Extreme From Achieving Profitabilty     
 
   We believe that our existing working capital proceeds from this offering
and cash available from credit facilities and future operations will enable us
to meet our working capital requirements for at least the next 12 months.
However, if cash from future operations is insufficient, or if cash is used
for acquisitions or other currently unanticipated uses, we may need additional
capital. The development and marketing of new products and the expansion of
reseller channels and associated support personnel is expected to require a
significant commitment of resources. In addition, if the market for enterprise
Layer 3 LAN switches were to develop more slowly than anticipated or if we
fail to establish significant market share and achieve a meaningful level of
revenues, we may continue to incur significant operating losses and utilize
significant amounts of capital. As a result, we could be required to raise
substantial additional capital. To the extent that we raise additional capital
through the sale of equity or convertible debt securities, the issuance of
such securities could result in dilution to existing stockholders. If
additional funds are raised through the issuance of debt securities, such
securities would have rights, preferences and privileges senior to holders of
common stock and the term of such debt could impose restrictions on our
operations. We cannot assure you that such additional capital, if required,
will be available on acceptable terms, or at all. If we are unable to obtain
such additional capital, we may be required to reduce the scope of our planned
product development and marketing efforts, which would materially adversely
affect our business, financial condition and operating results.
 
If Extreme's Products Contain Undetected Software or Hardware Errors, Extreme
Could Incur Significant Unexpected Expenses and Lost Sales
 
   Network products frequently contain undetected software or hardware errors
when first introduced or as new versions are released. We have experienced
such errors in the past in connection with new products and product upgrades.
We expect that such errors will be found from time to time in new or enhanced
products after commencement of commercial shipments. These problems may
materially adversely affect our business by causing us to incur significant
warranty and repair costs, diverting the attention of our engineering
personnel from our product development efforts and causing significant
customer relations problems.
 
   Our products must successfully interoperate with products from other
vendors. As a result, when problems occur in a network, it may be difficult to
identify the source of the problem. The occurrence of hardware and software
errors, whether caused by our products or another vendor's products, could
result in the delay or loss of market acceptance of our products and any
necessary revisions may result in the incurrence of significant expenses. The
occurrence of any such problems would likely have a material adverse effect on
our business, operating results and financial condition.
 
Extreme's Limited Ability to Protect Its Intellectual Property May Adversely
Affect Its Ability to Compete
 
   We rely on a combination of patent, copyright, trademark and trade secret
laws and restrictions on disclosure to protect our intellectual property
rights. However, we cannot assure you that the actions we have taken will
adequately protect our intellectual property rights.
 
   We also enter into confidentiality or license agreements with our
employees, consultants and corporate partners, and control access to and
distribution of our software, documentation and other proprietary information.
Despite our efforts to protect our proprietary rights, unauthorized parties
may attempt to copy or otherwise obtain and use our products or technology.
See "Business--Intellectual Property" for more information regarding risks
relating to protecting our intellectual property rights and risks relating to
claims of infringement of other intellectual property rights.
 
                                      14
<PAGE>
 
If Extreme or Its Key Suppliers and Customers Fail to Be Year 2000 Compliant,
Extreme's Business May Be Severely Disrupted And Its Revenues May Decline
 
   The year 2000 computer issue creates a risk for us. If systems do not
correctly recognize date information when the year changes to 2000, there
could be an adverse impact on our operations. The risk exists in four areas:
 
  .  potential warranty or other claims from our customers;
 
  .  systems we use to run our business;
 
  .  systems used by our suppliers; and
 
  .  the potential reduced spending by other companies on networking
     solutions as a result of significant information systems spending on
     year 2000 remediation.
 
   We are currently evaluating our exposure in all of these areas.
 
   We are in the process of conducting an inventory and evaluation of the
information systems used to run our business. Systems which are identified as
non-compliant will be upgraded or replaced. For the year 2000 non-compliance
issues identified to date, the cost of remediation is not expected to be
material to our operating results. However, if implementation of replacement
systems is delayed, or if significant new non-compliance issues are
identified, our operating results or financial condition could be materially
adversely affected.
 
   We intend to contact our critical suppliers to determine that the
suppliers' operations and the products and services they provide are year 2000
compliant. Where practicable, we will attempt to mitigate our risks with
respect to the failure of suppliers to be year 2000 ready. However, failures
remain a possibility and could have an adverse impact on our operating results
or financial condition.
 
   Since all customer situations cannot be anticipated, we may see an increase
in warranty and other claims as a result of the year 2000 transition. In
addition, litigation regarding year 2000 compliance issues is expected to
escalate. For these reasons, the impact of customer claims could have a
material adverse impact on our operating results or financial condition.
 
   Businesses that face year 2000 compliance issues may require significant
hardware and software upgrades or modifications to their computer systems and
applications. These companies may plan to devote a substantial portion of
their information systems' spending to fund such upgrades and modifications
and divert spending away from networking solutions. This change in customers'
spending patterns could materially adversely impact our business, operating
results or financial condition.
 
Because Extreme's Management Has Broad Discretion Over How the Proceeds of
This Offering Are Used, Its Investment of the Net Proceeds May Not Yield a
Favorable Return
 
   Our management may spend the net proceeds from this offering in ways with
which the stockholders may not agree. We cannot assure you that our investment
of the net proceeds of this offering will yield a favorable return.
 
Executive Officers and Directors of Extreme Will Control 59.6% of Its Common
Stock and Be Able to Significantly Influence Matters Requiring Stockholder
Approval
 
   Executive officers, directors and entities affiliated with them will, in
the aggregate, beneficially own approximately 59.6% of our outstanding common
stock following the completion of this offering. These stockholders, if acting
together, would be able to significantly influence all matters requiring
approval by our stockholders, including the election of directors and the
approval of mergers or other business combination transactions.
 
                                      15
<PAGE>
 
Provisions in Extreme's Charter or Agreements May Delay or Prevent a Change of
Control
 
   Provisions in our certificate of incorporation and bylaws may delay or
prevent a change of control or changes in our management. These provisions
include:
 
  .  the division of the board of directors into three separate classes;
 
  .  the right of the board of directors to elect a director to fill a
     vacancy created by the expansion of the board of directors;
 
  .  the ability of the board of directors to alter our bylaws without
     getting stockholder approval; and
 
  .  the requirement that at least 10% of the outstanding shares are needed
     to call a special meeting of stockholders.
 
   Furthermore, we are subject to the provisions of section 203 of the
Delaware General Corporation Law. These provisions prohibit large
stockholders, in particular those owning 15% or more of the outstanding voting
stock, from consummating a merger or combination with a corporation unless
this stockholder receives board approval for the transaction or 66 2/3% of the
shares of voting stock not owned by the stockholder approve the merger or
combination. Further, we have investor agreements with Compaq, Siemens and
3Com which require us to give these companies notice if we receive an
acquisition offer or if we intend to pursue one.
 
Substantial Future Sales of Extreme's Common Stock in the Public Market Could
Cause Its Stock Price to Fall
 
   The market price of our common stock could drop as a result of sales of a
large number of shares in the market after this offering or in response to the
perception that these sales could occur. All of the 5,000,000 shares sold in
this offering will be freely tradeable, with the 40,852,510 other shares
outstanding, based on the number of shares outstanding as of December 31,
1998, being "restricted securities" as defined in Rule 144 of the Securities
Act of 1933, and tradable in the near future. For more information, see
"Shares Eligible for Future Sale."
 
The Purchasers in the Offering Will Immediately Experience Substantial
Dilution in Net Tangible Book Value
   
   The initial public offering price is substantially higher than the net
tangible book value per share of the outstanding common stock immediately
after the offering. Accordingly, purchasers of shares will experience
immediate and substantial dilution of approximately $8.76 in net tangible book
value per share, or approximately 87.6% of the offering price of $10.00 per
share. In contrast, existing stockholders paid an average price of $.95 per
share.     
 
Extreme's Stock Price May Be Extremely Volatile and You May Not Be Able to
Resell Your Shares at or Above the Offering Price
 
   There was no public market for Extreme shares prior to this offering. The
offering price for the shares will be determined through negotiations between
the representatives of the underwriters and us. You may not be able to resell
your shares at or above the initial public offering price due to a number of
factors, including:
 
  .  actual or anticipated fluctuations in our operating results;
 
  .  changes in expectations as to our future financial performance or
     changes in financial estimates of securities analysts;
 
  .  announcements of technological innovations; and
 
  .  the operating and stock price performance of other comparable companies.
 
                                      16
<PAGE>
 
   In addition, the stock market in general has experienced extreme volatility
that often has been unrelated to the operating performance of particular
companies. These broad market and industry fluctuations may adversely affect
the trading price of our common stock, regardless of our actual operating
performance.
 
   You should read the "Underwriters" section for a more complete discussion
of the factors to be considered in determining the initial public offering
price.
 
               SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
 
   Some of the information in this prospectus, including the above risk
factors section, contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and
uncertainties. These statements relate to future events or our future
financial performance. In many cases, you can identify forward-looking
statements by terminology such as "may," "will," "should," "expects," "plans,"
"anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "predicts," "potential," or
"continue," or the negative of such terms and other comparable terminology.
These statements are only predictions. Our actual results could differ
materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a
result of a number of factors, including the risks faced by us described below
and elsewhere in this prospectus.
 
   We believe it is important to communicate our expectations to our
investors. However, there may be events in the future that we are not able to
predict accurately or over which we have no control. The risk factors listed
above, as well as any cautionary language in this prospectus, provide examples
of risks, uncertainties and events that may cause our actual results to differ
materially from the expectations we describe in our forward-looking
statements. Before you invest in our common stock, you should be aware that
the occurrence of the events described in these risk factors and elsewhere in
this prospectus could have a material adverse effect on our business,
operating results and financial condition.
 
                                      17
<PAGE>
 
                                USE OF PROCEEDS
 
   The net proceeds to be received by Extreme from the sale of 5,000,000
shares of common stock in this offering are estimated to be $45.2 million, or
$52.2 million if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in
full, at an assumed initial public offering price of $10.00 and after
deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering
expenses of $1.3 million payable by Extreme.
 
   Extreme will use the net proceeds for general corporate purposes, including
capital expenditures and working capital. We may use some of the net proceeds
to pay down outstanding equipment balances under our capital equipment line of
credit and subordinated loan agreements, although we have no specific plans to
do so. A portion of the net proceeds may also be used to acquire or invest in
complementary businesses, technologies, product lines or products. We have no
current plans, agreements or commitments with respect to any such acquisition,
and we are not currently engaged in any negotiations with respect to any such
transaction. Our management will have broad discretion concerning the
allocation and use of all the net proceeds of the offering to be received by
us. Pending such uses, the net proceeds of the offering will be invested in
investment grade, interest-bearing securities.
 
                                DIVIDEND POLICY
 
   We have never paid cash dividends. We do not anticipate paying cash
dividends in the near future. Under the terms of our line of credit
facilities, we may not declare or pay any cash dividends without the prior
consent of the lenders under each of the credit facilities.
 
                                      18
<PAGE>
 
                                CAPITALIZATION
 
   The following table sets forth our capitalization as of December 31, 1998:
 
  .  on an actual basis;
 
  .  on a pro forma basis to reflect the conversion upon the closing of the
     offering of all outstanding shares of preferred stock into 29,061,315
     shares of common stock; and
 
  .  on a pro forma basis as adjusted to reflect the sale of the common stock
     offered in this offering at an assumed initial public offering price of
     $10.00 per share and the receipt of the net proceeds from the sale of
     the common stock, after deducting the estimated expenses and
     underwriting discounts and commissions payable by Extreme.
 
   This information should be read in conjunction with the consolidated
financial statements and related notes thereto included elsewhere in this
prospectus.
 
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                                                     December 31, 1998
                                              ---------------------------------
                                                                     Pro Forma
                                               Actual    Pro Forma  as Adjusted
                                              --------  ----------- -----------
                                              (in thousands except share data)
                                                        (unaudited) (unaudited)
<S>                                           <C>       <C>         <C>
Long-term debt, less current portion(1)...... $  2,719   $  2,719    $  2,719
                                              --------   --------    --------
Stockholders' equity:
  Convertible preferred stock, $.001 par
   value, issuable in series: 24,000,000
   shares authorized at June 30, 1997;
   29,900,000 shares authorized at actual,
   (2,000,000 shares pro forma); 29,061,315
   shares issued and outstanding actual,
   (none pro forma); aggregate liquidation
   preference of $38,046 actual, (none pro
   forma)....................................       29         --          --
  Common stock, $.001 par value; 50,000,000
   shares authorized (150,000,000 pro forma);
   11,791,195 shares outstanding actual;
   40,852,510 issued and outstanding, pro
   forma and 45,852,510 pro forma as
   adjusted(2)...............................       12         41          46
  Additional paid-in capital.................   38,770     38,770      83,965
  Deferred stock compensation................     (276)      (276)       (276)
  Accumulated deficit........................  (26,795)   (26,795)    (26,795)
                                              --------   --------    --------
    Total stockholders' equity...............   11,740     11,740      56,940
                                              --------   --------    --------
      Total capitalization................... $ 14,459   $ 14,459    $ 59,659
                                              ========   ========    ========
</TABLE>
- --------
(1) See notes 4 and 5 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.
(2) Excludes 3,710,328 shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of
    outstanding options at December 31, 1998 at a weighted average exercise
    price of $2.55 per share and 337,398 shares of common stock issuable upon
    exercise of outstanding warrants at a weighted average exercise price of
    $1.00 per share. See "Management--Amended 1996 Stock Option Plan."
 
                                      19
<PAGE>
 
                                   DILUTION
 
   Our pro forma net tangible book value as of December 31, 1998 was
approximately $11,740,000 or $.29 per share of common stock. Pro forma net
tangible book value per share represents the amount of our total tangible
assets reduced by the amount of our total liabilities divided by the total
number of shares of common stock outstanding, assuming the conversion of all
outstanding shares of preferred stock into shares of common stock. After
giving effect to the sale by Extreme of the 5,000,000 shares of common stock
offered by this prospectus at an assumed initial public offering price of
$10.00 per share and receipt of the estimated net proceeds from this offering,
our adjusted net tangible book value as of December 31, 1998 would have been
approximately $56,940,000 or $1.24 per share. This represents an immediate
increase in such net tangible book value of $.95 per share to existing
stockholders and an immediate dilution of $8.76 per share to new investors.
Dilution is determined by subtracting pro forma net tangible book value per
share after the offering from the assumed initial public offering price per
share. If the initial public offering price is higher or lower, the dilution
to new investors will be, respectively, greater or less. The following table
illustrates this per share dilution.
 
<TABLE>
<S>                                                                 <C>  <C>
Assumed initial public offering price per share....................      $10.00
  Pro forma net tangible book value per share as of December 31,
   1998............................................................ $.29
  Increase in pro forma net tangible book value per share
   attributable to new investors...................................  .95
                                                                    ----
Pro forma net tangible book value per share after this offering....        1.24
                                                                         ------
Dilution per share to new investors................................      $ 8.76
                                                                         ======
</TABLE>
 
   The following table sets forth, on a pro forma basis, as of December 31,
1998, the number of shares of common stock purchased from Extreme, the total
consideration paid or to be paid, and the average price per share paid or to
be paid by existing stockholders and by new investors at the assumed initial
public offering price of $10.00 per share, before deducting estimated
underwriting discounts and commissions and offering expenses payable by
Extreme:
 
<TABLE>   
<CAPTION>
                                 Shares Purchased  Total Consideration  Average
                                ------------------ ------------------- Price Per
                                  Number   Percent   Amount    Percent   Share
                                ---------- ------- ----------- ------- ---------
<S>                             <C>        <C>     <C>         <C>     <C>
Existing stockholders.......... 40,852,510   89.1% $38,822,000   43.7%  $  .95
New investors..................  5,000,000   10.9   50,000,000   56.3    10.00
                                ----------  -----  -----------  -----
 Total......................... 45,852,510  100.0% $88,822,000  100.0%
                                ==========  =====  ===========  =====
</TABLE>    
 
   The foregoing table assumes no exercise of the underwriters' over-allotment
option. See "Underwriters." The foregoing table also assumes that no options
have been or are exercised after December 31, 1998. As of December 31, 1998,
there were outstanding options to purchase 3,710,328 shares of common stock at
a weighted average exercise price of $2.55 per share and warrants to purchase
337,398 shares of common stock at a weighted average exercise price of $1.00
per share. If all of these options and warrants had been exercised on
December 31, 1998, our net tangible book value as of December 31, 1998 would
have been $66,739,000 or $1.34 per share, the increase in pro forma net
tangible book value attributable to new investors would have been $1.05 per
share and the dilution in net tangible book value to new investors would have
been $8.66 per share. See "Management--Amended 1996 Stock Option Plan" and
note 6 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.
 
                                      20
<PAGE>
 
                     SELECTED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL DATA
 
   The following selected consolidated financial data should be read in
conjunction with Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition
and Operating Results and Extreme's Consolidated Financial Statements and the
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this
prospectus. The table below sets forth selected consolidated financial data
for Extreme for, and as of the end of, each of the years in the two year
period ended June 30, 1998 and the six-month periods ended December 31, 1997
and 1998. The selected consolidated financial data for fiscal 1997 and 1998
and the six-month period ended December 31, 1998, are derived from the
consolidated financial statements of Extreme which were audited by Ernst &
Young LLP. The financial data for the six-month period ended December 31, 1997
is derived from unaudited financial statements included elsewhere in this
prospectus. In the opinion of management, such unaudited financial statements
have been prepared on the same basis as the audited financial statements
referred to above and include all adjustments, consisting only of normal
recurring adjustments, necessary for a fair presentation of Extreme's
operating results for the indicated periods. Operating results for the six
months ended December 31, 1998 are not necessarily indicative of the results
that may be expected for the full fiscal year.
 
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                                                               Six Months
                                    Year Ended June 30,    Ended December 31,
                                    ---------------------  --------------------
                                      1997        1998       1997       1998
                                    ---------  ----------  ---------  ---------
                                     (in thousands, except per share data)
<S>                                 <C>        <C>         <C>        <C>
Consolidated statement of
 operations data:
Net revenue.......................  $     256  $   23,579  $   6,104  $  30,851
Cost of revenue...................        388      14,897      3,557     15,605
                                    ---------  ----------  ---------  ---------
Gross profit (loss)...............       (132)      8,682      2,547     15,246
Operating expenses:
  Research and development........      5,351      10,668      4,548      6,580
  Selling and marketing...........      1,554       9,601      3,450     10,203
  General and administrative......      1,023       2,372      1,040      2,700
  Amortization of deferred stock
   compensation...................        --           68          2         93
                                    ---------  ----------  ---------  ---------
    Total operating expenses......      7,928      22,709      9,040     19,576
                                    ---------  ----------  ---------  ---------
Operating loss....................     (8,060)    (14,027)    (6,493)    (4,330)
Interest expense..................        (79)       (326)       (83)      (201)
Interest and other income.........        216         417        109        295
                                    ---------  ----------  ---------  ---------
Loss before income taxes..........     (7,923)    (13,936)    (6,467)    (4,236)
Provision for income taxes........        --          --         --        (700)
                                    ---------  ----------  ---------  ---------
Net loss..........................  $  (7,923) $  (13,936) $  (6,467) $  (4,936)
                                    =========  ==========  =========  =========
Basic and diluted net loss per
 common share.....................  $   (4.51) $    (3.18) $   (1.84) $    (.72)
                                    =========  ==========  =========  =========
Weighted average shares
 outstanding used in computing
 basic and diluted net loss per
 share(1).........................      1,758       4,379      3,510      6,867
                                    =========  ==========  =========  =========
Pro forma basic and diluted net
 loss per share(1)................        --   $     (.44)       --   $    (.14)
                                    =========  ==========  =========  =========
Shares used in computing pro forma
 basic and diluted net loss per
 share(1).........................        --       31,701        --      35,929
                                    =========  ==========  =========  =========
 
</TABLE>
 
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                                                  As of June 30,     As of
                                                  --------------- December 31,
                                                   1997    1998       1998
                                                  ------- ------- ------------
                                                         (in thousands)
<S>                                               <C>     <C>     <C>
Consolidated balance sheet data:
Cash and cash equivalents........................ $10,047 $ 9,510   $ 5,792
Working capital..................................   8,251  13,796     9,284
Total assets.....................................  11,942  33,731    27,622
Long-term debt and capital lease obligations due
 after one year..................................     502   2,634     2,719
Total stockholders' equity.......................   9,305  15,869    11,740
</TABLE>
- --------
(1) See note 1 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for an
    explanation of the determination of the number of shares used to compute
    basic and diluted net loss per share.
 
                                      21
<PAGE>
 
   MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND OPERATING
                                    RESULTS
 
   The following commentary should be read in conjunction with the
Consolidated Financial Statements and the related notes contained elsewhere in
this prospectus.
 
Overview
 
   From our inception in May 1996 through September 1997, our operating
activities related primarily to developing a research and development
organization, testing prototype designs, building an ASIC design
infrastructure, commencing the staffing of our marketing, sales and field
service and technical support organizations, and establishing relationships
with resellers and OEMs. We commenced volume shipments of our Summit1 and
Summit2, the initial products in our Summit stackable product family, in
October 1997, and we began shipping our BlackDiamond modular product family in
September 1998. Since inception, we have incurred significant losses and as of
December 31, 1998, we had an accumulated deficit of $26.8 million. See "Risk
Factors--Extreme Has a History of Losses, Expects Future Losses and Cannot
Assure You that It Will Achieve Profitability."
 
   Our revenue is derived primarily from sales of our Summit and BlackDiamond
product families and fees for services relating to our products, including
maintenance and training. In fiscal 1998, sales to 3Com and Compaq accounted
for 25% and 21% of our net revenue, respectively, and in the six-month period
ended December 31, 1998, Compaq and Hitachi Cable accounted for 17% and 11% of
our net revenue, respectively. Compaq is an OEM and an end-user customer. The
level of sales to any customer may vary from period to period; however, we
expect that significant customer concentration will continue for the
foreseeable future. See "Risk Factors--If a Key Reseller, OEM or Other
Significant Customer Cancels or Delays a Large Purchase, Extreme's Revenues
May Decline and the Price of Its Stock May Fall."
 
   We market and sell our products primarily through resellers and, to a
lesser extent, OEMs and our field sales organization. We sell our products
through more than 100 resellers in 39 countries. In the six-month period ended
December 31, 1998, sales to customers outside of North America accounted for
approximately 50% of our net revenue. Currently, all of our international
sales are denominated in U.S. dollars. We generally recognize product revenue
at the time of shipment, unless we have future obligations for installation or
have to obtain customer acceptance, in which case revenue is deferred until
such obligations have been satisfied. We have established a program which,
under specified conditions, enables third party resellers to return products
to us. The amount of potential product returns is estimated and provided for
in the period of the sale. Service revenue is recognized ratably over the term
of the contract period, which is typically 12 months.
 
   We expect to experience rapid erosion of average selling prices of our
products due to a number of factors, including competitive pricing pressures
and rapid technological change. Our gross margins will be affected by such
declines and by fluctuations in manufacturing volumes, component costs and the
mix of product configurations sold. In addition, our gross margins may
fluctuate due to the mix of distribution channels through which our products
are sold, including the potential effects of our development of a two-tier
distribution channel. We generally realize higher gross margins on sales to
resellers than on sales through our OEMs. Any significant decline in sales to
our OEMs or resellers, or the loss of any of our OEMs or resellers could
materially adversely affect our business, operating results and financial
condition. In addition, the introduction of new products can cause product
transitions and result in excess or obsolete inventories. Any excess or
obsolete inventories may also reduce our gross margins.
 
   We outsource the majority of our manufacturing and supply chain management
operations, and we conduct quality assurance, manufacturing engineering,
documentation control and repairs at our facility in Cupertino, California.
Accordingly, a significant portion of our cost of revenue consists of payments
to our contract manufacturers, Flextronics and MCMS. We expect to realize
lower per unit product costs as a result of volume efficiencies. However, we
cannot assure you when or if such price reductions will occur. The failure to
obtain such price reductions could materially adversely affect our gross
margins and operating results.
 
                                      22
<PAGE>
 
   Research and development expenses consist principally of salaries and
related personnel expenses, consultant fees and prototype expenses related to
the design, development, testing and enhancement of our ASICs and software. We
expense all research and development expenses as incurred. We believe that
continued investment in research and development is critical to attaining our
strategic product and cost-reduction objectives and, as a result, we expect
these expenses to increase in absolute dollars in the future.
 
   Selling and marketing expenses consist of salaries, commissions and related
expenses for personnel engaged in marketing, sales and field service support
functions, as well as trade shows and promotional expenses. We intend to
pursue selling and marketing campaigns aggressively and therefore expect these
expenses to increase significantly in absolute dollars in the future. In
addition, we expect to substantially expand our field sales operations to
support and develop leads for our resellers, which would also result in an
increase in selling and marketing expenses.
 
   General and administrative expenses consist primarily of salaries and
related expenses for executive, finance and administrative personnel,
recruiting expenses, professional fees and other general corporate expenses.
We expect general and administrative expenses to increase in absolute dollars
as we add personnel and incur additional costs related to the growth of our
business and operation as a public company.
 
   During the year ended June 30, 1998, in connection with the grant of
certain stock options to employees, Extreme recorded deferred stock
compensation of $437,000 representing the difference between the exercise
price and the deemed fair value of Extreme's common stock on the date such
stock options were granted. Such amount is included as a reduction of
stockholders' equity and is being amortized by charges to operations on a
graded vesting method. Extreme recorded amortization of deferred stock
compensation expense of approximately $68,000 and $93,000 for the year ended
June 30, 1998 and the six-month period ended December 31, 1998, respectively.
At December 31, 1998, Extreme had a total of approximately $276,000 remaining
to be amortized over the corresponding vesting period of each respective
option, generally four years. The amortization expense relates to options
awarded to employees in all operating expense categories. This amount has not
been separately allocated to these categories.
   
   Despite growing revenues, we have not been profitable and expect to
continue to incur net losses. Our net losses have not decreased
proportionately with the increase in our revenue primarily because of
increased expenses relating to our growth in operations. Because of the
lengthy sales cycle of our products, there is often a significant delay
between the time we incur expenses and the time we realize the related
revenue. See "Risk Factors--The Sales Cycle for Extreme's Products is Long and
Extreme May Incur Substantial Non-Recoverable Expenses or Devote Significant
Resources to Sales that Do Not Occur When Anticipated." In addition, we moved
to a 77,000 square foot facility located in Santa Clara, California in March
1999. The rent for this new facility will be significantly greater than our
rent obligations for our prior facility. To the extent that future revenues do
not increase significantly in the same periods in which operating expenses
increase, our operating results would be adversely affected. See "Risk
Factors--A Number of Factors Could Cause Extreme's Quarterly Financial Results
to Be Worse Than Expected, Resulting in a Decline in Its Stock Price."     
 
                                      23
<PAGE>
 
Quarterly Results of Operations
 
   The following tables present unaudited quarterly results, in dollars and as
a percentage of net revenue, for the six quarters ended December 31, 1998. We
believe this information reflects all adjustments, consisting only of normal
recurring adjustments, that we consider necessary for a fair presentation of
such information in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.
The results for any quarter are not necessarily indicative of results for any
future period.
 
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                                              Quarter Ended
                         ---------------------------------------------------------------
                         Sept. 30,  Dec. 31,   Mar. 31,   June 30,   Sept. 30,  Dec. 31,
                           1997       1997       1998       1998       1998       1998
                         ---------  --------   --------   --------   ---------  --------
                                             (in thousands)
<S>                      <C>        <C>        <C>        <C>        <C>        <C>
Net revenue.............  $   593   $ 5,511    $ 7,335    $10,140     $12,892   $17,959
Cost of revenue.........      545     3,012      5,490      5,850       6,536     9,069
                          -------   -------    -------    -------     -------   -------
Gross profit............       48     2,499      1,845      4,290       6,356     8,890
Operating expenses:
  Research and develop-
   ment.................    2,877     1,671      2,752      3,368       3,537     3,043
  Selling and market-
   ing..................    1,475     1,975      2,457      3,694       4,762     5,441
  General and adminis-
   trative..............      465       575        655        677       1,166     1,534
  Amortization of de-
   ferred stock compen-
   sation...............      --          2         15         51          48        45
                          -------   -------    -------    -------     -------   -------
    Total operating
     expenses...........    4,817     4,223      5,879      7,790       9,512    10,063
                          -------   -------    -------    -------     -------   -------
Operating loss..........   (4,769)   (1,724)    (4,034)    (3,500)     (3,157)   (1,173)
Interest expense........      (32)      (51)      (111)      (132)       (105)      (96)
Interest and other in-
 come...................       77        32        136        172         280        15
                          -------   -------    -------    -------     -------   -------
Loss before income tax-
 es.....................   (4,724)   (1,743)    (4,009)    (3,460)     (2,982)   (1,254)
Provision for income
 taxes..................      --        --         --         --          --       (700)
                          -------   -------    -------    -------     -------   -------
Net loss................  $(4,724)  $(1,743)   $(4,009)   $(3,460)    $(2,982)  $(1,954)
                          =======   =======    =======    =======     =======   =======
<CAPTION>
                                     As a Percentage of Net Revenue
                         ---------------------------------------------------------------
                         Sept. 30,  Dec. 31,   Mar. 31,   June 30,   Sept. 30,  Dec. 31,
                           1997       1997       1998       1998       1998       1998
                         ---------  --------   --------   --------   ---------  --------
<S>                      <C>        <C>        <C>        <C>        <C>        <C>
Net revenue.............    100.0%    100.0%     100.0%     100.0%      100.0%    100.0%
Cost of revenue.........     91.9      54.7       74.8       57.7        50.7      50.5
                          -------   -------    -------    -------     -------   -------
Gross profit............      8.1      45.3       25.2       42.3        49.3      49.5
Operating expenses:
  Research and develop-
   ment.................    485.2      30.3       37.5       33.2        27.4      16.9
  Selling and market-
   ing..................    248.7      35.8       33.5       36.4        36.9      30.3
  General and adminis-
   trative..............     78.4      10.4        8.9        6.7         9.0       8.5
  Amortization of de-
   ferred stock compen-
   sation...............      --        --          .2         .5          .4        .3
                          -------   -------    -------    -------     -------   -------
    Total operating
     expenses...........    812.3      76.6       80.1       76.8        73.8      56.0
                          -------   -------    -------    -------     -------   -------
Operating loss..........   (804.2)    (31.3)     (55.0)     (34.5)      (24.5)     (6.5)
Interest expense........     (5.4)      (.9)      (1.5)      (1.3)        (.8)      (.5)
Interest and other in-
 come...................     13.0        .6        1.9        1.7         2.2        .1
Loss before income tax-
 es.....................      --        --         --         --          --       (7.0)
Provision for income
 taxes..................      --        --         --         --          --       (3.9)
                          -------   -------    -------    -------     -------   -------
Net loss................   (796.6)%   (31.6)%    (54.7)%    (34.1)%     (23.1)%   (10.9)%
                          =======   =======    =======    =======     =======   =======
</TABLE>
 
  Six Quarters Ended December 31, 1998
 
   Net revenue. Our net revenue increased in each of the six quarters ended
December 31, 1998. The increase in net revenue in these periods reflected the
introduction of our Summit stackable product family in October 1997, our
introduction of additions to that product family, the introduction of our
BlackDiamond modular
 
                                      24
<PAGE>
 
product family in September 1998, significant growth of the enterprise LAN
switching market, and the benefits of increased investment in our sales and
marketing operations.
 
   Gross profit. Our gross profit increased in each of the six quarters ended
December 31, 1998, except in the quarter ended March 31, 1998. The increases
were primarily due to decreased unit manufacturing costs resulting from higher
volumes, offset in part by mix fluctuations and competitive market pricing.
The decrease in the March 31, 1998 quarter was primarily due to an increase in
our warranty reserve in connection with the repair and replacement of
products. In addition, the gross profit and gross margins were adversely
impacted in the June 30, 1998 quarter due to a provision of approximately
$900,000 that we recorded for purchase order commitments for components that
exceeded our estimated requirements at the end of that quarter. This was due
primarily to an engineering change in the Summit48 product and a reduced
demand forecast from one of our customers. Management believes that historical
trends are not necessarily indicative of future results.
 
   Research and development expenses. Our research and development expenses
increased in absolute dollars in each of the six quarters ended December 31,
1998, except for the quarters ended December 31, 1997 and 1998. Personnel
costs increased in each of the six quarters; however, prototype material
expenses fluctuated from quarter to quarter primarily due to the timing of
product and technology development and on the reimbursement by OEMs of non-
recurring engineering costs, which was used to offset the related OEM product
development costs. We believe that fluctuations due to changes in prototyping
and materials costs will not be as significant as we introduce future products
and product enhancements. Research and development expenses as a percentage of
net revenue declined in each of our last three fiscal quarters due to
substantial increases in our net revenue in each such quarter.
 
   Selling and marketing expenses. Selling and marketing expenses increased in
each of the six quarters ended December 31, 1998. The increases were primarily
due to expenses related to our product launches, the addition of sales
personnel and increased commission expenses resulting from higher sales.
 
   General and administrative expenses. General and administrative expenses
increased in each of the six quarters ended December 31, 1998, except for the
quarter ended June 30, 1998 for which expenses remained flat compared to the
preceding quarter. The increases primarily reflected the addition of finance,
information technology, legal and administrative personnel.
 
   Provision for income taxes. We recorded a tax provision of $700,000 for the
period ending December 31, 1998. The provision for income taxes consists
primarily of foreign taxes, state income taxes and federal alternative minimum
taxes. FASB Statement No. 109 provides for the recognition of deferred tax
assets if realization of such assets is more likely than not. Based upon the
weight of available evidence, which includes our historical operating
performance and the reported cumulative net losses in all prior years, we have
provided a full valuation allowance against our net deferred tax assets. We
intend to evaluate the realizability of the deferred tax assets on a quarterly
basis.
 
   A Number of Factors Could Cause Extreme's Quarterly Financial Results to Be
Worse Than Expected Resulting in a Decline in Its Stock Price
 
   We plan to significantly increase our operating expenses to expand our
sales and marketing activities, broaden our customer support capabilities,
develop new distribution channels, fund increased levels of research and
development and build our operational infrastructure. We base our operating
expenses on anticipated revenue trends and a high percentage of our expenses
are fixed in the short term. As a result, any delay in generating or
recognizing revenue could cause our quarterly operating results to be below
the expectations of public market analysts or investors, which could cause the
price of our common stock to fall.
 
   We may experience a delay in generating or recognizing revenue because of a
number of reasons. Orders at the beginning of each quarter typically do not
equal expected revenue for that quarter and are generally cancelable at any
time. Accordingly, we are dependent upon obtaining orders in a quarter for
shipment in that quarter to achieve our revenue objectives. In addition, the
timing of product releases, purchase orders and product
 
                                      25
<PAGE>
 
availability could result in significant product shipments at the end of a
quarter. Failure to ship theses products by the end of a quarter may adversely
affect our operating results. Furthermore, our customer agreements typically
provide that the customer may delay scheduled delivery dates and cancel orders
within specified time frames without significant penalty.
 
   Our quarterly revenue and operating results have varied significantly in
the past and may vary significantly in the future due to a number of factors,
including:
 
  .  fluctuations in demand for our products and services, including
     seasonality, particularly in Asia;
 
  .  unexpected product returns or the cancellation or rescheduling of
     significant orders;
 
  .  our ability to develop, introduce, ship and support new products and
     product enhancements and manage product transitions;
 
  .  announcements and new product introductions by our competitors;
 
  .  our ability to achieve required cost reductions;
 
  .  our ability to obtain sufficient supplies of sole or limited sourced
     components for our products;
 
  .  unfavorable changes in the prices of the components we purchase;
 
  .  our ability to attain and maintain production volumes and quality levels
     for our products;
 
  .  the mix of products sold and the mix of distribution channels through
     which they are sold; and
 
  .  costs relating to possible acquisitions and integration of technologies
     or businesses.
 
   Due to the foregoing factors, we believe that period-to-period comparisons
of our operating results should not be relied upon as an indicator of our
future performance.
 
Results of Operations
 
   The following table sets forth, for the periods indicated, the percentage
of net revenue represented by certain items reflected in our Consolidated
Financial Statements:
 
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                                                                Six Months
                                                                  Ended
                                       Year Ended June 30,     December 31,
                                       ----------------------  --------------
                                          1997        1998      1997    1998
                                       ----------   ---------  ------   -----
<S>                                    <C>          <C>        <C>      <C>
Net revenue...........................      100.0 %    100.0 %  100.0 % 100.0 %
Cost of revenue.......................      151.6       63.2     58.3    50.6
                                       ----------   --------   ------   -----
Gross profit (loss)...................      (51.6)      36.8     41.7    49.4
Operating expenses:
  Research and development............     2090.2       45.2     74.5    21.3
  Selling and marketing...............      607.0       40.7     56.5    33.1
  General and administrative..........      399.6       10.1     17.0     8.8
  Amortization of deferred stock com-
   pensation..........................        --          .3      --       .3
                                       ----------   --------   ------   -----
   Total operating expenses...........     3096.8       96.3    148.1    63.4
                                       ----------   --------   ------   -----
Operating loss........................    (3148.4)     (59.5)  (106.4)  (14.0)
Interest expense......................      (30.9)      (1.4)    (1.4)    (.7)
Interest and other income.............       84.4        1.8      1.8     1.0
                                       ----------   --------   ------   -----
Loss before income taxes..............    (3094.9)%    (59.1)% (106.0)% (14.0)%
Provision for income taxes............        --         --       --     (2.3)
                                       ----------   --------   ------   -----
Net loss..............................    (3094.9)%    (59.1)% (106.0)% (16.0)%
                                       ==========   ========   ======   =====
</TABLE>
 
                                      26
<PAGE>
 
  Six Months Ended December 31, 1997 and 1998
 
   Net revenue. Net revenue increased from $6.1 million for the six-month
period ended December 31, 1997 to $30.9 million for the six-month period ended
December 31, 1998, an increase of $24.8 million. This increase resulted
primarily from increased sales of our Summit stackable products and the
introduction of our BlackDiamond modular product family in September 1998.
 
   North America sales increased from $1.2 million for the six-month period
ended December 31, 1997 to $15.9 million for the six-month period ended
December 31, 1998, an increase of $14.7 million. Sales outside North America
increased from $4.9 million for the six-month period ended December 31, 1997
to $15.0 million for the six-month period ended December 31, 1998, an increase
of $10.1 million. The overall increase in sales outside North America
reflected the growth in demand for our Summit and BlackDiamond products and an
increase in the number of resellers, offset in part by a decrease in OEM
sales.
 
   Gross profit (loss). Gross profit increased from $2.5 million for the six-
month period ended December 31, 1997 to $15.2 million for the six-month period
ended December 31, 1998, an increase of $12.7 million. Gross margins increased
from 41.7% for the six-month period ended December 31, 1997 to 49.4% for the
six-month period ended December 31, 1998. The increase in gross margins
resulted primarily from a shift in our channel mix from OEMs to resellers,
reductions in component costs and improved manufacturing efficiencies, which
were offset in part by lower average selling prices due to increased
competition.
 
   Research and development expenses. Research and development expenses
increased from $4.5 million for the six-month period ended December 31, 1997
to $6.6 million for the six-month period ended December 31, 1998, an increase
of $2.1 million. The increase was primarily due to the hiring of additional
engineers and an increase in depreciation charges due to increases in capital
spending on design and simulation software and test equipment. For the six-
month periods ended December 31, 1997 and 1998, research and development costs
decreased as a percentage of net revenue from 74.5% to 21.3%. This percentage
decrease was primarily the result of an increase in our net revenue.
 
   Selling and marketing expenses. Selling and marketing expenses increased
from $3.5 million for the six-month period ended December 31, 1997 to $10.2
million for the six-month period ended December 31, 1998, an increase of $6.7
million. This increase was primarily due to the hiring of additional sales and
customer support personnel, advertising and promotional campaigns in support
of the introduction of our BlackDiamond modular product family in September
1998 and the establishment of new sales offices. For the six-month periods
ended December 31, 1997 and 1998, selling and marketing expenses decreased as
a percentage of net revenue from 56.5% to 33.1%. This percentage decrease was
primarily the result of an increase in our net revenue.
 
   General and administrative expenses. General and administrative expenses
increased from $1.0 million for the six-month period ended December 31, 1997
to $2.7 million for the six-month period ended December 31, 1998, an increase
of $1.7 million. This increase was due primarily to the hiring of additional
finance, information technology and legal and administrative personnel, and
increased spending on information systems. For the six-month periods ended
December 31, 1997 and 1998, general and administrative expenses decreased as a
percentage of net revenue from 17.0% to 8.8%. This percentage decrease was
primarily the result of an increase in our net revenue.
 
   Provision for income taxes. We incurred significant operating losses for
all periods from inception through December 31, 1998. We have recorded a
valuation allowance for the full amount of our net deferred tax assets as the
future realization of the tax benefit is not sufficiently assured.
 
  Fiscal 1997 Compared with Fiscal 1998
 
   Net revenue. Net revenue increased from $256,000 for fiscal 1997 to $23.6
million for fiscal 1998, an increase of $23.3 million. The increase in net
revenue for fiscal 1998 reflected the commencement of shipments by our OEMs in
the quarter ending September 30, 1997 and the introduction of our Summit
stackable product
 
                                      27
<PAGE>
 
family in the quarter ending December 31, 1997. Net revenue for fiscal 1997
was negligible as we were in the start-up stage of development.
 
   Gross profit (loss). Gross profit increased from a loss of ($132,000) for
fiscal 1997 to a profit of $8.7 million for fiscal 1998, an increase of $8.8
million. Gross margins increased from (51.6%) for fiscal 1997 to 36.8% for
fiscal 1998. The increase resulted from a shift from primarily research and
development activities to production and sales of our products.
 
   Research and development expenses. Research and development expenses
increased from $5.4 million for fiscal 1997 to $10.7 million for fiscal 1998,
an increase of $5.3 million. The increase resulted primarily from the hiring
of additional engineers and an increase in prototype material expenses for new
product development. For fiscal 1997 and 1998, research and development
expenses decreased as a percentage of net revenue from 2090.2% to 45.2%. This
percentage decrease was primarily the result of an increase in our net
revenue.
 
   Selling and marketing expenses. Selling and marketing expenses increased
from $1.6 million for fiscal 1997 to $9.6 million for fiscal 1998, an increase
of $8.0 million. This increase was primarily due to the hiring of additional
sales and customer support personnel, advertising and promotional campaigns in
support of the introduction of our Summit stackable product family and the
establishment of new sales offices. For fiscal 1997 and 1998, selling and
marketing expenses decreased as a percentage of net revenue from 607.0% to
40.7%. This percentage decrease was primarily the result of an increase in our
net revenue.
 
   General and administrative expenses. General and administrative expenses
increased from $1.0 million for fiscal 1997 to $2.4 million for fiscal 1998,
an increase of $1.4 million. This increase reflected primarily additional
finance, information technology and legal and administrative personnel, and
increased spending on our information systems. For fiscal 1997 and 1998,
general and administrative expenses decreased as a percentage of net revenue
from 399.6% to 10.1%. This percentage decrease was primarily the result of an
increase in our net revenue.
 
Liquidity and Capital Resources
 
   Since inception, we have financed our operations and capital expenditures
primarily through the sale of preferred stock and capital lease and other debt
financing. Cash used in operations for the six-month periods ended December
31, 1997 and 1998 were $8.6 million and $6.6 million, respectively. As of
December 31, 1998, we had $12.6 million in cash, cash equivalents and short-
term investments. We expect that accounts receivable will continue to increase
to the extent our revenues continue to rise. Any such increase can be expected
to reduce cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments.
 
   We have a revolving line of credit for $5.0 million with Silicon Valley
Bank. Borrowings under this line of credit bear interest at the bank's prime
rate. As of December 31, 1998, there were no outstanding borrowings under this
line of credit. We also have a capital equipment line with Silicon Valley Bank
for $4.0 million. Borrowings under this capital equipment line bear interest
at the bank's prime rate. This agreement requires that we maintain certain
financial ratios and levels of tangible net worth, profitability and
liquidity. As of December 31, 1998, borrowings under this capital equipment
line were approximately $900,000. In addition, we have a $5.0 million
subordinated loan and security agreement with Comdisco, Inc. Borrowings under
this loan bear interest at a rate of 9.75% per annum and are secured by all of
our tangible assets. As of December 31, 1998, borrowings under this loan were
$2.0 million.
 
   Capital expenditures were $2.3 million for the six months ended December
31, 1998 and $922,000 for the six months ended December 31, 1997. We expect
capital expenditures to increase in the second half of fiscal 1999 primarily
due to costs of moving to a new facility and capital expenditures for
information systems and manufacturing test fixtures.
 
   In February 1999, we agreed to lease a 77,000 square foot facility in Santa
Clara, California. The related cost of this lease is expected to be
approximately $120,000 per month. The lease has a term of 47 months.
 
                                      28
<PAGE>
 
   We require substantial capital to fund our business, particularly to
finance inventories and accounts receivable and for capital expenditures. In
order to build a sustainable business in the LAN switching market, the trend
of using cash in our operations is expected to continue over the next several
quarters. We are working toward a business model that will allow us to achieve
profitability, which is necessary to generate cash from operations. Achieving
this model will depend on many factors, including the rate of revenue growth,
the timing and extent of spending to support product development efforts and
expansion of sales and marketing, the timing of introductions of new products
and enhancements to existing products, and market acceptance of our products.
As a result, we could be required to raise substantial additional capital. To
the extent that we raise additional capital through the sale of equity or
convertible debt securities, the issuance of such securities could result in
dilution to existing stockholders. If additional funds are raised through the
issuance of debt securities, these securities would have rights, preferences
and privileges senior to holders of common stock and the term of such debt
could impose restrictions on our operations. We cannot assure you that such
additional capital, if required, will be available on acceptable terms, or at
all. If we are unable to obtain such additional capital, we may be required to
reduce the scope of our planned product development and marketing efforts,
which would materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and
operating results.
 
   We believe that the proceeds from this offering, our cash balances, and
cash available from credit facilities and future operations will enable us to
meet our working capital requirements for at least the next 12 months.
 
Year 2000 Readiness Disclosure
 
   Some computers, software, and other equipment include computer code in
which calendar year data is abbreviated to only two digits. As a result of
this design decision, some of these systems could fail to operate or fail to
produce correct results if "00" is interpreted to mean 1900, rather than 2000.
These problems are widely expected to increase in frequency and severity as
the year 2000 approaches, and are commonly referred to as the "year 2000
problem."
 
   Assessment. The year 2000 problem affects the computers, software and other
equipment that we use, operate or maintain for our operations. Accordingly, we
have organized a program team responsible for monitoring the assessment and
remediation status of our year 2000 projects and reporting such status to our
board of directors. This project team is currently assessing the potential
effect and costs of remediating the year 2000 problem for our internal
systems. To date, we have not obtained verification or validation from any
independent third parties of our processes to assess and correct any of our
year 2000 problems or the costs associated with these activities.
 
   Internal infrastructure. We believe that we have identified approximately
250 personal computers and servers, six software applications, including
Microsoft Windows 95, Microsoft Office 97 and Outlook 98 and Microsoft Mail
Server, and our enterprise resource planning system, and related equipment
used in connection with our internal operations that will need to be evaluated
to determine if they must be modified, upgraded or replaced to minimize the
possibility of a material disruption to our business. Upon completion of such
evaluation, which we expect to occur by the end of March 1999, we expect to
commence the process of modifying, upgrading, and replacing major systems that
have been assessed as adversely affected, and expect to complete this process
before the occurrence of any material disruption of our business.
 
   Systems other than information technology systems. In addition to computers
and related systems, the operation of office and facilities equipment, such as
fax machines, telephone switches, security systems, and other common devices,
of which there are approximately 15, may be affected by the year 2000 problem.
We are currently assessing the potential effect and costs of remediating the
year 2000 problem on our office, equipment and our new facilities in Santa
Clara, California.
 
   Products and software programs. We have tested and intend to continue to
test all of our products and software programs for year 2000 problems. To
date, we have been able to correct any problems with our products and software
programs relating to year 2000 prior to releasing them to our customers. We
currently do not expect any significant problems to arise with our products
and software programs relating to the year 2000.
 
                                      29
<PAGE>
 
   We estimate the total cost to us of completing any required modifications,
upgrades or replacements of our internal systems will not exceed $200,000,
almost all of which we believe will be incurred during calendar 1999. This
estimate is being monitored and we will revise it as additional information
becomes available.
 
   Based on the activities described above, we do not believe that the year
2000 problem will have a material adverse effect on our business or operating
results. In addition, we have not deferred any material information technology
projects as a result of our year 2000 problem activities.
 
   Suppliers. We are checking the web sites of third-party suppliers of
components used in the manufacture of our products to determine if these
suppliers are certifying that the components they provide us are year 2000
compliant. To date, we believe all critical components that we obtain from
third party suppliers are year 2000 compliant, except that Microsoft has not
indicated that Windows 95 and its office mail programs are year 2000
compliant. We expect that we will be able to resolve any significant year 2000
problems with Microsoft and any other third-party suppliers of components;
however, there can be no assurance that these suppliers will resolve any or
all year 2000 problems before the occurrence of a material disruption to the
operation of our business. Any failure of these third parties to timely
resolve year 2000 problems with their systems could have a material adverse
effect on our business, operating results and financial condition.
 
   Most likely consequences of year 2000 problems. We expect to identify and
resolve all year 2000 problems that could materially adversely affect our
business operations. However, we believe that it is not possible to determine
with complete certainty that all year 2000 problems affecting us have been
identified or corrected. The number of devices that could be affected and the
interactions among these devices are simply too numerous. In addition, no one
can accurately predict how many year 2000 problem-related failures will occur
or the severity, duration, or financial consequences of these perhaps
inevitable failures. As a result, we believe that the following consequences
are possible:
 
  .  a significant number of operational inconveniences and inefficiencies
     for us, our contract manufacturers and our customers that will divert
     management's time and attention and financial and human resources from
     ordinary business activities;
 
  .  several business disputes and claims for pricing adjustments or
     penalties due to year 2000 problems by our customers, which we believe
     will be resolved in the ordinary course of business; and
 
  .  a few serious business disputes alleging that we failed to comply with
     the terms of contracts or industry standards of performance, some of
     which could result in litigation or contract termination.
 
   Contingency plans. We are currently developing contingency plans to be
implemented if our efforts to identify and correct year 2000 problems
affecting our internal systems are not effective. We expect to complete our
contingency plans by the end of June 1999. Depending on the systems affected,
these plans could include:
 
  .  accelerated replacement of affected equipment or software;
 
  .  short to medium-term use of backup equipment and software;
 
  .  increased work hours for our personnel; and
 
  .  use of contract personnel to correct on an accelerated schedule any year
     2000 problems that arise or to provide manual workarounds for
     information systems.
 
   Our implementation of any of these contingency plans could have a material
adverse effect on our business, operating results and financial condition.
 
   Disclaimer. The discussion of our efforts and expectations relating to year
2000 compliance are forward-looking statements. Our ability to achieve year
2000 compliance and the level of incremental costs associated therewith, could
be adversely affected by, among other things, the availability and cost of
programming and testing resources, third party suppliers' ability to modify
proprietary software, and unanticipated problems identified in the ongoing
compliance review.
 
                                      30
<PAGE>
 
                                   BUSINESS
 
Overview
   
   Extreme Networks is a leading provider of a next generation of switching
solutions that meet the increasing needs of enterprise local area networks, or
LANs. The key advantages of our LAN solutions are increased performance, the
ability to easily grow, or "scale," in size as customer needs change, flexible
allocation of LAN resources, ease of use and lower cost of ownership. These
advantages are obtained through the use of custom semiconductors, known as
ASICs, in our products and through hardware and software designs that are
common and uniform across our product line. The routing of network traffic, a
function referred to as Layer 3 switching, is done primarily with ASICs in our
products, and consequently, is faster than the software implementations used
in many competing products. Traditional Layer 3 products rely primarily on
software which can slow traffic speeds below those which could otherwise be
achieved and result in message packets being lost when LAN traffic is high.
Our products incorporate an ASIC-based, wire-speed architecture and are
designed to avoid the loss of message packets in the switch, or "non-
blocking." As a result, our products are less expensive than software-based
routers, yet offer improved performance throughout the enterprise LAN from the
network core to the desktop. The Dell'Oro Group, a research and consulting
firm, estimates in an independently prepared market report dated March 1999,
that the market for Layer 3 switching totaled $637 million in 1998 and is
expected to increase to approximately $3.4 billion in 2001.     
 
Industry Background
 
   Businesses and other organizations have become increasingly dependent on
LANs as their central communications infrastructure to provide connectivity
for internal and external communications. New mission-critical computing
applications, such as enterprise resource planning, large enterprise databases
and sophisticated on-line connections with vendors, as well as the increased
use of traditional applications, such as e-mail, require significant
information technology resources. The emergence of the desktop browser as a
user interface has enabled bandwidth-intensive applications that contain
voice, video and graphics to be used extensively through intranets and
externally through extranets. These new applications, combined with the growth
in business-to-business e-commerce and other on-line transactions are further
burdening the enterprise LAN infrastructure.
 
   LANs have traditionally been designed for client/server applications, where
network traffic patterns were predictable and traffic loads are relatively
stable. In this environment, the majority of traffic remained within a given
workgroup, with only a small percentage traveling across the high traffic
portion of a LAN which interconnects all or a large part of the LAN. The
increased use of data-intensive, mission-critical applications, the widespread
implementations of intranets and extranets, and the ubiquity of Internet
technologies have created unpredictable traffic patterns, and unpredictable
traffic loads within the LAN. In addition, as users utilize the desktop
browser and Internet technologies to access significant amounts of information
from servers located inside and outside of the organization, a much higher
percentage of traffic crosses the enterprise LAN backbone. For example, an
employee can make a simple request that may require data to be downloaded and
analyzed from multiple data warehouses outside his or her local workgroup,
resulting in increased traffic across the LAN. Similarly, multiple users could
request a multimedia presentation from a company intranet or from the Internet
consuming tremendous amounts of network capacity. Either of these situations
could result in users overwhelming a company's enterprise LAN unknowingly. As
a result, the increased traffic, bandwidth-intensive applications and
unpredictable traffic patterns are straining traditional LAN environments and
reducing the performance of mission-critical applications.
 
  Today's LAN Environment
 
   Early LANs supported limited numbers of users and used a variety of
protocols to organize the transmission of data, including Ethernet, Token Ring
or AppleTalk technologies. As the number of users and the amount of traffic on
a network grew, network performance began to decline. In this shared
environment, each desktop received and was burdened by the communication of
every other desktop. The need to improve network
 
                                      31
<PAGE>
 
performance was initially addressed by adding network devices known as bridges
or hubs that separated the entire LAN into smaller workgroups. This
arrangement was effective in supporting the traditional client/server
environment where the majority of traffic remained within the workgroup. As
applications became more bandwidth-intensive and users increasingly
communicated outside of their workgroup, bridges and hubs were unable to
process this traffic effectively. To mitigate this problem, Layer 2 switches
were developed to provide a dedicated link for each desktop and eliminate the
unnecessary flow of information to every desktop. In addition to the evolution
of new devices, the need for increased backbone speeds led to the development
of new and faster technologies such as FDDI, Fast Ethernet and ATM. However,
each of these technologies employs different protocols, further complicating
the LAN by requiring software-based routers that use expensive CPUs and
software tables to route this multi-protocol traffic. Today, it is not
uncommon to find multiple protocols and devices across the four basic areas of
the network:
 
  .  the desktop, which connects end users;
 
  .  the segment, which interconnects networking devices;
 
  .  the server, which connects servers to the network; and
 
  .  the network core, which consists of the enterprise backbone that
     interconnects LAN segments.
 
   The following diagram illustrates an example of the architecture of today's
LAN:
 
                     [Diagram of today's LAN architecture]
 
   As the diagram illustrates, today's enterprise LAN architecture consists of
a complex patchwork of solutions based on different technologies and devices.
Incorporating devices with different hardware, software and management
architectures that utilize multiple technologies can limit performance and
scalability. Such complex networks cannot effectively scale with traffic
growth and require frequent upgrades which are cumbersome and expensive to
implement. All of these factors require significant IT resources and personnel
to keep enterprise networks functioning properly. To be effective in this
demanding environment, today's LANs must be scalable in order to handle
increases in traffic, new bandwidth-intensive applications and overall growth
of networks without major changes or deterioration of performance. An
enterprise LAN must be scalable in the following four dimensions:
 
   Speed. Speed refers to the number of bits per second that can be
transmitted across the network. Today's LAN applications increasingly require
speeds of up to 100 Mbps to the desktop. Hence, the backbone and server
connections that aggregate traffic from desktops require speeds well in excess
of 100 Mbps. Wire speed refers to the ability of a network device to process
an incoming data stream at the highest possible rate without loss of packets.
Wire speed routing refers to the ability to perform Layer 3 routing at the
maximum possible rate.
 
                                      32
<PAGE>
 
   Bandwidth. Bandwidth refers to the volume of traffic that a network or a
network device can handle before traffic is "blocked," or unable to get
through without interruption. When traffic was more predictable, the amount of
traffic across a network link or through a network device grew basically in
line with the number of users on the LAN. With today's data-intensive
applications accessed in random patterns from within and outside of the LAN,
users can spike traffic unpredictably, consuming significant bandwidth to the
detriment of other users.
 
   Network size. Network size refers to the number of users and servers that
are connected to a LAN. Today's enterprise LANs must be capable of connecting
and supporting up to thousands, and even tens of thousands, of users and
servers while providing performance and reliable connectivity.
 
   Quality of service. Quality of service refers to the ability to control the
delivery of traffic based upon its level of importance. Mission-critical
enterprise and delay-sensitive multimedia applications require specific
performance minimums, while traffic such as general e-mail and Internet
surfing may not be as critical. In addition to basic standards-based
prioritization of traffic according to importance, true end-to-end quality of
service would allocate bandwidth to specified applications.
 
  Opportunity for Next Generation Switching Solutions
 
   The emergence of several technology trends is enabling a new generation of
networking equipment that can meet the four scalability dimensions of today's
enterprise LANs by accommodating new unpredictable traffic patterns and
bandwidth-intensive, mission-critical applications. First, while many new and
different technologies have been deployed in existing LANs, Ethernet has
become the predominant LAN technology, with over 95% of the market in 1998 and
total shipments of over 350 million ports from 1991 to 1998, according to the
Dell'Oro Group. Ethernet has evolved from the original 10 Mbps Ethernet to 100
Mbps Fast Ethernet and, in 1998, to 1,000 Mbps Gigabit Ethernet. Gigabit
Ethernet represents a viable enterprise LAN backbone protocol, enabling
100 Mbps Fast Ethernet connections to the desktop to be aggregated for LAN
backbone transport across the network core. Second, growth of the Internet and
the subsequent development of applications based on Internet technologies have
increased the use of the Internet Protocol. Dataquest, a private research
firm, forecasts in an independently prepared 1997 market report that the
Internet Protocol will be the dominant protocol in 83% of enterprise LANs in
1999.
   
   With the wide acceptance of Ethernet and Internet Protocol-based
technologies, the need to support a multi-protocol environment is diminished.
As a result, the simplified routing functionality can be embedded in
application specific integrated circuits, or ASICs, instead of in the software
and CPUs used in multi-protocol software-based routers. The resulting device,
called a Layer 3 switch, functions as a less expensive and significantly
faster hardware-based router. The Dell'Oro Group, a research and consulting
firm, estimates in an independently prepared March 1999 market report, that
the market for Layer 3 switching totaled $637 million in 1998 and is expected
to increase to approximately $3.4 billion in 2001. Layer 3 switches can
operate at gigabit speeds and, as hardware routers, can support large
networks. However, most Layer 3 switches still block traffic in high
utilization scenarios and can only support standards-based traffic
prioritization quality of service. While Layer 3 switching dramatically
increases LAN performance, many of today's offerings fail to realize the
potential of this technology because of the use of inconsistent hardware,
software and management architectures.     
 
   To effectively address the needs of today's enterprise LANs, enterprises
need a solution that is easy to use and implement and can scale in terms of
speed, bandwidth, network size and quality of service. Layer 3 switching
represents the next critical step in addressing these requirements. However,
enterprises need a Layer 3 solution that provides sufficient bandwidth to
support unpredictable traffic spikes without impacting all other users
connected to the LAN. In addition, enterprises require a quality of service
solution that supports industry-standard prioritization and enables network
administrators to offer quality of service that maps business processes and
network policies. Finally, to simplify their LANs, enterprises need a family
of interoperable devices that utilize a consistent hardware, software and
management architecture. Through an integrated family of products, network
managers can effectively deploy the solution at any point in the network and
follow a migration path to a network implemented with a consistent
architecture from end-to-end.
 
                                      33
<PAGE>
 
The Extreme Networks Solution
 
   Extreme provides end-to-end LAN switching solutions that meet the
requirements of enterprise LANs by providing increased performance,
scalability, policy-based quality of service, ease of use and lower cost of
ownership. Our products share a common ASIC, software and network management
architecture that enables both Layer 2 switching and Layer 3 routing at wire
speed in each of the desktop, segment, server and core areas of the LAN.
Because our products are based on industry standard routing and network
management protocols, they are interoperable with existing LAN
infrastructures. We offer policy-based quality of service that controls the
delivery of network traffic according to pre-set policies that specify
priority and bandwidth limits. All of our switches include integrated web
server software that allows the switch to be managed from any browser-equipped
desktop. In addition, our Java-based enterprise management software utilizes
integrated web server software that allows simplified management from any
locally connected computer, or remotely over the Internet.
 
   The key benefits of Extreme's solutions are:
 
   High performance. Our products provide 1,000 Mbps Gigabit Ethernet to the
network core and Fast Ethernet to the desktops, segments and servers, together
with the non-blocking, wire-speed routing of our ASIC-based Layer 3 switching.
Using our products, customers can achieve forwarding rates that are up to 100
times faster than with software-based routers.
 
   Ease of use and implementation. Our products share a common ASIC, software
and network management architecture and offer consistent features for each of
the key areas of the LAN. Our standard-based products can be integrated into
and installed within existing networks. Customers can upgrade any area of
their LANs with Extreme products without needing additional training.
ExtremeWare software simplifies the management of LANs by enabling customers
to manage any of our products remotely through a browser interface.
 
   Scalability. Our solutions offer customers the speed and bandwidth they
need today with the capability to scale their LANs to support demanding
applications in the future without the burden of additional training or
software or system complexity. Customers who purchase our products for Layer 2
applications can upgrade them at any time to Layer 3 because Layer 3
capability is built into our ASICs. ExtremeWare Enterprise Manager software
simplifies software upgrades by allowing the network manager to upgrade all
Extreme switches simultaneously.
 
   Quality of service. Extreme's policy-based quality of service enables
customers to prioritize mission-critical applications by providing industry-
leading tools for allocating network resources to specific applications. With
our policy-based quality of service, customers can use a web-based interface
to identify and control the delivery of traffic from specific applications in
accordance with specific policies that are set by the customer. The quality of
service functionality of our ASICs allows our policy-based quality of service
to be performed at wire speed. In addition to providing priority, customers
can allocate specified amounts of bandwidth to specific applications or users.
 
   Lower cost of ownership. Our products are less expensive than software-
based routers, yet offer higher routing performance throughout the enterprise
LAN. Because they share a common hardware, software and management
architecture--whether deployed at the desktop, segment, server or core areas
of the LAN--we believe our products can substantially reduce the cost and
complexity of network management and administration. This uniform architecture
creates a simpler LAN infrastructure which leverages the knowledge and
resources businesses have invested in Ethernet and the Internet Protocol,
thereby requiring fewer resources and less time to maintain.
 
                                      34
<PAGE>
 
The Extreme Networks Strategy
 
   Extreme's objective is to be the leading supplier of end-to-end enterprise
LAN solutions. The key elements of our strategy include:
 
   Provide easy to use, high-performance, cost-effective LAN solutions. We
offer customers easy to use, powerful, cost-effective LAN solutions that meet
the specific demands of desktop, segment, server and core switching
environments. Our products provide customers with 1,000 Mbps Gigabit Ethernet
and the wire speed, non-blocking routing capabilities of ASIC-based Layer 3
switching. We intend to capitalize on our expertise in Ethernet, IP and
switching technologies to develop new products based on our common
architecture that meet the future requirements of the enterprise LAN. These
products will offer higher performance with more advanced functionality and
features while continuing to reduce total cost of ownership for our customers.
 
   Expand penetration of enterprise LANs. We are focused on product sales to
new customers and on extending our product penetration within existing
customers' LANs. We have designed our products to be the best-of-breed in each
of desktop, segment, server and core areas of the enterprise LAN. Once a
customer buys our products for one area of the LAN, our strategy is to then
offer that customer products for other areas. As additional products are
purchased, a customer obtains the increased benefits of our end-to-end
solution by simplifying their networks, extending policy-based quality of
service and reducing costs of ownership while increasing performance.
 
   Extend switching technology leadership. Our technological leadership is
based on our custom ASICs and software and includes our wire-speed, Layer 3
switching, policy-based quality of service, routing protocols and ExtremeWare
software. We intend to invest our engineering resources in ASIC and software
development and provide leading edge technologies to increase the performance
and functionality of our products. We also intend to maintain our active role
in industry standards committees such as IEEE and IETF.
 
   Leverage and expand multiple distribution channels. We distribute our
products primarily through resellers and selected OEMs and through our field
sales team. To quickly reach a broad, worldwide audience, we have more than
100 resellers in 39 countries, including regional networking system resellers,
network integrators and wholesale distributors, and have established
relationships with select OEMs. We maintain a field sales force primarily to
support our resellers and to focus on select strategic and large accounts such
as Compaq, NTT and MSNBC. We intend to increase the size of our reseller
programs and are developing two tier distribution channels in some regions. To
complement and support our domestic and international reseller and OEM
channels, we expect to increase our worldwide field sales force.
 
   Provide high-quality customer service and support. We seek to enhance
customer satisfaction and build customer loyalty through the quality of our
service and support. We offer a wide range of standard support programs that
include emergency telephone support 24 hours a day, seven days a week and
advanced replacement of products. In addition, we have designed our products
to allow easy service and administration. For example, we can access all of
our switches remotely through a standard web browser to configure,
troubleshoot and help maintain our products. We intend to continue to enhance
the ease of use of our products and invest in additional support services by
increasing staffing and adding new programs for our OEMs and resellers. In
addition, we also are committed to providing customer-driven product
functionality through feedback from key prospects, consultants, channel and
OEM partners and customer surveys.
 
Products
 
   Extreme provides end-to-end LAN switching solutions that meet the
requirements of enterprise LANs by providing increased performance,
scalability, policy-based quality of service, ease of use and lower cost of
ownership. Our Summit and BlackDiamond switches share a common ASIC, software
and management architecture that facilitates a relatively short product design
and development cycle, thereby reducing the time-to-market for new products
and features. This common architecture enables customers to build an end-to-
end enterprise LAN switching solution that has consistent functionality,
performance and management to each of the
 
                                      35
<PAGE>
 
desktop, segment, server and core areas of the LAN. The common architecture
and end-to-end functionality of our products also reduces the cost and
complexity of network administration and management.
 
   Our products include two browser-based software application suites,
ExtremeWare and ExtremeWare Enterprise Manager, that enable simple and
efficient switch management and configuration. ExtremeWare is a standards-
based software suite that delivers policy-based quality of service and enables
interoperability with legacy switches and routers. ExtremeWare Enterprise
Manager is an application suite that enables remote configuration and
management of multiple switches from a single network station.
 
   Our product families address switching in the desktop, segment, server and
core areas of the LAN. The following table identifies our principal hardware
products:
 
<TABLE>   
<CAPTION>
   Product name
   and date of     Area of the                               Forwarding speed       Per port
  first shipment  Enterprise LAN       Configuration       (packets per second) list price range
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 The Summit Stackable product family
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 <S>              <C>            <C>                       <C>                  <C>
 Summit1               core      8 Gigabit Ethernet ports      11.9 million     $2,250 to $3,750
  October 1997
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 Summit4              server     16 10/100 Mbps                11.3 million     Ethernet:
  March 1998                     Ethernet ports                                 $625
                                                                                Gigabit Ethernet:
                                 6 Gigabit Ethernet ports                       $2,500
 
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 Summit48            desktop     48 10/100 Mbps                10.1 million     Ethernet:
  April 1998                     Ethernet ports                                 $115 to $146
                                                                                Gigabit Ethernet:
                                 2 Gigabit Ethernet ports                       $1,250 to $2,500
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 Summit24            desktop     24 10/100 Mbps                5.1 million      Ethernet:
  November 1998                  Ethernet ports                                 $177 to $292
                                                                                Gigabit Ethernet:
                                 1 Gigabit Ethernet port                        $1,250 to $2,500
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 Summit Virtual        core      Up to 64 Gbps of           up to 48.0 million  $1,125
  Chassis                        bandwidth
  July 1998
                                 8 SummitLink Channels
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<CAPTION>
 The BlackDiamond Modular Chassis
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 <S>              <C>            <C>                       <C>                  <C>
 BlackDiamond          core      Up to 256 10/100 Mbps         48.0 million     Ethernet:
  Chassis            segment     Ethernet ports or 48                           $402 to
  September           server     Gigabit Ethernet ports in                      $1,333
  1998               desktop     one chassis                                    Gigabit Ethernet:
                                                                                $2,475 to
                                 10 slots to accommodate                        $11,245
                                 a variety of connectivity
                                 and up to 2 management
                                 modules
</TABLE>    
 
                                      36
<PAGE>
 
  Desktop Switches
 
   The enterprise desktop is the portion of the network where individual end-
user workstations are connected to a hub or switch. Traditionally, a discrete
group of desktop users, or a workgroup, shared a single hub, which connected
their workgroup to the rest of the network. In this shared environment, each
desktop in the workgroup receives and is burdened by the communication of
every other desktop in the workgroup. This topology is effective so long as
the majority of traffic remains within the workgroup. As applications have
become more bandwidth intensive and as user traffic has migrated outside the
workgroup via the Internet or an intranet or extranet, however, the hubs are
unable to effectively process this traffic, resulting in diminished desktop
performance. Replacing the hub with a Layer 3 switch alleviates this problem
by providing a dedicated link for each desktop and eliminating unnecessary
broadcasts of information to every desktop in the workgroup. Enterprise
desktop switching provides the desktop with features typically found only at
the network core, such as redundancy, greater speed and the ability to
aggregate multiple switch ports into a single high-bandwidth connection.
 
   We became an industry leader in Layer 3 switching for the desktop with the
introduction of our Summit48 and Summit24 desktop switching products. The
Summit48 addresses high-density enterprise desktop connections. This switch
features a non-blocking architecture to avoid the loss of data packets. The
Summit24, with half the number of ports of the Summit48, is targeted at local
wiring closets with moderately dense desktop connections.
 
  Segment Switches
 
   Enterprise segment switching involves the switching among workgroups of
multiple network desktops. While enterprise segment switching faces the same
challenges as desktop switching, it must also address increased congestion
from traffic generated by hubs and other devices that enterprises use to
connect multiple desktop computers. Our primary product for enterprise segment
switching is the chassis-based BlackDiamond. The BlackDiamond chassis
addresses the needs of enterprises that interconnect high-density 10/100 Mbps
segments. It can also be equipped with switched Gigabit Ethernet connectivity
modules to provide high-speed uplinks to servers and switches in the network
core.
 
  Server Switches
 
   Servers run the applications and store the data needed by all network end-
users. In a traditional LAN, most of the network resources needed by any given
desktop user, such as printer servers, file servers or database servers, are
on the same workgroup segment as the desktop user. The traditional network
architecture has been shifting toward more centralized server clusters, or
server farms, which require the physical deployment of multiple servers in a
single central data center. This new architecture is easier to manage and can
be configured in a redundant fashion, thereby reducing the risk of system
failure. Additionally, remote offices and telecommuters can access the same
server-based data as desktop users, increasing the flexibility of the network
to support users wherever they may be located.
 
   As more people access the network and as server requests increasingly
involve more bandwidth-intensive applications, network traffic to and from
servers has increased dramatically, causing bandwidth to be consumed by
traffic. Servers also communicate with each other, creating a high volume of
server-to-server traffic within the server farm. Recent technology
developments allow enterprises to install network interface cards that enable
connections using Gigabit Ethernet or the aggregation of multiple 100 Mbps
ports on a single card. This development increases the communication speed of
the servers. In turn, these servers have created the need for switches that
can support their higher server-to-server and server-to-end-user
communications speeds. Our Summit4 product addresses server switching
constraints by providing switched Gigabit Ethernet and multiple 100 Mbps links
to the servers, thereby delivering sufficient bandwidth between servers and to
clients on attached segments. The BlackDiamond may also be configured to
address the needs of a server switching environment that requires higher port
density and modular configuration flexibility.
 
                                      37
<PAGE>
 
  Core Switches
 
   The network core is the most critical point in the network, as it is where
the majority of network traffic, including desktop, segment and server
traffic, converges. Network core switching involves switching traffic from the
desktops, segments and servers within the network. Because of the high-traffic
nature of the network core, wire-speed Layer 3 switching, scalability, a non-
blocking hardware architecture, fault-tolerant mission-critical features,
redundancy, link aggregation, the ability to support a variety of high-density
"speeds and feeds" and the ability to accommodate an increasing number of
high-capacity backbone connections are critical in core switching. Our network
core products satisfy these criteria and include the BlackDiamond, the Summit1
and the Summit Virtual Chassis.
 
   The BlackDiamond switch includes the fault-tolerant features associated
with mission-critical enterprise-class Layer 3 switching, including redundant
system management and switch fabric modules, hot-swappable modules and chassis
components, load-sharing power supplies and management modules, up to four 10
Mbps, 100 Mbps, or 1,000 Mbps aggregated links, dual software images and
system configurations, spanning tree and multipath routing, and redundant
router protocols for enhanced system reliability. In addition, our Summit1
switch, which interconnects multiple Gigabit Ethernet backbones from various
parts of the enterprise LAN, is well-suited for network core applications that
require lower density backbone connections. The Summit Virtual Chassis is a
high-speed external backplane that interconnects multiple Summit or
BlackDiamond switches. The Summit Virtual Chassis enables network flexibility
by interconnecting geographically dispersed or co-located Summit and
BlackDiamond switches, thereby creating a distributed core.
 
  ExtremeWare
 
   Our ExtremeWare software suite is pre-installed on every Summit and
BlackDiamond switch. For Extreme switches that are Layer 3 enabled,
ExtremeWare delivers policy-based quality of service capabilities and supports
a range of routing protocols that enable interoperability with legacy switches
and routers. Our policy-based quality of service also enables network managers
to define numerous levels of control, or policies, that determine the amount
of bandwidth available to a group of users or network devices at a given time.
The policies can describe traffic based on port number, protocol type, VLAN,
or Layer 2, Layer 3 or Layer 4 information. Using 802.1p and 802.1Q for VLAN
tagging, policy-based quality of service is passively signaled across the
network to enable standards-based interoperability. For Extreme switches that
are Layer 2 enabled, ExtremeWare provides policy-based quality of service and
supports a range of standards-based management and Layer 2 protocols. In
addition, the Layer 2 version of ExtremeWare can be upgraded to Layer 3 via
software that may be downloaded from the web.
 
  ExtremeWare Enterprise Manager
 
   ExtremeWare Enterprise Manager simplifies the task of managing and
configuring groups of our switches. With ExtremeWare Enterprise Manager, an
entire network of our switches can be managed from a single management console
using a standard web browser. This enterprise-wide management enables VLANs
and policy-based quality of service to be established and managed for the
entire enterprise LAN. ExtremeWare Enterprise Manager can also manage
centralized and distributed stacks of Summit switches and the Summit Virtual
Chassis as aggregated entities. ExtremeWare Enterprise Manager can be accessed
using any Java-enabled browser. The ExtremeWare Enterprise Manager application
and database support both Microsoft Windows NT and Sun Microsystems' Solaris.
The ExtremeWare Enterprise Manager client can be launched from within the HP
OpenView Network Node Manager application.
 
 
                                      38
<PAGE>
 
Customers
 
   The following table is a partial list of our end user customers that have
purchased in excess of $100,000 of our products since January 1, 1998:
 
<TABLE>   
<S>                           <C>                           <C>
Advanta Mortgage              Honeywell                     Pennzoil
Amoco                         Houston NW Medical Center     Playboy
AT&T                          Imperial College              Raytheon
Barnes and Noble              Institute of Nuclear Power    Real Networks
British Telecom               Interwest Bank                Reuters
Cable & Wireless (UK)         IXNet                         Saudi Aramco Oil Company
Chiba Kougyou University      Juno Online                   Schlumberger
Compaq                        Leo Burnett Advertising       Shell Oil
Danish Post                   Lockheed Martin               Sun Microsystems
Dell Computer                 MAN (Denmark)                 Swedish Library Service
Digital Domain                Microsoft                     Tandem Computers
Enron Corporation             MIT Lincoln Labs              UC Riverside
First Technology Credit       MSNBC                         University of Stuttgart
 Union                        Navistar                      U.S. Air Force
Harbor-UCLA Medical Center    NVIDIA                        Worldvision
Hewlett-Packard Company       Osaka Prefecture University
</TABLE>    
 
   In fiscal 1998, 3Com and Compaq accounted for 25% and 21%, respectively, of
our net revenue, and for the six-month period ended December 31, 1998, Compaq
and Hitachi Cable accounted for 17% and 11% of our net revenue, respectively.
Compaq is both an OEM and an end-user customer. In fiscal 1998, approximately
72% of our net revenue was derived from ten customers. End-user sales to
Compaq include sales to its subsidiaries, Tandem and Digital. In the six-month
period ended December 31, 1998, approximately 58% of our net revenue was
derived from ten customers.
 
   Representative examples of the manner in which Extreme's products have been
used by our customers are set forth below:
 
   Heavy equipment manufacturer. This Japan-based customer is one of the
world's largest manufacturers of marine vessels, construction machinery and
environmental systems. The customer was attempting to run numerous office
automation and bandwidth-intensive engineering applications on its expanding
3,000-node computer network. As the organization took on additional nodes and
applications, it needed a more scalable LAN infrastructure to keep up with
increased speed and bandwidth demands, while providing quality of service for
traffic prioritization and bandwidth control. When the customer relocated its
headquarters to a larger facility, it considered ATM and Gigabit Ethernet as
alternative LAN solutions. The customer ultimately chose Extreme's Gigabit
Ethernet solution due to its lower total cost of ownership and ability to
scale speed, bandwidth, network size and quality of service. The customer
installed Extreme's Summit1 LAN switches in the network core with high-speed
Gigabit Ethernet uplinks to several Summit2 LAN switches that perform segment
switching. This new all-Gigabit Ethernet LAN infrastructure provides enough
bandwidth for present and future applications that this global manufacturer
may adopt, is easy to manage and offers the customer a high degree of
efficiency.
 
   Computer manufacturer. This leading global personal computer manufacturer
had a 30,000-node enterprise network consisting of an FDDI-based core with
Ethernet to segments, servers and desktops. The network relied on software-
based multi-protocol routers to handle mission-critical enterprise resource
planning systems and emerging electronic commerce applications that support
web-based purchasing of their computer equipment. The network infrastructure
did not scale well and as the computer manufacturer increased users and
applications, the cost of efficiently running and managing the network
increased significantly. As a result, the customer looked for a new reliable,
efficient and scalable LAN infrastructure. Extreme enabled the computer
manufacturer to cost-effectively migrate its existing network core, composed
of 5 FDDI rings and over 100
 
                                      39
<PAGE>
 
software-based routers, to an all-Ethernet infrastructure with Layer 3 IP
switching from core to desktop. BlackDiamond chassis switches and stackable
Summit switches were deployed to simplify management, significantly reduce
network ownership costs, and accommodate future growth of customers and
applications.
 
   On-line interactive news service. A leading provider of on-line interactive
news needed to reduce bottlenecks and increase control on its 400-node
mission-critical production network. An existing FDDI backbone was unable to
scale in capacity to handle increased flow of bandwidth-intensive content such
as video, audio, graphics and text. After considering many alternative
solutions including those offered by leading network companies, the customer
decided to replace its FDDI backbone with a Gigabit Ethernet LAN
infrastructure using Layer 3 switches from Extreme. Compared to ATM and other
Gigabit Ethernet solutions, the Extreme solution offered more scalable
capacity and similar quality of service features but with far less complexity
and cost. The ability of Extreme's solution to reduce network ownership costs
also played a key role in the customer's decision. Today, the network uses a
mix of Summit1 switches in the core, Summit2 switches in the segment and
Summit48 switches to the desktop. The customer's satisfaction with our
solution has led to follow-up sales.
 
Sales and Marketing
 
   Extreme's sales and marketing strategy is focused on domestic and
international resellers, OEMs and field sales.
 
   Resellers. We have entered into agreements to sell our products through
more than 100 resellers in 39 countries. Our resellers include regional
networking system resellers, resellers who focus on specific vertical markets,
network integrators and wholesale distributors. We provide training and
support to our resellers and our resellers generally provide the first level
of support to end users of our products. We intend to increase the number of
our reseller relationships, to target vertical markets and support a two-tier
distribution channel. Resellers accounted for approximately 57% and 67% of our
net revenue for fiscal 1998 and the six-months ended December 31, 1998,
respectively.
 
   OEMs. We have established four key OEM relationships with leaders in the
telecommunications, personal computer and computer networking industries. For
fiscal 1998 and the six-months ended December 31, 1998, sales to our OEMs
accounted for 43% and 33% of our net revenue, respectively. Compaq, which is
both an OEM and an end-user customer, accounted for 21% and 17% of our net
revenue in fiscal 1998 and the six-months ended December 31, 1998,
respectively. We intend to maintain a limited number of relationships with key
strategic OEMs who may offer products or distribution channels that compliment
ours. Each of our OEMs resells our products under its own name. We believe
that our OEM relationships enhance our ability to sell and provide support to
large organizations because certain end-user organizations may prefer to do
business with very large suppliers. We anticipate that OEM sales will decline
as a percentage of net revenue as we expand our reseller and fields sales
efforts.
 
   Field sales. We have designed and established our field sales organization
to support and develop leads for our resellers and to establish and maintain a
limited number of key accounts and strategic customers. To support these
objectives, our field sales force:
 
  .  assists end-user customers in finding solutions to complex network
     system and architecture problems;
 
  .  differentiates the features and capabilities of our products from
     competitive offerings;
 
  .  continually monitors and understands the evolving networking needs of
     enterprise customers;
 
  .  promotes our products and ensures direct contact with current and
     potential customers; and
 
  .  monitors the changing requirements of our customers.
 
   As of December 31, 1998, Extreme's worldwide sales and marketing
organization included 67 individuals, including managers, sales
representatives, and technical and administrative support personnel. We have
domestic sales offices located in major metropolitan areas, including Atlanta,
Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los
 
                                      40
<PAGE>
 
Angeles, New York, San Jose, Seattle and Washington DC. In addition, we have
international sales offices located in the United Kingdom, France, Germany,
Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands and Sweden.
 
   International sales
 
   We believe that there is a strong international market for our switching
products. Our international sales are conducted primarily through our overseas
offices and foreign resellers. Sales to customers outside of North America
accounted for approximately 59% and 50% of our net revenue in fiscal 1998 and
the six-month period ended December 31, 1998, respectively.
 
   Marketing
 
   We have a number of marketing programs to support the sale and distribution
of our products and to inform existing and potential enterprise customers and
our resellers and OEMs about the capabilities and benefits of our products.
Our marketing efforts include participation in industry tradeshows, technical
conferences and technology seminars, preparation of competitive analyses,
sales training, publication of technical and educational articles in industry
journals, maintenance of our web site, advertising and public relations. In
addition, we have begun to develop an e-commerce business directed at
resellers. We also participate in third-party, independent product tests.
 
Customer Service and Support
 
   Our customer service and support organization maintains and supports
products sold by our field sales force to end users, and provides technical
support to our resellers and OEMs. Generally, our resellers and OEMs provide
installation, maintenance and support services to their customers and we
assist our resellers and OEMs in providing such support.
 
   In addition to designing custom maintenance programs to satisfy specific
customer requirements, we also offer several standard maintenance programs to
our resellers and customers, including ExtremeAssist1 and ExtremeAssist2.
 
   ExtremeAssist1. This program is designed for customers which have strong
technical networking skills and are interested in keeping service and support
costs to a minimum. With ExtremeAssist1, the customers' information technology
organizations provide first-level support for configuration, hardware and
trouble shooting, while our technical assistance center provides advanced
second-level support on an essential need basis. The ExtremeAssist1 program
includes 2 hour telephone response time, 10 e-mail inquiries per month and
responses within 24 hours, rapid-response emergency telephone support 24 hours
a day, seven days a week and 72-hour advanced replacement of hardware.
 
   ExtremeAssist2. This program is designed for mission-critical environments
that require the highest degree of network availability, data integrity and
end-user productivity. The ExtremeAssist2 program includes 1 hour telephone
response time, unlimited e-mail inquiries and next business-day responses,
rapid-response emergency/ network down telephone support 24 hours a day, seven
days a week and next business-day advance replacement of hardware.
 
   With the ExtremeAssist1 and ExtremeAssist2 programs, our customers are able
to access our web-based database to immediately obtain software updates, bug
lists, technical support alerts and on-line documentation. We typically
provide end users with a one-year hardware and 90-day software warranty. We
also offer various training courses for their third-party resellers or end-
user customers.
 
                                      41
<PAGE>
 
Manufacturing
 
   We outsource the majority of our manufacturing and supply chain management
operations, and we conduct quality assurance, manufacturing engineering,
documentation control and repairs at our facility in Cupertino, California.
This approach enables us to reduce fixed costs and to provide flexibility in
meeting market demand. Where cost-effective, we may begin to perform certain
of our non-manufacturing outsourced operations in-house.
 
   Currently, we use two contract manufacturers--Flextronics, located in San
Jose, California, to manufacture our Summit1, Summit2 and Summit4 and
BlackDiamond products and MCMS, located in Boise, Idaho, to manufacture our
Summit24 and Summit48 products. Each of these manufacturing processes and
procedures is ISO 9002 certified. We design and develop the key components of
our products, including ASICs, printed circuit boards and software. In
addition, we determine the components that are incorporated in our products
and select the appropriate suppliers of such components. Product testing and
burn-in is performed by our contract manufacturers using tests we specify and
automated testing equipment. We also use comprehensive inspection testing and
statistical process controls to assure the quality and reliability of our
products. We intend to regularly introduce new products and product
enhancements, which will require that we rapidly achieve volume production by
coordinating our efforts with those of our suppliers and contract
manufacturers. See "Risk Factors--Extreme Needs to Expand Its Manufacturing
Operations and Depends on Contract Manufacturers for Substantially All of Its
Manufacturing Requirements."
 
   Although we use standard parts and components for our products where
possible, we currently purchase several key components used in the manufacture
of our products from single or limited sources. Our principal single-sourced
components include:
 
  .  ASICs;
  .  microprocessors;
  .  programmable integrated circuits;
  .  selected other integrated circuits;
  .  cables; and
  .  custom-tooled sheet metal.
 
Our principal limited-source components include:
 
  .  flash memories;
  .  DRAMs;
  .  SRAMs; and
  .  printed circuit boards.
 
   Generally, purchase commitments with our single or limited source suppliers
are on a purchase order basis. LSI Logic manufacturers all of our ASICs which
are used in all of our switches. Any interruption or delay in the supply of
any of these components, or the inability to procure these components from
alternate sources at acceptable prices and within a reasonable time, would
materially adversely affect our business, operating results and financial
condition. In addition, qualifying additional suppliers can be time-consuming
and expensive and may increase the likelihood of errors.
 
   We use a rolling six-month forecast based on anticipated product orders to
determine our material requirements. Lead times for materials and components
we order vary significantly, and depend on factors such as the specific
supplier, contract terms and demand for a component at a given time. See "Risk
Factors--Extreme Purchases Several Key Components for Products From Single or
Limited Sources and Could Lose Sales if These Sources Fail to Fill Its Needs "
and "--Extreme Needs To Expand Its Manufacturing Operations and Depends on
Contract Manufacturers for Substantially All of Its Manufacturing
Requirements."
 
                                      42
<PAGE>
 
Research and Development
 
   We believe that our future success depends on our ability to continue to
enhance our existing products and to develop new products that maintain
technological competitiveness. We focus our product development activities on
solving the needs of users of enterprise LANs. We monitor changing customer
needs and work closely with users of enterprise LANs, value-added resellers
and distributors, and market research organizations to monitor changes in the
marketplace. We design our products around current industry standards and will
continue to support emerging standards that are consistent with our product
strategy.
 
   Our products have been designed to incorporate the same core ASICs and
software and system architecture, facilitating a relatively short product
design and development cycle and reducing the time to market for new products
and features. We have utilized this architectural design to develop and
introduce other product models and enhancements since the introduction of our
first products in 1997. We intend to continue to utilize this architectural
design to develop and introduce additional products and enhancements in the
future.
 
   We are currently undertaking development efforts for our family of products
with emphasis on increasing reliability, performance and scalability and
reducing the overall LAN operating costs to end users. We are also focusing on
cost reduction engineering to reduce the cost of our products. There can be no
assurance that our product development efforts will result in commercially
successful products, or that our products will not be rendered obsolete by
changing technology or new product announcements by other companies. See "Risk
Factors--Extreme's Market is Subject to Rapid Technological Change and to
Compete, Extreme Must Continually Introduce New Products that Achieve Broad
Market Acceptance."
 
Competition
 
 
   The market for enterprise LAN switches is part of the broader market for
enterprise LAN equipment, which is dominated by a few large companies,
particularly Bay Networks, Cabletron Systems, Cisco Systems and 3Com. Each of
these companies has introduced, or has announced its intention to develop,
enterprise LAN switches that are or may be competitive with our products. For
example, in January 1999, Cisco announced its Catalyst 6000 family of chassis-
based switches. In addition, there are a number of large telecommunications
equipment providers, including Alcatel, Ericsson, Lucent Technologies, Nokia,
Nortel Networks and Siemens, which have entered the market for enterprise LAN
equipment, particularly through acquisitions of public and privately held
companies. For example, in January 1998, Lucent acquired Prominet, a private
switching company, and in August 1998, Northern Telecom acquired Bay Networks.
We expect to face increased competition, particularly price competition, from
these and other telecommunications equipment providers. We also expect to
compete with other public companies that offer enterprise LAN switching
products, such as FORE Systems, IBM and Xylan, and with private companies.
These vendors may develop products with functionality similar to our products
or provide alternative network solutions. Our OEMs may compete with us with
their current products or products they may develop, and with the products
they purchase from us. Current and potential competitors have established or
may establish cooperative relationships among themselves or with third parties
to develop and offer competitive products. Furthermore, we compete with
numerous companies that offer routers and other technologies and devices that
traditionally have managed the flow of traffic on the enterprise LAN.
 
   Many of our current and potential competitors have longer operating
histories and substantially greater financial, technical, sales, marketing and
other resources, as well as greater name recognition and a larger installed
customer base, than we do. As a result, these competitors are able to devote
greater resources to the development, promotion, sale and support of their
products. In addition, competitors with a large installed customer base may
have a significant competitive advantage over us. We have encountered, and
expect to continue to encounter, many potential customers who are extremely
confident in and committed to the product offerings of our principal
competitors, including Cisco Systems, Nortel Networks and 3Com. Accordingly,
such potential customers may not consider or evaluate our products. When such
potential customers have considered or evaluated our products, we have in the
past lost, and expect in the future to lose, sales to some of these customers
as large competitors have offered significant price discounts to secure such
sales.
 
                                      43
<PAGE>
 
   We believe the principal competitive factors in the LAN switching market
are:
 
  .  expertise and familiarity with LAN protocols, LAN switching and network
     management;
 
  .  product performance, features, functionality and reliability;
 
  .  price/performance characteristics;
 
  .  timeliness of new product introductions;
 
  .  adoption of emerging industry standards;
 
  .  customer service and support;
 
  .  size and scope of distribution network;
 
  .  brand name;
 
  .  access to customers; and
 
  .  size of installed customer base.
 
   We believe we compete favorably with our competitors with respect to each
of the foregoing factors. However, because many of our existing and potential
competitors have longer operating histories, greater name recognition, larger
customer bases and substantially greater financial, technical, sales,
marketing and other resources, they may have larger distribution channels,
stronger brand names, access to more customers and a larger installed customer
base than we do. Such competitors may, among other things, be able to
undertake more extensive marketing campaigns, adopt more aggressive pricing
policies and make more attractive offers to distribution partners than we can.
To remain competitive, we believe we must, among other things, invest
significant resources in developing new products and enhancing our current
products and maintain customer satisfaction worldwide. If we fail to do so,
our products will not compete favorably with those of our competitors which
will materially adversely affect our business. See "Risk Factors--Intense
Competition in the Market for Enterprise LAN Equipment Could Prevent Extreme
From Increasing Revenue and Prevent Extreme From Achieving or Sustaining
Profitability."
 
Intellectual Property
 
   We rely on a combination of patent, copyright, trademark and trade secret
laws and restrictions on disclosure to protect our intellectual property
rights. We have filed eight U.S. patent applications relating to the
architecture of our network switches and quality of service features. There
can be no assurance that these applications will be approved, that any issued
patents will protect our intellectual property or that they will not be
challenged by third parties. Furthermore, there can be no assurance that
others will not independently develop similar or competing technology or
design around any patents that may be issued. We also have six pending
trademark applications in the U.S.
 
   We also enter into confidentiality or license agreements with our
employees, consultants and corporate partners, and control access to and
distribution of our software, documentation and other proprietary information.
In addition, we provide our software products to end-users primarily under
"shrink-wrap" license agreements included within the packaged software. These
agreements are not negotiated with or signed by the licensee, and thus these
agreements may not be enforceable in some jurisdictions. Despite our efforts
to protect our proprietary rights, unauthorized parties may attempt to copy or
otherwise obtain and use our products or technology. There can be no assurance
that these precautions will prevent misappropriation or infringement of our
intellectual property. Monitoring unauthorized use of our products is
difficult, and we cannot be certain that the steps we have taken will prevent
misappropriation of our technology, particularly in foreign countries where
the laws may not protect our proprietary rights as fully as in the
United States.
 
   The networking industry is characterized by the existence of a large number
of patents and frequent claims and related litigation regarding patent and
other intellectual property rights. In particular, leading companies in the
data communications and networking markets have extensive patent portfolios
with respect to networking
 
                                      44
<PAGE>
 
technology. From time to time, third parties, including these leading
companies, have asserted and may assert exclusive patent, copyright, trademark
and other intellectual property rights to technologies and related standards
that are important to us. We expect that we may increasingly be subject to
infringement claims as the numbers of products and competitors in the market
for enterprise LAN switches grow and the functionality of products overlaps.
In this regard, in February 1999, we received verbal communications from one
of our OEM customers that one of these companies believes that our products
may infringe patents pertaining to a Gigabit Ethernet industry standard, which
standard was developed by committees and includes contributions from numerous
parties. As such, it is not currently known whether a license is necessary;
however, if it is determined to be necessary, we believe that a license would
be made available in a timely and non-discriminatory manner and on reasonable
terms.
 
   Although we have not been a party to any litigation asserting claims that
allege infringement of intellectual property rights, we cannot assure you that
we will not be a party to litigation in the future. In addition, we cannot
assure you that third parties will not assert additional claims or initiate
litigation against us or our manufacturers, suppliers or customers alleging
infringement of their proprietary rights with respect to existing or future
products.
 
   We may in the future initiate claims or litigation against third parties
for infringement of our proprietary rights to determine the scope and validity
of our proprietary rights. Any such claims, with or without merit, could be
time-consuming, result in costly litigation and diversion of technical and
management personnel or require us to develop non-infringing technology or
enter into royalty or licensing agreements. Such royalty or licensing
agreements, if required, may not be available on acceptable terms, if at all.
In the event of a successful claim of infringement and our failure or
inability to develop non-infringing technology or license the proprietary
rights on a timely basis, our business, operating results and financial
condition could be materially adversely affected.
 
Employees
 
   As of December 31, 1998, we employed 159 persons, including 67 in sales and
marketing, 52 in research and development, 20 in operations and 20 in finance
and administration. We have never had a work stoppage and no personnel are
represented under collective bargaining agreements. We consider our employee
relations to be good.
 
   We believe that our future success will depend on our continued ability to
attract, integrate, retain, train and motivate highly qualified personnel, and
upon the continued service of our senior management and key personnel. None of
our personnel is bound by an employment agreement. Competition for qualified
personnel is intense, particularly in the San Francisco Bay Area, where our
headquarters is located. At times we have experienced difficulties in
attracting new personnel. There can be no assurance that we will successfully
attract, integrate, retain and motivate a sufficient number of qualified
personnel to conduct our business in the future. See "Risk Factors--If Extreme
Loses Key Personnel or is Unable to Hire Additional Qualified Personnel as
Necessary, It May Not Be Able to Successfully Manage Its Business or Achieve
Its Objectives."
 
Facilities
   
   Our principal administrative, sales, marketing and research development
facilities are located in an approximately 77,000 square feet facility located
in Santa Clara, California which we moved to in March 1999. We believe that
our facilities will be adequate to meet our needs for the foreseeable future.
We also lease office space in Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Texas, Maryland,
Massachusetts, New Jersey, Washington and Wisconsin and in Hong Kong and the
Netherlands.     
 
Legal Proceedings
 
   We are not aware of any pending legal proceedings against us that,
individually or in the aggregate, would have a material adverse effect on our
business, operating results or financial condition. We may in the future be
party to litigation arising in the course of our business, including claims
that we allegedly infringe third-party trademarks and other intellectual
property rights. Such claims, even if not meritorious, could result in the
expenditure of significant financial and managerial resources.
 
                                      45
<PAGE>
 
                                  MANAGEMENT
 
Directors and Executive Officers
 
   The following table sets forth information regarding the executive officers
and directors of Extreme as of January 31, 1999:
 
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
Name                  Age                       Position
- ----                  ---                       --------
<S>                   <C> <C>
Gordon L. Stitt......  42 President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman
Stephen Haddock......  40 Vice President and Chief Technical Officer
Herb Schneider.......  39 Vice President of Engineering
William Kelly........  47 Vice President of Corporate Development
Vito E. Palermo......  35 Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Secretary
George Prodan........  46 Vice President of Marketing
Paul Romeo...........  49 Vice President of Operations
Harry Silverglide....  52 Vice President of Sales
Charles
 Carinalli(1)........  50 Director
Promod Haque(2)......  50 Director
Lawrence K. Orr(2)...  42 Director
Peter Wolken(1)......  64 Director
</TABLE>
- --------
(1) Member of the compensation committee.
(2) Member of the audit committee.
 
   Gordon L. Stitt. Mr. Stitt co-founded Extreme in May 1996 and has served as
President, Chief Executive Officer and a director of Extreme since its
inception. From 1989 to 1996, Mr. Stitt worked at another company he co-
founded, Network Peripherals, a designer and manufacturer of high-speed
networking technology. He served first as its Vice President of Marketing,
then as Vice President and General Manager of the OEM Business Unit. Mr. Stitt
holds an MBA from the Haas School of Business of the University of California,
Berkeley and a BSEE/CS from Santa Clara University.
 
   Stephen Haddock. Mr. Haddock co-founded Extreme in May 1996 and has served
as Vice President and Chief Technical Officer of Extreme since its inception.
From 1989 to 1996, Mr. Haddock worked as Chief Engineer at Network
Peripherals. Mr. Haddock is a member of IEEE, an editor of the Gigabit
Ethernet Standard and Chairman of the IEEE 802.3ad link aggregation committee.
Mr. Haddock holds an MSEE and a BSME from Stanford University.
 
   Herb Schneider. Mr. Schneider co-founded Extreme in May 1996 and has served
as Vice President of Engineering of Extreme since its inception. From 1990 to
1996, Mr. Schneider worked as Engineering Manager at Network Peripherals and
was responsible for the development of LAN switches. From 1981 to 1990,
Mr. Schneider held various positions at National Semiconductor, a developer
and manufacturer of semiconductor products, where he was involved in the
development of early Ethernet chipsets and FDDI chipsets. Mr. Schneider holds
a BSEE from the University of California, Davis.
 
   William Kelly. Mr. Kelly has served as Vice President of Corporate
Development of Extreme since January 1999. From October 1996 to January 1999,
he served as Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer of Extreme.
From August 1995 to October 1996, he served as Vice President of Worldwide
Finance and Chief Financial Officer at SCM Microsystems, a manufacturer of
personal computer smart-card technology. From March 1991 to June 1995, Mr.
Kelly served in various positions at Network Peripherals, most recently as
Vice President, Controller and Treasurer. Mr. Kelly holds a BBA in accounting
from Loyola University, Chicago and is a Certified Public Accountant.
 
                                      46
<PAGE>
 
   Vito E. Palermo. Mr. Palermo has served as Vice President, Chief Financial
Officer and Secretary of Extreme since January 1999. From January 1997 to
January 1999, he served as Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and
Secretary of Metawave Communications, a wireless communications company. From
1992 to 1996, Mr. Palermo served in various financial management positions at
Bay Networks, a networking communications company, most recently serving as
Vice President and Corporate Controller and previously serving as Director of
Technology Finance, Corporate Financial and Planning Manager, and
Manufacturing and Customer Service Controller. Mr. Palermo holds an MBA from
St. Mary's College and a BS in Business Administration from California State
University.
 
   George Prodan. Mr. Prodan has served as Vice President of Marketing of
Extreme since February 1997. From January 1994 to January 1997, he served as
Director of Marketing and Senior Director of Worldwide Channels at FORE
Systems, a networking equipment company. From April 1991 to December 1993, he
served as a product line manager for a division of 3Com, a networking company.
He holds an MS in Instructional Communications from Shippensburg State
University and a BS in Industrial Arts Education from California State
University.
 
   Paul Romeo. Mr. Romeo has served as Vice President of Operations of Extreme
since April 1997. From 1989 to 1997, he served as Vice President of Operations
at Compression Labs, a videoconferencing company. Mr. Romeo holds an MBA from
Santa Clara University and a BS in Engineering/Production Management from the
University of Illinois.
 
   Harry Silverglide. Mr. Silverglide has served as Vice President of Sales of
Extreme since January 1997. From May 1995 to January 1997, he served as Vice
President of Western Region Sales for Bay Networks. From July 1994 to May
1995, he served as Vice President of Sales for Centillion Networks, a provider
of LAN switching products which was acquired by Bay Networks in 1995. From
April 1984 to July 1994, he worked in sales and senior sales management
positions at Ungermann Bass, a network communications company.
 
   Charles Carinalli. Mr. Carinalli has served as a director of Extreme since
October 1996. Since December 1996, Mr. Carinalli has been President, Chief
Executive Officer and a director of Wavespan, a developer of wireless
broadband access systems. From 1970 to 1996, Mr. Carinalli served in various
positions and most recently served as Senior Vice President and Chief
Technical Officer for National Semiconductor. Mr. Carinalli holds an MSEE from
Santa Clara University and a BSEE from the University of California, Berkeley.
 
   Promod Haque. Mr. Haque has served as a director of Extreme since May 1996.
Mr. Haque joined Norwest Venture Partners in November 1990 and is currently
Managing General Partner of Norwest Venture Partners VII, General Partner of
Norwest Venture Partners VI and General Partner of Norwest Equity Partners V
and IV. Mr. Haque currently serves as a director of Information Advantage,
Prism Solutions, Raster Graphics, Connect, Transaction Systems Architects and
several privately held companies. Mr. Haque holds a PhDEE and a MSEE from
Northwestern University, an MM from the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of
Management, Northwestern University and a BSEE from the University of Delhi,
India.
 
   Lawrence K. Orr. Mr. Orr has served as a director of Extreme since May
1996. Since January 1991, he has been General Partner of Trinity Ventures, the
general partner of a privately held group of venture capital partnerships, and
he was an employee of Trinity Ventures from 1989 to 1991. Mr. Orr currently
serves as a director of several privately held companies. Mr. Orr holds an MBA
from Stanford University and a BA in Mathematics from Harvard University.
 
   Peter Wolken. Mr. Wolken has served as a director of Extreme since May
1996. He currently serves as General Partner of AVI Management Partners, which
manages various private venture capital limited partnerships. He co-founded
AVI Management Partners in 1981. He serves as a director of Full Time Software
and several privately held technology companies in Silicon Valley. Mr. Wolken
holds a BFT in International Marketing from the American Graduate School for
International Management and a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the
University of California, Berkeley.
 
                                      47
<PAGE>
 
Board Committees
 
   The audit committee is primarily responsible for reviewing audited
financial statements and accounting practices of Extreme, and for considering
and recommending the employment of, and approving the fee arrangements with,
independent accountants for both audit functions and for advisory and other
consulting services. The audit committee is currently comprised of Messrs. Orr
and Haque. The compensation committee is primarily responsible for reviewing
and approving the compensation and benefits for our key executive officers,
administering our employee benefit plans and making recommendations to the
board regarding such matters. The compensation committee is currently
comprised of Messrs. Wolken and Carinalli.
 
Director Compensation
 
   Directors are entitled to reimbursement of all reasonable out-of-pocket
expenses incurred in connection with their attendance at board and board
committee meetings.
 
Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation
 
   The compensation committee is composed of Messrs. Wolken and Carinalli. No
interlocking relationship exists between the board or compensation committee
and the board of directors or compensation committee of any other company, nor
has any such interlocking relationship existed in the past. The compensation
committee reviews and approves the compensation and benefits for our key
executive officers, administers our employee benefit plans and makes
recommendations to the board regarding such matters.
 
Change of Control Arrangements
 
   Shares subject to options granted under our Amended 1996 Stock Option Plan
will generally vest over four years, with 25% of the shares vesting after one
year and the remaining shares vesting in equal monthly increments over the
following 36 months. The options and stock purchase agreements granted to our
executive officers and our outside director provide for accelerated vesting of
the shares in the event of a "transfer of control," as defined in the option
or stock purchase agreement, of Extreme.
 
   This form of agreement provides that if, as of the date of the transfer of
control, less than 75% of the total option shares are vested, the number of
vested shares will be increased, as of the date of the transfer of control, to
the lesser of 75% of the total option shares, or the sum of the number of
vested shares, which are determined under the standard vesting schedule, plus
50% of the unvested shares, which are determined under the standard vesting
schedule. After the transfer of control, the remaining unvested shares will
vest in equal monthly increments over the longer of 50% of the period
beginning on the date of the transfer of control and ending on the date four
years after the option grant date or 12 months.
 
                                      48
<PAGE>
 
Executive Compensation
 
   The following table sets forth information concerning the compensation paid
to Extreme's Chief Executive Officer and each of Extreme's five other most
highly compensated executive officers (collectively, the "Named Executive
Officers") during fiscal 1998:
 
                          Summary Compensation Table
 
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                                                                  All Other
Name and Principal Position               Salary ($) Bonus ($) Compensation ($)
- ---------------------------               ---------- --------- ----------------
<S>                                       <C>        <C>       <C>
Gordon L. Stitt..........................  $129,167   $    --      $    --
 President and Chief Executive Officer
Stephen Haddock..........................   117,500        --           --
 Vice President and Chief Technical
 Officer
George Prodan............................   125,000        --           --
 Vice President of Marketing
Paul Romeo...............................   135,000        --           --
 Vice President of Operations
Herb Schneider...........................   117,500        --           --
 Vice President of Engineering
Harry Silverglide(1).....................   100,000    20,000       72,600
 Vice President of Sales
</TABLE>
- --------
(1) Other annual compensation amount relates to commissions paid to Mr.
    Silverglide based on total sales and account wins during the fiscal year.
 
                                 Option Grants
 
   No stock options were granted during fiscal 1998 to the Named Executive
Officers. In October 1998, we granted options to purchase 200,000, 135,000,
90,000, 50,000, 135,000 and 80,000 shares of common stock at an exercise price
of $5.75 per share to Messrs. Stitt, Haddock, Prodan, Romeo, Schneider and
Silverglide, respectively, under the Amended 1996 Stock Option Plan. See "--
Amended 1996 Stock Option Plan."
 
                         Option Exercises and Holdings
 
   No options were exercised during fiscal 1998 by the Named Executive
Officers. The following table provides information with respect to unexercised
options held as of June 30, 1998 by the Named Executive Officers:
 
                            Fiscal Year-End Options
 
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                               Number of Securities       Value of Unexercised
                              Underlying Unexercised          In-the-Money
                             Options at June 30, 1998   Options at June 30, 1998
                             -------------------------- -------------------------
Name                           Vested       Unvested      Vested      Unvested
- ----                         ------------ ------------- ----------- -------------
<S>                          <C>          <C>           <C>         <C>
Gordon L. Stitt.............           --           --           --            --
Stephen Haddock.............           --           --           --            --
George Prodan...............      210,000      420,000  $   783,300 $   1,566,600
Paul Romeo..................           --           --           --            --
Herb Schneider..............           --           --           --            --
Harry Silverglide...........           --           --           --            --
</TABLE>
   
   The options described in the above table were granted under Extreme's
Amended 1996 Stock Option Plan. Options granted under this plan are
immediately exercisable but vest over a four-year period with 25% vesting at
the first anniversary date of the vesting date and the remaining shares
vesting in equal monthly increments over the following 36 months. In addition,
the options are subject to a repurchase right in favor of Extreme which     
 
                                      49
<PAGE>
 
lapses ratably over four years and entitles Extreme to repurchase unvested
shares at their original issuance price. The value of unexercised in-the-money
options at June 30, 1998 were calculated on the basis of the fair market value
of the underlying securities as of June 30, 1998 of $3.75 per share, minus the
per share exercise price, multiplied by the number of shares underlying the
option.
 
Amended 1996 Stock Option Plan
 
   Our Amended 1996 Stock Option Plan was adopted by the board of directors in
September 1996 and subsequently approved by the stockholders. This plan
provides for the grant of incentive stock options as defined in Section 422 of
the Code, to employees and for the grant of nonstatutory stock options to
employees, non-employee directors and consultants.
 
   As of December 31, 1998, 12,014,309 shares are reserved for issuance under
the Amended 1996 Stock Option Plan, of which 6,391,195 shares of common stock
have been issued upon the exercise of options, options to purchase a total of
3,710,328 shares at a weighted average exercise price of $2.55 per share were
outstanding, and 1,912,786 shares were available for future option grants.
 
   The Amended 1996 Stock Option Plan is administered by the board of
directors or a committee thereof. Subject to the provisions of this plan, the
board, or a committee of the board, has the authority to select the persons to
whom options are granted and determine the terms of each option, including:
 
  .  the number of shares of common stock covered by the option;
 
  .  when the option becomes exercisable;
 
  .  the per share option exercise price, which, in the case of incentive
     stock options, must be at least 100% of the fair market value of a share
     of common stock as of the date of grant, in the case of options granted
     to persons who own 10% or more of the total combined voting power of
     Extreme or any parent or subsidiary of Extreme, must be at least 110% of
     the fair market value of a share of common stock as of the date of
     grant, and, in the case of nonstatutory stock options, must be at least
     85% of the fair market value of a share of common stock as of the date
     of grant; and
 
  .  the duration of the option, which may not exceed ten years, or 5 years
     for incentive stock options granted to a person who owns 10% or more of
     the total combined voting power of Extreme.
 
   Generally, options granted under the Amended 1996 Stock Option Plan vest
over four years, and are non-transferable other than by will or the laws of
descent and distribution. In the event of certain changes in control of
Extreme, the acquiring or successor corporation may assume or substitute for
options outstanding under the Amended 1996 Stock Option Plan, or such options
shall terminate. Certain options granted to officers of Extreme provide for
partial acceleration upon a change in control of Extreme.
 
1999 Employee Stock Purchase Plan
 
   A total of 1,000,000 shares of common stock have been reserved for issuance
under our 1999 Employee Stock Purchase Plan, none of which have been issued as
of the effective date of this offering. This stock purchase plan, which is
intended to qualify under Section 423 of the Code, is administered by the
board or by a committee thereof. Employees, including officers and directors
of Extreme who are also employees, of Extreme or any subsidiary designated by
the board for participation in this stock purchase plan are eligible to
participate in the stock purchase plan if such persons are customarily
employed for more than 20 hours per week and more than five months per year.
The stock purchase plan will be implemented by consecutive offering periods
generally 12 months in duration. However, the first offering period under the
stock purchase plan will commence on the effective date of this offering and
terminate on April 30, 2000. Each offering period under the stock purchase
plan will generally be comprised of four three-month purchase periods, with
shares purchased on the last day of each purchase period. The board may change
the dates or duration of one or more offering periods, but no offering period
may exceed 27 months.
 
                                      50
<PAGE>
 
   The 1999 Employee Stock Purchase Plan permits eligible employees to
purchase shares of common stock through payroll deductions at a price no less
than 85% of the lower of the fair market value of the common stock on the
first or the last day of the offering period. Participants generally may not
purchase more than 625 shares on the last day of each purchase period or stock
having a value, measured at the beginning of the offering period, greater than
$25,000 in any calendar year. In addition, no more than 100,000 shares may be
purchased by all participants on the last day of each purchase period. In the
event of a change in control of Extreme, the board may accelerate the date on
which common stock may be purchased in the then current purchase period to a
date prior to the change in control, or the acquiring corporation may assume
or replace the outstanding purchase rights under the stock purchase plan.
 
401(k) Plan
 
   Extreme provides a tax-qualified employee savings and retirement plan,
commonly known as a 401(k) plan, which covers our eligible employees. Pursuant
to the 401(k) plan, employees may elect to reduce their current annual
compensation up to the lesser of 20% or the statutorily prescribed limit,
which is $10,000 in calendar year 1999, and have the amount of the reduction
contributed to the 401(k) plan. The 401(k) plan is intended to qualify under
Sections 401(a) and 401(k) of the Code, so that contributions by Extreme or
our employees to the 401(k) plan, and income earned on plan contributions, are
not taxable to employees until withdrawn from the 401(k) plan, and so that
contributions will be deductible by Extreme when made. The trustee of the
401(k) plan invests the assets of the 401(k) plan in the various investment
options as directed by the participants.
 
Limitation of Liability and Indemnification
 
   Pursuant to the provisions of the Delaware General Corporation Law, Extreme
has adopted provisions in its certificate of incorporation which eliminate the
personal liability of its directors for a breach of fiduciary duty as a
director, except for liability:
 
  .  for any breach of the director's duty of loyalty to Extreme or its
     stockholders;
 
  .  for acts or omissions not in good faith or that involve intentional
     misconduct or a knowing violation of law;
 
  .  under section 174 of the Delaware General Corporation Law regarding
     unlawful stock repurchase and dividend payment; or
 
  .  for any transaction from which the director derived an improper personal
     benefit.
 
   Extreme's certificate of incorporation also allows Extreme to indemnify its
officers, directors and other agents to the full extent permitted by Delaware
law. Extreme intends to enter into indemnification agreements with each of its
directors and officers which will give them additional contractual
reassurances regarding the scope of indemnification and which may provide
additional procedural protection. The indemnification agreements may require
actions such as:
 
  .  indemnifying officers and directors against certain liabilities that may
     arise because of their status as officers or directors;
 
  .  advancing expenses, as incurred, to officers and directors in connection
     with a legal proceeding, subject to very limited exceptions; or
 
  .  obtaining directors' and officers' insurance.
 
   At present, there is no pending litigation or proceeding involving any of
Extreme's directors, officers or employees regarding which indemnification is
sought, nor is Extreme aware of any threatened litigation that may result in
claims for indemnification.
 
                                      51
<PAGE>
 
                             CERTAIN TRANSACTIONS
Sales of Stock to Insiders
 
   On May 17, 1996, we issued for cash the following shares of common stock at
a price of $.00333 per share to Extreme's founders:
 
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
Purchaser                                                 Shares of Common Stock
- ---------                                                 ----------------------
<S>                                                       <C>
Gordon L. Stitt..........................................       2,025,000
Stephen Haddock..........................................       1,350,000
Herb Schneider...........................................       1,350,000
</TABLE>
 
   On May 28, 1996, we sold 14,579,999 shares of Series A preferred stock at a
price of $.333 per share. On May 7, 1997 and June 17, 1997, we sold 8,886,228
shares of Series B preferred stock at a price of $1.38 per share. On January
12, 1998, March 24, 1998 and March 31, 1998, we sold 5,595,088 shares of
Series C preferred stock at a price of $3.67 per share. Upon the consummation
of this offering, all outstanding shares of Series A preferred stock, Series B
preferred stock and Series C preferred stock will automatically convert into
shares of common stock on a one-for-one basis. The following directors,
executive officers, holders of more than 5% of a class of voting securities
and members of such person's immediate families purchased shares of Series A
preferred stock, Series B preferred stock and Series C preferred stock:
 
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                             Shares of Series Shares of Series Shares of Series
                               A Preferred      B Preferred      C Preferred
Purchaser                         Stock            Stock            Stock
- ---------                    ---------------- ---------------- ----------------
Named Executive Officers
and directors
<S>                          <C>              <C>              <C>
Gordon L. Stitt............       240,000            8,250           3,000
Stephen Haddock............        75,000            8,250              --
William Kelly..............        75,000            7,245              --
George Prodan..............            --            8,250              --
Herb Schneider.............        63,000            8,250              --
Harry Silverglide..........            --            8,250              --
Charles Carinalli..........        75,000           48,300          13,623
5% Stockholders
Entities affiliated with
 AVI Capital Management....     4,500,000        1,268,116         272,478
Entities affiliated with
 Norwest Venture Partners..     4,500,000        2,717,392         544,959
Entities affiliated with
 Trinity Ventures..........     4,499,999        1,268,116         272,480
Entities affiliated with
 Kleiner Perkins Caufield &
 Byers.....................            --        2,355,073         136,238
</TABLE>
 
   See the notes to table of beneficial ownership in "Principal Stockholders"
for information relating to the beneficial ownership of such shares.
 
Other Agreements with Insiders
   
   In January 1999, the board of directors approved a loan to Vito E. Palermo,
our Chief Financial Officer, of $75,000 at an interest rate of 4.51% per
annum. The loan is due in January 2003 but we may forgive this loan if our
Chief Executive Officer determines, in his sole discretion, that we have
attained financial and administrative objectives. In addition, in connection
with Mr. Palermo's employment, we have agreed to pay him nine months of
severance if we terminate him without cause within the first twelve months of
his employment.     
 
   We intend to enter into indemnification agreements with each of our
directors and officers. These indemnification agreements will require Extreme
to indemnify such individuals to the fullest extent permitted by Delaware law.
 
                                      52
<PAGE>
 
                            PRINCIPAL STOCKHOLDERS
 
   The following table sets forth the beneficial ownership of Extreme's common
stock as of December 31, 1998 and as adjusted to reflect the sale of the
shares of common stock offered hereby by:
 
  .  each person who is known by Extreme to beneficially own more than 5% of
     Extreme's common stock;
 
  .  the Named Executive Officers;
 
  .  each of Extreme's directors; and
 
  .  all officers and directors as a group.
 
 
<TABLE>   
<CAPTION>
                                                  Percentage of Shares
                                                   Beneficially Owned
                                 Number of Shares ------------------------
Name and Address of Beneficial     Beneficially     Before        After
Owner                                 Owned        Offering      Offering
- ------------------------------   ---------------- ----------    ----------
<S>                              <C>              <C>           <C>
Named Executive Officers and
 Directors
Gordon L. Stitt(1)..............     2,476,250             6.0%          5.4%
Stephen Haddock(2)..............     1,568,250             3.8           3.4
George Prodan(3)................       728,250             1.8           1.6
Paul Romeo(4)...................       410,000             1.0             *
Herb Schneider(5)...............     1,556,250             3.8           3.4
Harry Silverglide(6)............       650,750             1.6           1.4
Charles Carinalli(7)............       286,923               *             *
  Wavespan Corporation
  500 N. Bernardo Avenue
  Mountain View, CA 94043
Promod Haque(8).................     7,762,351            19.0          16.9
  245 Lytton Avenue, Suite 250
  Palo Alto, CA 94025
Lawrence K. Orr(9)..............     6,040,595            14.8          13.2
  3000 Sand Hill Road
  Building 1, Suite 240
  Menlo Park, CA 94025
Peter Wolken(10)................     6,040,594            14.8          13.2
  One First Street, #12
  Los Altos, CA 94022
5% Stockholders
AVI Capital Management(10)......     6,040,594            14.8          13.2
  One First Street, #12
  Los Altos, CA 94022
Kleiner Perkins Caufield &
 Byers(11)......................     2,491,311             6.1           5.4
  2750 Sand Hill Road
  Menlo Park, CA 94025
Norwest Equity Partners V(8)....     7,762,351            19.0          16.9
  245 Lytton Avenue, Suite 250
  Palo Alto, CA 94025
Trinity Ventures(9).............     6,040,595            14.8          13.2
  3000 Sand Hill Road
  Building 1, Suite 240
  Menlo Park, CA 94025
 
All executive officers and
   directors
   as a group (11 persons)......    28,262,458            66.7          59.6
</TABLE>    
- --------
 * Less than 1%
 
                                      53
<PAGE>
 
   Unless otherwise indicated, the address of each of the named individuals
is: c/o Extreme Networks, 10460 Bandley Drive, Cupertino, California 95014-
1972. Percentage of ownership prior to the offering is based on 40,852,510
shares outstanding on December 31, 1998 and after the offering is based on
45,852,510 shares outstanding, and assuming no exercise of the underwriters'
over-allotment option. The number and percentage of shares beneficially owned
are determined in accordance with SEC rules and regulations. Shares of common
stock subject to options currently exercisable or exercisable within 60 days
after December 31, 1998 are deemed outstanding for the purpose of computing
the number of shares beneficially owned and the percentage ownership of the
person holding these options but are not deemed outstanding for computing the
percentage ownership of any other person. Unless otherwise indicated below,
each stockholder named in the table has sole voting and investment power with
respect to all shares shown as beneficially owned by them, subject to
community property laws where applicable.
 
 (1) Includes 506,256 shares subject to a right of repurchase in favor of
     Extreme which lapses over time. Includes 240,000 shares held by Gordon
     and Valori Stitt. Also includes 200,000 shares issuable upon exercise of
     options, of which 183,334 shares are subject to a right of repurchase in
     favor of Extreme which lapses over time.
 
 (2) Includes 337,500 shares subject to a right of repurchase in favor of
     Extreme which lapses over time. Also includes 135,000 shares issuable
     upon exercise of options, of which 123,750 shares are subject to a right
     of repurchase in favor of Extreme which lapses over time.
 
 (3) Includes 720,000 shares issuable upon exercise of options, of which
     397,500 shares are subject to a right of repurchase in favor of Extreme
     which lapses over time.
 
 (4) Includes 195,000 shares subject to a right of repurchase in favor of
     Extreme which lapses over time. Also includes 50,000 shares issuable upon
     exercise of options, of which 45,834 shares are subject to a right of
     repurchase in favor of Extreme which lapses over time.
 
 (5) Includes 337,500 shares subject to a right of repurchase in favor of
     Extreme which lapses over time. Also includes 135,000 shares issuable
     upon exercise of options, of which 123,750 shares are subject to a right
     of repurchase in favor of Extreme which lapses over time.
 
 (6) Includes 281,250 shares subject to right of repurchase in favor of
     Extreme which lapses over time. Also includes 80,000 shares issuable upon
     exercise of options, of which 73,334 shares are subject to a right of
     repurchase in favor of Extreme which lapses over time.
 
 (7) Includes 136,923 shares held by Charles Peter Carinalli and/or Connie Sue
     Carinalli, Trustees of the Carinalli 1996 Living Trust dated April 24,
     1996. Also includes 150,000 shares issuable upon exercise of options, of
     which 56,250 shares are subject to a right of repurchase in favor of
     Extreme which lapses over time.
   
 (8) Promod Haque is a partner of Norwest Equity Partners V.     
 
 (9) Lawrence K. Orr is a partner of Trinity Ventures. The shares listed
     represent 5,707,084 shares held by Trinity Ventures V, L.P. and 333,511
     shares held by Trinity V Side by Side Fund, L.P.
 
(10) Peter Wolken is a partner of AVI Management Partners. The shares listed
     represent 809,698 shares held by Associated Venture Investors III, L.P.;
     55,705 shares held by AVI Silicon Valley Partners, L.P.; 5,026,642 shares
     held by AVI Capital, L.P.; and 148,549 shares held by AVI Partners Growth
     Fund II, L.P.
 
(11) The shares listed represent 2,296,139 shares held by Kleiner Perkins
     Caufield & Byers VIII; 127,115 shares held by Kleiner Perkins Caufield &
     Byers VIII Founders Fund; 62,281 shares held by KPCB Information Sciences
     Zaibatsu Fund II; and 5,776 shares held by KPCB VIII Founders, L.P.
 
 
                                      54
<PAGE>
 
                         DESCRIPTION OF CAPITAL STOCK
 
   Upon consummation of this offering, Extreme's authorized capital stock will
consist of 150,000,000 shares of common stock and 2,000,000 shares of
preferred stock.
 
Common Stock
 
   As of December 31, 1998, there were 11,791,195 shares of common stock
outstanding held of record by 78 stockholders. Subject to preferences that may
be applicable to any preferred stock outstanding at the time, the holders of
outstanding shares of common stock are entitled to the following:
 
   Dividends. Holders of common stock are entitled to receive dividends out of
assets legally available for the payment of dividends at the times and in the
amounts as the board of directors from time to time may determine.
 
   Voting. Holders of common stock are entitled to one vote for each share
held on all matters submitted to a vote of stockholders. Cumulative voting for
the election of directors is not authorized by Extreme's certificate of
incorporation, which means that the holders of a majority of the shares voted
can elect all of the directors then standing for election.
 
   Preemptive rights, conversion and redemption. The common stock is not
entitled to preemptive rights and is not subject to conversion or redemption.
 
   Liquidation, dissolution and winding-up. Upon liquidation, dissolution or
winding-up of Extreme, the holders of common stock are entitled to share
ratably in all assets remaining after payment of liabilities and the
liquidation of any preferred stock.
 
   Each outstanding share of common stock is, and all shares of common stock
to be outstanding upon completion of this offering will be, upon payment
therefor, duly and validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable.
 
Preferred Stock
 
   The board of directors is authorized, without action by the stockholders,
to designate and issue preferred stock in one or more series. The board of
directors can fix the rights, preferences and privileges of the shares of each
series and any qualifications, limitations or restrictions on these shares.
 
   The board of directors may authorize the issuance of preferred stock with
voting or conversion rights that could adversely affect the voting power or
other rights of the holders of common stock. The issuance of preferred stock,
while providing flexibility in connection with possible acquisitions and other
corporate purposes could have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing
a change in control of Extreme. We have no current plans to issue any shares
of preferred stock.
 
Warrants
 
   In November 1996, Extreme issued warrants to a lease financing company to
purchase 210,000 shares of Series A preferred stock with an exercise price of
$.333 per share, in consideration for equipment leases and a loan. In July
1997, Extreme issued warrants to the same lease financing company to purchase
48,347 shares of Series B preferred stock with an exercise price of $1.38 per
share, in consideration for equipment leases. Upon completion of this
offering, these warrants will convert into the right to purchase equivalent
number of shares of our common stock at the same exercise price per share. The
warrants may be exercised at any time within a period of 10 years or 5 years
from the effective date of an initial public offering completed by Extreme,
whichever is longer.
 
   In November 1997, Extreme issued warrants to a lease financing company to
purchase 79,051 shares of Series C preferred stock with an exercise price of
$2.53, in consideration for a loan. Upon completion of this
 
                                      55
<PAGE>
 
offering, these warrants will convert into the right to purchase equivalent
number of shares of our common stock at the same exercise price per share. The
warrants may be exercised at any time within a period which expires the sooner
of 10 years or 3 years from the effective date of an initial public offering.
 
Registration Rights
 
   Following the consummation of this offering, the holders of approximately
33,786,315 shares of common stock will have rights to register those shares
under the Securities Act of 1933 pursuant to the Second Amended and Restated
Rights Agreement. Subject to limitations in this Rights Agreement, the holders
of at least 50% of these shares may require, on two occasions, that Extreme
use its best efforts to register these shares for public resale. If Extreme
registers any of its common stock for its own account or for the account of
other security holders, the holders of these shares are entitled to include
their shares of common stock in the registration, subject to the ability of
the underwriters to limit the number of shares included in the offering. The
holders of at least 50% of these shares may also require Extreme to register
all or a portion of their registrable securities on Form S-3 when Extreme is
eligible to use this form, provided, among other limitations, that the
proposed aggregate price to the public is at least $1,000,000. Extreme will
bear all fees, costs and expenses of such registration, other than
underwriting discounts and commissions.
 
Delaware Law and Provisions of Extreme's Certificate of Incorporation and
Bylaws May Make An Acquisition of Extreme More Difficult
 
   Provisions of Delaware law and our certificate of incorporation and bylaws
relating to, among other things, the removal of directors, amendment of our
certificate of incorporation and bylaws and stockholders' ability to take
action and call special meetings, could make more difficult the acquisition of
Extreme by means of a tender offer, a proxy contest, or otherwise, and the
removal of incumbent officers and directors. These provisions are expected to
discourage certain types of coercive takeover practices and inadequate
takeover bids and to encourage persons seeking to acquire control of Extreme
to first negotiate with us. We believe that the benefits of increased
protection of Extreme's potential ability to negotiate with the proponent of
an unfriendly or unsolicited proposal to acquire or restructure Extreme
outweighs the disadvantages of discouraging these proposals, including
proposals that are priced above the then current market value of our common
stock, because, among other things, negotiation of these proposals could
result in an improvement of their terms.
 
   We are subject to section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law. This
provision generally prohibits a Delaware corporation from engaging in any
business combination with any interested stockholder for a period of three
years following the date the stockholder became an interested stockholder,
unless:
 
  .  prior to that date the board of directors of the corporation approved
     either the business combination or the transaction that resulted in the
     stockholder becoming an interested stockholder;
 
  .  upon consummation of the transaction that resulted in the stockholder
     becoming an interested stockholder, the interested stockholder owned at
     least 85% of the voting stock of the corporation outstanding at the time
     the transaction commenced, excluding for purposes of determining the
     number of shares outstanding those shares owned by persons who are
     directors and also officers and by employee stock plans in which
     employee participants do not have the right to determine confidentially
     whether shares held subject to the plan will be tendered in a tender or
     exchange offer; or
 
  .  on or subsequent to that date, the business combination is approved by
     the board of directors and authorized at an annual or special meeting of
     stockholders, and not by written consent, by the affirmative vote of at
     least 66 2/3% of the outstanding voting stock that is not owned by the
     interested stockholder.
 
   Section 203 defines business combination to include:
 
  .  any merger or consolidation involving the corporation and the interested
     stockholder;
 
  .  any sale, transfer, pledge or other disposition of 10% or more of the
     assets of the corporation involving the interested stockholder;
 
                                      56
<PAGE>
 
  .  subject to certain exceptions, any transaction that results in the
     issuance or transfer by the corporation of any stock of the corporation
     to the interested stockholder;
 
  .  any transaction involving the corporation that has the effect of
     increasing the proportionate share of the stock of any class or series
     of the corporation beneficially owned by the interested stockholder; or
 
  .  the receipt by the interested stockholder of the benefit of any loans,
     advances, guarantees, pledges or other financial benefits provided by or
     through the corporation.
 
   In general, section 203 defines an interested stockholder as any entity or
person beneficially owning 15% or more of the outstanding voting stock of the
corporation and any entity or person affiliated with or controlling or
controlled by that entity or person.
 
   Our certificate of incorporation requires that any action required or
permitted to be taken by our stockholders must be effected at a duly called
annual or special meeting of the stockholders and may not be effected by a
consent in writing. In addition, special meetings of our stockholders may be
called only by the board of directors or holders of not less than 10% of all
of the shares entitled to cast votes at these special meetings. The
certificate of incorporation also provides that, beginning upon the closing of
the offering, the board of directors will be divided into three classes, with
each class serving staggered three-year terms and that certain amendments of
the certificate of incorporation, and all amendments by the stockholders of
the bylaws, require the approval of holders of at least 66 2/3% of the voting
power of all outstanding stock. These provisions may have the effect of
deferring hostile takeovers or delaying changes in control or management of
Extreme.
 
Transfer Agent and Registrar
 
   The Transfer Agent and Registrar for our common stock is ChaseMellon
Shareholder Services, L.L.C. Its address is 235 Montgomery Street, 23rd Floor,
San Francisco, California 94104, and its telephone number at this location is
(415) 743-1444.
 
                                      57
<PAGE>
 
                        SHARES ELIGIBLE FOR FUTURE SALE
 
   Immediately prior to this offering, there was no public market for
Extreme's common stock. Future sales of substantial amounts of common stock in
the public market could adversely affect the market price of the common stock.
 
   Upon completion of this offering, Extreme will have outstanding 45,852,510
shares of common stock, assuming the issuance of 5,000,000 shares of common
stock offered hereby and no exercise of options after December 31, 1998. Of
these shares, the 5,000,000 shares sold in the offering will be freely
tradable without restriction or further registration under the Securities Act;
provided, however, that if shares are purchased by "affiliates," as that term
is defined in Rule 144 under the Securities Act, their sales of shares would
be subject to certain limitations and restrictions that are described below.
 
   The remaining 40,852,510 shares of common stock held by existing
stockholders were issued and sold by Extreme in reliance on exemptions from
the registration requirements of the Securities Act. Of these shares,
40,279,487 shares will be subject to "lock-up" agreements described below on
the effective date of the offering. On the effective date of the offering,
194,000 shares not subject to the lock-up agreements described below will be
eligible for sale pursuant to Rule 144(k). Upon expiration of the lock-up
agreements 180 days after the effective date of the offering, 37,072,550
shares will become eligible for sale, subject in most cases to the limitations
of Rule 144. In addition, holders of stock options could exercise their
options and sell the shares issued upon exercise as described below.
 
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
   Days After Date of Shares Eligible
    this Prospectus      for Sale                              Comment
- ------------------    --------------- ---------------------------------------------------------
<S>                   <C>             <C>
Upon effectiveness       5,000,000    Shares sold in the offering
Upon effectiveness         194,000    Freely tradable shares salable under Rule 144(k) that are
                                      not subject to the lock-up
180 days                37,072,550    Lock-up released; shares salable under Rules 144 and 701
</TABLE>
 
   As of December 31, 1998, there were a total of 3,710,328 shares of common
stock subject to outstanding options under our Amended 1996 Stock Option Plan,
729,765 of which were vested. However, all of these shares are subject to
lock-up agreements. Immediately after the completion of the offering, Extreme
intends to file registration statements on Form S-8 under the Securities Act
to register all of the shares of common stock issued or reserved for future
issuance under our Amended 1996 Stock Option Plan and 1999 Employee Stock
Purchase Plan. On the date 180 days after the effective date of the offering,
a total of 1,396,811 shares of common stock subject to outstanding options
will be vested. After the effective dates of the registration statements on
Form S-8, shares purchased upon exercise of options granted pursuant to the
Amended 1996 Stock Option Plan and 1999 Employee Stock Purchase Plan generally
would be available for resale in the public market.
 
   The officers, directors and stockholders of Extreme have agreed not to sell
or otherwise dispose of any of their shares for a period of 180 days after the
date of the offering. Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorporated, however, may in its
sole discretion, at any time without notice, release all or any portion of the
shares subject to lock-up agreements.
 
                                      58
<PAGE>
 
Rule 144
 
   In general, under Rule 144 as currently in effect, beginning 90 days after
the date of this prospectus, a person who has beneficially owned shares of
Extreme's common stock for at least one year would be entitled to sell, within
any three-month period, a number of shares that does not exceed the greater
of:
 
  .  1% of the number of shares of common stock then outstanding, which will
     equal approximately     shares immediately after this offering; or
 
  .  the average weekly trading volume of the common stock on the Nasdaq
     National Market during the four calendar weeks preceding the filing of a
     notice on Form 144 with respect to such sale.
 
   Sales under Rule 144 are also subject to other requirements regarding the
manner of sale, notice filing and the availability of current public
information about Extreme.
 
Rule 144(k)
 
   Under Rule 144(k), a person who is not deemed to have been one of Extreme's
"affiliates" at any time during the 90 days preceding a sale, and who has
beneficially owned the shares proposed to be sold for at least two years,
including the holding period of any prior owner other than an "affiliate," is
entitled to sell such shares without complying with the manner of sale, notice
filing, volume limitation or notice provisions of Rule 144. Therefore, unless
otherwise restricted, "144(k) shares" may be sold immediately upon the
completion of this offering.
 
Rule 701
 
   In general, under Rule 701, any Extreme employee, director, officer,
consultant or advisor who purchases shares from Extreme in connection with a
compensatory stock or option plan or other written agreement before the
effective date of the offering is entitled to resell such shares 90 days after
the effective date of this offering in reliance on Rule 144, without having to
comply with certain restrictions, including the holding period, contained in
Rule 144.
 
   The SEC has indicated that Rule 701 will apply to typical stock options
granted by an issuer before it becomes subject to the reporting requirements
of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, along with the shares acquired upon
exercise of such options (including exercises after the date of this
prospectus). Securities issued in reliance on Rule 701 are restricted
securities and, subject to the contractual restrictions described above,
beginning 90 days after the date of this prospectus, may be sold by persons
other than "affiliates" subject only to the manner of sale provisions of Rule
144 and by "affiliates" under Rule 144 without compliance with its one year
minimum holding period requirement.
 
                                      59
<PAGE>
 
                                 UNDERWRITERS
 
   Under the terms and subject to the conditions contained in the underwriting
agreement dated the date of this prospectus, the underwriters named below, for
whom Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorporated, BancBoston Robertson Stephens Inc. and
Dain Rauscher Wessels, a division of Dain Rauscher Incorporated, are acting as
representatives, have severally agreed to purchase, and Extreme has agreed to
sell to them, severally, the respective number of shares of common stock set
forth opposite the names of the underwriters below:
 
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                                                                      Number of
         Name                                                          Shares
         ----                                                         ---------
   <S>                                                                <C>
   Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorporated.................................
   BancBoston Robertson Stephens Inc.................................
   Dain Rauscher Wessels, a division of Dain Rauscher Incorporated...
 
 
 
 
                                                                      ---------
       Total......................................................... 5,000,000
                                                                      =========
</TABLE>
 
   The underwriters are offering the shares subject to their acceptance of the
shares from Extreme and subject to prior sale. The underwriting agreement
provides that the obligations of the several underwriters to pay for and
accept delivery of the shares of common stock offered hereby are subject to
the approval of certain legal matters by their counsel and to certain other
conditions. The underwriters are obligated to take and pay for all of the
shares of common stock offered by this prospectus, other than those covered by
the over-allotment option described below, if any such shares are taken.
 
   The underwriters initially propose to offer part of the shares of common
stock directly to the public at the public offering price set forth on the
cover page of this prospectus and part to certain dealers at a price that
represents a concession not in excess of $  a share under the public offering
price. Any underwriter may allow, and the dealers may reallow, a concession
not in excess of $  a share to other underwriters or to certain other dealers.
After the initial offering of the shares of common stock, the offering price
and other selling terms may from time to time be varied by the representatives
of the underwriters.
 
   Extreme has granted to the underwriters an option, exercisable for 30 days
from the date of this prospectus, to purchase up to 750,000 additional shares
of common stock at the public offering price set forth on the cover page
hereof, less underwriting discounts and commissions. The underwriters may
exercise this option solely for the purpose of covering over-allotments, if
any, made in connection with this offering of common stock. To the extent this
over-allotment option is exercised, each underwriter will become obligated,
subject to certain conditions, to purchase approximately the same percentage
of additional shares of common stock as the number set forth next to each
underwriter's name in the preceding table bears to the total number of shares
of common stock set forth next to the names of all underwriters in the
preceding table.
 
   At the request of Extreme, the underwriters have reserved up to five
percent of the shares of common stock to be issued by Extreme and offered
hereby for sale, at the initial public offering price, to directors, officers,
employees, business associates and related persons of Extreme. The number of
shares of common stock available for sale to the general public will be
reduced to the extent these individuals purchase such reserved shares. Any
reserved shares which are not so purchased will be offered by the underwriters
to the general public on the same basis as the other shares offered by this
prospectus.
 
   Each of Extreme and the officers, directors and stockholders of Extreme has
agreed that, without the prior written consent of Morgan Stanley & Co.
Incorporated on behalf of the underwriters, or otherwise during the period
ending 180 days after the date of this prospectus, it will not: (1) offer,
pledge, sell, contract to sell, sell any option or contract to purchase,
purchase any option or contract to sell, grant any option, right or warrant to
purchase, lend, or otherwise transfer or dispose of, directly or indirectly,
any shares of common stock or any
 
                                      60
<PAGE>
 
securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for common stock,
or (2) enter into any swap or other arrangement that transfers to another, in
whole or in part, any of the economic consequences of ownership of the common
stock, whether any such transaction described above is to be settled by
delivery of common stock or such other securities, in cash or otherwise. The
foregoing restrictions shall not apply to: (1) the sale of any shares to the
underwriters, or (2) transactions relating to shares of common stock or other
securities acquired in open market transactions after the date of this
prospectus.
 
   The underwriters have informed Extreme that they do not intend sales to
discretionary accounts to exceed five percent of the total number of shares of
common stock offered by them.
 
   Approval of the common stock has been sought for quotation on the Nasdaq
National Market under the symbol "EXTR."
 
   In order to facilitate the offering of the common stock, the underwriters
may engage in transactions that stabilize, maintain or otherwise affect the
price of the common stock. Specifically, the underwriters may over-allot in
connection with the offering, creating a short position in the common stock
for their own account. In addition, to cover over-allotments or to stabilize
the price of the common stock, the underwriters may bid for, and purchase,
shares of common stock in the open market. Finally, the underwriting syndicate
may reclaim selling concessions allowed to an underwriter or a dealer for
distributing the common stock in the offering if the syndicate repurchases
previously distributed shares of common stock in transactions to cover
syndicate short positions, in stabilization transactions or otherwise. Any of
these activities may stabilize or maintain the market price of the common
stock above independent market levels. The underwriters are not required to
engage in these activities and may end any of these activities at any time.
 
   Extreme and the underwriters have agreed to indemnify each other against
certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act.
 
   Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorporated acted as the placement agent of a private
placement of our Series C preferred stock and, in connection with that
placement, received a customary fee for their services.
 
Pricing of the Offering
 
   Prior to this offering, there has been no public market for the shares of
common stock. Consequently, the initial public offering price for the shares
of common stock will be determined by negotiations between Extreme and the
representatives of the underwriters. Among the factors to be considered in
determining the initial public offering price will be Extreme's record of
operations, Extreme's current financial position and future prospects, the
experience of its management, the economics of the networking industry in
general, the general condition of the equity securities markets, sales,
earnings and other financial and operating information of Extreme in recent
periods, the price-earnings ratios, price-sales ratios, market prices of
securities and certain financial and operating information of companies
engaged in activities similar to those of Extreme. The estimated initial
public offering price range set forth on the cover page of this preliminary
prospectus is subject to change as a result of market conditions and other
factors.
 
                                      61
<PAGE>
 
                                 LEGAL MATTERS
 
   The validity of the shares of common stock offered hereby will be passed
upon for us by Gray Cary Ware & Freidenrich LLP, Palo Alto, California. As of
December 31, 1998, an investment partnership of Gray Cary Ware & Freidenrich
owned 75,000 shares of Extreme's common stock. In addition, in March 1997, a
partner of Gray Cary Ware & Freidenrich was granted an option to purchase
7,500 shares of Extreme's common stock. Legal matters relating to this
offering will be passed upon for the underwriters by Wilson Sonsini Goodrich &
Rosati, Professional Corporation, Palo Alto, California.
 
                                    EXPERTS
 
   The consolidated financial statements of Extreme at June 30, 1997 and 1998
and December 31, 1998 and for the period from inception, May 8, 1996 to June
30, 1997 and for the year ended June 30, 1998 and for the six-month period
ended December 31, 1998, appearing in this prospectus and the registration
statement have been audited by Ernst & Young LLP, independent auditors, as set
forth in their report thereon appearing elsewhere herein, and are included in
reliance upon such report, given upon the authority of such firm as experts in
accounting and auditing.
 
                      WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION
 
   We have filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission a registration
statement on Form S-1 with respect to the common stock offered by this
prospectus. This prospectus, which constitutes a part of the registration
statement, does not contain all of the information set forth in the
registration statement or the exhibits and schedules which are part of the
registration statement. For further information with respect to Extreme and
its common stock, see the registration statement and the exhibits and
schedules thereto. Any document Extreme files may be read and copied at the
Commission's public reference rooms in Washington, D.C., New York, New York
and Chicago, Illinois. Please call the Commission at 1-800-SEC-0330 for
further information about the public reference rooms. Extreme's filings with
the Commission are also available to the public from the Commission's Web site
at http://www.sec.gov.
 
   Upon completion of this offering, Extreme will become subject to the
information and periodic reporting requirements of the Securities Exchange Act
and, accordingly, will file periodic reports, proxy statements and other
information with the Commission. Such periodic reports, proxy statements and
other information will be available for inspection and copying at the
Commission's public reference rooms, and the Web site of the Commission
referred to above.
   
   Our principal executive offices are located at 3585 Monroe Street, Santa
Clara, California 95051-1450 and our telephone number is (408) 579-2800. Our
fiscal year ends on June 30. We maintain a worldwide web site at
http://www.extremenetworks.com. The reference to our worldwide web address
does not constitute incorporation by reference of the information contained at
this site.     
 
   BLACKDIAMOND, EXTREME ETHERNET, EXTREME NETWORKS, EXTREMESWITCHING,
EXTREMEWARE and SUMMIT are trademarks of Extreme which may be registered or
pending registration in certain jurisdictions. All other brand names and
trademarks appearing in this prospectus are the property of their respective
holders.
 
                                      62
<PAGE>
 
                             EXTREME NETWORKS, INC.
 
                   INDEX TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
 
<TABLE>
<S>                                                                          <C>
Report of Ernst & Young LLP, Independent Auditors........................... F-2
 
Consolidated Balance Sheets................................................. F-3
 
Consolidated Statements of Operations....................................... F-4
 
Consolidated Statement of Stockholders' Equity.............................. F-5
 
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows....................................... F-6
 
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.................................. F-7
</TABLE>
 
                                      F-1
<PAGE>
 
               REPORT OF ERNST & YOUNG LLP, INDEPENDENT AUDITORS
 
The Board of Directors and Stockholders
Extreme Networks, Inc.
 
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Extreme
Networks, Inc. as of June 30, 1997 and 1998, and as of December 31, 1998, and
the related consolidated statements of operations, stockholders' equity, and
cash flows for the period from inception, May 8, 1996 to June 30, 1997, for
the year ended June 30, 1998, and for the six months ended December 31, 1998.
These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company's management.
Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements
based on our audits.
 
We conducted our audits in accordance with generally accepted auditing
standards. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to
obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of
material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence
supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. An audit
also includes assessing the accounting principles used and significant
estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial
statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis
for our opinion.
 
In our opinion, the financial statements referred to above present fairly, in
all material respects, the consolidated financial position of Extreme
Networks, Inc. at June 30, 1997 and 1998, and as of December 31, 1998, and the
consolidated results of its operations and its cash flows for the period from
inception, May 8, 1996 to June 30, 1997, for the year ended June 30, 1998, and
for the six months ended December 31, 1998, in conformity with generally
accepted accounting principles.
 
                                          /s/ Ernst & Young LLP
 
Palo Alto, California
February 3, 1999
 
                                      F-2
<PAGE>
 
                             EXTREME NETWORKS, INC.
 
                          CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
               (in thousands, except share and per share amounts)
 
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                                                                    Pro Forma
                                                                  Stockholders'
                                      June 30,                      Equity at
                                   ----------------  December 31, December 31,
                                    1997     1998        1998         1998
                                   -------  -------  ------------ -------------
                                                                   (Unaudited)
<S>                                <C>      <C>      <C>          <C>
              Assets
Current assets:
 Cash and cash equivalents........ $10,047  $ 9,510    $ 5,792
 Short-term investments...........      --   10,995      6,821
 Accounts receivable, net of
  allowance for doubtful accounts
  of $0, $433 and $892 at June 30,
  1997 and 1998 and December 31,
  1998, respectively..............     262    7,808      8,418
 Inventories......................      37      123        359
 Other current assets.............      40      588      1,057
                                   -------  -------    -------
Total current assets..............  10,386   29,024     22,447
Property and equipment, net.......   1,355    4,469      5,172
Other assets......................     201      238          3
                                   -------  -------    -------
                                   $11,942  $33,731    $27,622
                                   =======  =======    =======
  Liabilities and stockholders'
              equity
Current liabilities:
 Accounts payable................. $   749  $ 9,993    $ 4,859
 Accrued compensation.............     189      935      1,334
 Accrued warranty.................      --    1,073      1,024
 Accrued purchase commitments.....      --      893        893
 Other accrued liabilities........     464      984      2,774
 Income tax liability.............      --       --        700
 Due to shareholders..............     109       --         --
 Notes payable, current portion...     525      834        991
 Capital lease obligations,
  current portion.................      99      516        588
                                   -------  -------    -------
Total current liabilities.........   2,135   15,228     13,163
Notes payable, net of current
 portion..........................     111    1,167      1,368
Capital lease obligations, net of
 current portion..................     391    1,467      1,351
Commitments
Stockholders' equity:
 Convertible preferred stock,
  $.001 par value, issuable in
  series: 24,000,000 shares
  authorized at June 30, 1997;
  29,900,000 shares authorized at
  June 30, 1998 and December 31,
  1998 (2,000,000 shares pro
  forma); 23,466,485, 29,061,315
  and 29,061,315 shares issued and
  outstanding at June 30, 1997 and
  1998 and December 31, 1998 (none
  pro forma); aggregate
  liquidation preference of
  $38,046 at December 31, 1998
  (none pro forma)................      23       29         29       $   --
 Common stock, $.001 par value,
  50,000,000 shares authorized,
  (150,000,000 pro forma),
  10,809,750, 11,534,525, and
  11,791,195 shares issued and
  outstanding at June 30, 1997 and
  1998 and December 31, 1998,
  (40,852,510 pro forma)..........      11       12         12            41
 Additional paid-in capital.......  17,194   38,056     38,770        38,770
 Deferred stock compensation......     --      (369)      (276)         (276)
 Accumulated deficit..............  (7,923) (21,859)   (26,795)      (26,795)
                                   -------  -------    -------       -------
Total stockholders' equity........   9,305   15,869     11,740       $11,740
                                   -------  -------    -------       -------
                                   $11,942  $33,731    $27,622
                                   =======  =======    =======
</TABLE>
 
                            See accompanying notes.
 
                                      F-3
<PAGE>
 
                             EXTREME NETWORKS, INC.
 
                     CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
                    (in thousands, except per share amounts)
 
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                                   For the Period
                                    from May 8,
                                   1996 (Date of    Year     Six Months Ended
                                     Inception)    Ended       December 31,
                                      through     June 30,  -------------------
                                   June 30, 1997    1998       1997      1998
                                   -------------- --------  ----------- -------
                                                            (unaudited)
<S>                                <C>            <C>       <C>         <C>
Net revenue......................     $   256     $ 23,579    $ 6,104   $30,851
Cost of revenue..................         388       14,897      3,557    15,605
                                      -------     --------    -------   -------
Gross profit (loss)..............        (132)       8,682      2,547    15,246
Operating expenses:
  Research and development.......       5,351       10,668      4,548     6,580
  Selling and marketing..........       1,554        9,601      3,450    10,203
  General and administrative.....       1,023        2,372      1,040     2,700
  Amortization of deferred stock
   compensation..................         --            68          2        93
                                      -------     --------    -------   -------
    Total operating expenses.....       7,928       22,709      9,040    19,576
                                      -------     --------    -------   -------
Operating loss...................      (8,060)     (14,027)    (6,493)   (4,330)
Interest expense.................         (79)        (326)       (83)     (201)
Interest and other income........         216          417        109       295
                                      -------     --------    -------   -------
Loss before income taxes.........      (7,923)     (13,936)    (6,467)   (4,236)
Provision for income taxes.......          --           --         --      (700)
                                      -------     --------    -------   -------
Net loss.........................     $(7,923)    $(13,936)   $(6,467)  $(4,936)
                                      =======     ========    =======   =======
Basic and diluted net loss per
 common share....................     $ (4.51)    $  (3.18)   $ (1.84)  $  (.72)
                                      =======     ========    =======   =======
Weighted average shares
 outstanding used in computing
 basic and diluted net loss per
 share...........................       1,758        4,379      3,510     6,867
                                      =======     ========    =======   =======
Pro forma basic and diluted net
 loss per share (unaudited)......                 $   (.44)             $  (.14)
                                                  ========              =======
Shares used in computing pro
 forma basic and diluted net loss
 per share (unaudited)...........                   31,701               35,929
                                                  ========              =======
</TABLE>
 
 
 
                            See accompanying notes.
 
                                      F-4
<PAGE>
 
                             EXTREME NETWORKS, INC.
 
                 CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
                      (in thousands, except share amounts)
 
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                           Convertible
                            Preferred
                              Stock     Common Stock  Additional   Deferred                   Total
                          ------------- -------------  Paid-In      Stock     Accumulated Stockholders'
                          Shares Amount Shares Amount  Capital   Compensation   Deficit      Equity
                          ------ ------ ------ ------ ---------- ------------ ----------- -------------
<S>                       <C>    <C>    <C>    <C>    <C>        <C>          <C>         <C>
Issuance of common stock
 to founders............      --  $--    4,725  $ 4    $    12      $  --      $     --     $     16
Issuance of Series A
 convertible preferred
 stock to investors for
 cash (less issuance
 costs of $5)...........  14,580   14       --   --      4,841         --            --        4,855
Issuance of common stock
 to the former
 shareholders of Mammoth
 Technology.............      --   --      675    1         12         --            --           13
Issuance of Series B
 convertible preferred
 stock to investors for
 cash (less issuance
 costs of $27)..........   8,886    9       --   --     12,227         --            --       12,236
Exercise of options to
 purchase common stock..      --   --    5,410    6        102                       --          108
Net loss................      --   --       --   --         --         --        (7,923)      (7,923)
                          ------  ---   ------  ---    -------      -----      --------     --------
Balances at June 30,
 1997...................  23,466   23   10,810   11     17,194         --        (7,923)       9,305
Issuance of warrant for
 48,347 shares of Series
 B convertible preferred
 stock..................      --   --       --   --         28         --            --           28
Issuance of Series C
 convertible preferred
 stock to investors for
 cash (less issuance
 costs of $416).........   5,595    6       --   --     20,111         --            --       20,117
Issuance of warrant for
 70,176 shares of Series
 C convertible preferred
 stock..................      --   --       --   --        140         --            --          140
Exercise of options to
 purchase common stock..      --   --      725    1        146         --            --          147
Deferred stock
 compensation...........      --   --       --   --        437       (437)           --           --
Amortization of deferred
 stock compensation.....      --   --       --   --         --         68            --           68
Net loss................      --   --       --   --         --         --       (13,936)     (13,936)
                          ------  ---   ------  ---    -------      -----      --------     --------
Balances at June 30,
 1998...................  29,061   29   11,535   12     38,056       (369)      (21,859)      15,869
Exercise of options to
 purchase common stock..      --   --      256   --        714         --            --          714
Amortization of deferred
 stock compensation.....      --   --       --   --         --         93            --           93
Net loss................      --   --       --   --         --         --        (4,936)      (4,936)
                          ------  ---   ------  ---    -------      -----      --------     --------
Balances at December 31,
 1998...................  29,061  $29   11,791  $12    $38,770      $(276)     $(26,795)    $ 11,740
                          ======  ===   ======  ===    =======      =====      ========     ========
</TABLE>
 
                            See accompanying notes.
 
                                      F-5
<PAGE>
 
                             EXTREME NETWORKS, INC.
 
                     CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
                                 (in thousands)
 
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                             For the Period                    Six Months Ended
                            from May 8, 1996                     December 31,
                           (Date of Inception)   Year Ended   -------------------
                          through June 30, 1997 June 30, 1998    1997      1998
                          --------------------- ------------- ----------- -------
                                                              (unaudited)
<S>                       <C>                   <C>           <C>         <C>
Operating activities
Net loss................         $(7,923)         $(13,936)     $(6,467)  $(4,936)
Adjustments to reconcile
 net loss to net cash
 used in operating
 activities:
Depreciation and
 amortization...........             315             1,453          137     1,622
Amortization of deferred
 stock compensation.....             --                 68            2        93
Changes in operating
 assets and liabilities:
Accounts receivable.....            (262)           (7,545)      (4,064)     (610)
Inventories.............             (37)              (86)        (663)     (236)
Other current and
 noncurrent assets......            (241)             (585)        (459)     (234)
Accounts payable........             749             9,244         (435)   (5,134)
Accrued compensation....             189               745          (55)      399
Accrued warranty........              --             1,073        1,006       (49)
Accrued purchase
 commitments............              --               893           --        --
Other accrued
 liabilities............             464               520        2,507     1,790
Income tax liability ...              --                --           --       700
Due to shareholder......             109              (109)        (109)       --
                                 -------          --------      -------   -------
Net cash used in
 operating activities...          (6,637)           (8,265)      (8,600)   (6,595)
                                 -------          --------      -------   -------
Investing activities
Capital expenditures....          (1,151)           (2,511)        (922)   (2,325)
Purchases of short-term
 investments............              --           (10,996)          --        --
Maturities of short-term
 investments............              --                --           --     4,174
                                 -------          --------      -------   -------
Net cash provided by
 (used in) investing
 activities.............          (1,151)          (13,507)        (922)    1,849
                                 -------          --------      -------   -------
Financing activities
Proceeds from issuance
 of convertible
 preferred stock........          17,091            20,285           --        --
Proceeds from issuance
 of common stock........             124               147          268       714
Proceeds from notes
 payable................             700             1,606        1,712       505
Principal payments on
 notes payable..........             (64)             (241)          --      (147)
Principal payments of
 capital lease
 obligations............             (16)             (562)         482       (44)
                                 -------          --------      -------   -------
Net cash provided by
 financing activities...          17,835            21,235        2,462     1,028
                                 -------          --------      -------   -------
Net increase (decrease)
 in cash and cash
 equivalents............          10,047              (537)      (7,060)   (3,718)
Cash and cash
 equivalents at
 beginning of period....              --            10,047       10,047     9,510
                                 -------          --------      -------   -------
Cash and cash
 equivalents at end of
 period.................         $10,047          $  9,510      $ 2,987   $ 5,792
                                 =======          ========      =======   =======
Supplemental disclosure
 of cash flow
 information:
Cash paid for interest..         $    73          $    326      $    89   $   201
                                 =======          ========      =======   =======
Supplemental schedule of
 noncash investing and
 financing activities:
Property and equipment
 acquired under capital
 lease obligations......         $   505          $  1,588      $   407   $    --
                                 =======          ========      =======   =======
Common stock issued for
 assets.................         $    14          $     --      $    --   $    --
                                 =======          ========      =======   =======
Warrants issued in
 connection with capital
 lease..................         $    --          $    168      $    --   $    --
                                 =======          ========      =======   =======
Deferred stock
 compensation...........         $    --          $    437      $    31   $    --
                                 =======          ========      =======   =======
</TABLE>
 
                            See accompanying notes.
 
                                      F-6
<PAGE>
 
                            EXTREME NETWORKS, INC.
 
                  NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
 
     (Information for the six months ended December 31, 1997 is unaudited)
 
1. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
 
   Nature of Operations
 
   Extreme Networks, Inc. ("Extreme" or the "Company") was incorporated in the
state of California on May 8, 1996 and is engaged in the design, development,
manufacture, and sale of high performance networking products based on Gigabit
Ethernet technology. The financial operations for the period ended June 30,
1996 were insignificant (generating a net loss of approximately $94,000) and
have been combined with Extreme's results for the year ended June 30, 1997.
Through June 30, 1997, Extreme was in the development stage. Extreme has
incurred operating losses to date and has an accumulated deficit of $26.8
million at December 31, 1998. Extreme anticipates additional debt or equity
funding may be needed to finance expected future operations. If such
additional funding is not available, management believes, based on anticipated
obligations, that available resources will be sufficient to enable Extreme to
meet its obligations. If anticipated results are not achieved, management has
the intent and believes it has the ability to delay or reduce expenditures so
as not to require significant additional financial resources if such resources
were not available.
 
   Interim Financial Information
 
   The financial information for the six months ended December 31, 1997 is
unaudited but includes all adjustments, consisting only of normal recurring
adjustments, that Extreme considers necessary for a fair presentation of the
operating results and cash flows for such period. Results for the six months
ended December 31, 1998 are not necessarily indicative of results in the
future periods.
 
   Principles of Consolidation
 
   The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Extreme and
its wholly-owned subsidiaries. All significant inter-company balances and
transactions have been eliminated.
 
   Accounting Estimates
 
   The preparation of financial statements in conformity with generally
accepted accounting principles requires management to make estimates and
assumptions that materially affect the amounts reported in the financial
statements. Actual results could differ materially from these estimates.
 
   Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments
 
   Extreme considers all highly liquid investment securities with maturity
from date of purchase of three months or less to be cash equivalents and
investment securities with maturity from date of purchase of more than three
months but less than one year, to be short-term investments.
 
   Management determines the appropriate classification of debt and equity
securities at the time of purchase and reevaluates such designation as of each
balance sheet date. To date, all marketable securities have been classified as
available-for-sale and are carried at fair value, with unrealized gains and
losses, when material, reported net-of-tax as a separate component of
stockholders' equity. Realized gains and losses on available-for-sale
securities are included in interest income. The cost of securities sold is
based on specific identification. Premiums and discounts are amortized over
the period from acquisition to maturity and are included in investment income,
along with interest and dividends.
 
   Fair Value of Financial Instruments
 
   The fair value for marketable debt securities is based on quoted market
prices. The carrying value of those securities approximates their fair value.
 
                                      F-7
<PAGE>
 
                            EXTREME NETWORKS, INC.
 
            NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS--(Continued)
 
     (Information for the six months ended December 31, 1997 is unaudited)
 
 
   The fair value of notes is estimated by discounting the future cash flows
using the current interest rates at which similar loans would be made to
borrowers with similar credit ratings and for the same remaining maturities.
The carrying values of these obligations approximate their respective fair
values.
 
   The fair value of short-term and long-term capital lease obligations is
estimated based on current interest rates available to Extreme for debt
instruments with similar terms, degrees of risk and remaining maturities. The
carrying values of these obligations approximate their respective fair values.
 
   Inventories
 
   Inventories are stated at the lower of cost or market (on a first-in,
first-out basis) and are comprised substantially of finished goods at December
31, 1998.
 
   Concentration of Credit Risk and Significant Customers
 
   Financial instruments that potentially subject Extreme to concentration of
credit risk consist principally of marketable investments and accounts
receivable. Extreme has placed its investments with six high-credit quality
issuers with no more than $2 million due from any one issuer. Extreme sells
its products primarily to United States corporations in the technology
marketplace. Extreme performs ongoing credit evaluations of its customers and
generally does not require collateral. Credit losses have been immaterial and
within management's expectations. During the years ended June 30, 1997 and
1998 and the six months ended December 31, 1998, Extreme added approximately
$0, $383,000 and $546,000 to its bad debt reserves. Total write-offs of
uncollectible amounts were $0, $37,000 and $0 in these periods, respectively.
Two customers accounted for 25% and 21%, and 17% and 11% of the Company's net
revenue for the year ended June 30, 1998 and the six months ended December 31,
1998, respectively. No other customer accounts for more than 10% of Extreme's
net revenues. Extreme operates solely within one business segment, the
development and marketing of end-to-end LAN switching solutions.
 
   Property and Equipment
 
   Property and equipment are stated at cost, net of accumulated amortization
and depreciation. Property and equipment are depreciated on a straight-line
basis over the estimated useful lives of the assets of approximately three
years or the applicable lease term, if shorter. Equipment acquired under
capital lease obligations is amortized over the shorter of the lease term or
the estimated useful lives of the related assets.
 
   Revenue Recognition
 
   Extreme generally recognizes product revenue at the time of shipment,
unless Extreme has future obligations for installation or has to obtain
customer acceptance in which case revenue is deferred until these obligations
are met. Revenue from service obligations is deferred and recognized on a
straight-line basis over the contractual period. Amounts billed in excess of
revenue recognized are included as deferred revenue in the accompanying
consolidated balance sheets. Extreme has established a program which enables
third party resellers to return up to 15% of their previous month's purchases
in exchange for a purchase order of equal or greater dollar value. The amount
of estimated product returns is provided for in the period of the sale.
 
   Upon shipment to its customers, Extreme provides for the estimated cost to
repair or replace products to be returned under warranty. Extreme's warranty
period is typically 12 months from the date of shipment to the end user.
 
                                      F-8
<PAGE>
 
                            EXTREME NETWORKS, INC.
 
            NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS--(Continued)
 
     (Information for the six months ended December 31, 1997 is unaudited)
 
 
   Foreign Operations
 
   Extreme's foreign offices consist of sales, marketing, and support
activities through its foreign subsidiaries and an overseas reseller network.
Operating income generated by the foreign operations of Extreme and their
corresponding identifiable assets were not material in any period presented.
   
   Extreme's export sales represented 61% and 56% of net revenue in fiscal
1998 and the six-month period ended December 31, 1998. All of the export sales
to date have been denominated in U.S. dollars and were derived from sales to
Europe and Asia. Extreme recorded export sales over 10% (as a percentage of
total net revenue) to the following countries:     
 
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                                                Year Ended   Six Months Ended
                                               June 30, 1998 December 31, 1998
                                               ------------- -----------------
   <S>                                         <C>           <C>
   United Kingdom.............................       30%             --
   Japan......................................       19%             29%
   All other export sales to countries
    totaling less than 10% each...............       12%             27%
</TABLE>
 
   Net Loss Per Share
 
   Basic net loss per share and diluted net loss per share are presented in
conformity with Financial Accounting Standards Board's ("FASB") Statement of
Financial Accounting Standards (SFAS) No. 128, "Earnings Per Share," for all
periods presented. Pursuant to the Securities and Exchange Commission Staff
Accounting Bulletin No. 98, common stock and convertible preferred stock
issued or granted for nominal consideration prior to the anticipated effective
date of the initial public offering must be included in the calculation of
basic and diluted net loss per common share as if they had been outstanding
for all periods presented. To date, Extreme has not had any issuances or
grants for nominal consideration.
 
   In accordance with SFAS No. 128, basic net loss per share has been computed
using the weighted-average number of shares of common stock outstanding during
the period, less shares subject to repurchase. Basic and diluted pro forma net
loss per share, as presented in the consolidated statements of operations, has
been computed as described above and also gives effect, under Securities and
Exchange Commission guidance, to the conversion of the convertible preferred
stock (using the if-converted method) from the original date of issuance.
 
                                      F-9
<PAGE>
 
                            EXTREME NETWORKS, INC.
 
            NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS--(Continued)
 
     (Information for the six months ended December 31, 1997 is unaudited)
 
 
   The following table presents the calculation of basic and diluted and pro
forma basic and diluted net loss per common share (in thousands, except per
share data):
 
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                                          Years Ended          Six Months
                                            June 30,       Ended December 31,
                                        -----------------  -------------------
                                         1997      1998       1997      1998
                                        -------  --------  ----------- -------
                                                           (unaudited)
   <S>                                  <C>      <C>       <C>         <C>
   Net loss...........................  $(7,923) $(13,936)   $(6,467)  $(4,936)
                                        =======  ========    =======   =======
   Basic and diluted:
     Weighted-average shares of common
      stock outstanding...............    6,468    11,192     10,920    11,599
     Less: Weighted-average shares
      subject to repurchase...........   (4,710)   (6,813)    (7,410)   (4,732)
                                        -------  --------    -------   -------
   Weighted-average shares used in
    computing basic and diluted net
    loss per common share.............    1,758     4,379      3,510     6,867
                                        =======  ========    =======   =======
   Basic and diluted net loss per com-
    mon share.........................  $ (4.51) $  (3.18)   $ (1.84)  $  (.72)
                                        =======  ========    =======   =======
   Pro forma:
     Net loss.........................           $(13,936)             $(4,936)
                                                 ========              =======
     Shares used above................              4,379                6,867
     Pro forma adjustment to reflect
      weighted effect of assumed
      conversion of convertible
      preferred stock.................             27,322               29,062
                                                 --------              -------
     Shares used in computing pro
      forma basic and diluted net loss
      per common share (unaudited)....             31,701               35,929
                                                 ========              =======
     Pro forma basic and diluted net
      loss per common share
      (unaudited).....................           $   (.44)             $  (.14)
                                                 ========              =======
</TABLE>
 
   Extreme has excluded all convertible preferred stock, warrants for
convertible preferred stock, outstanding stock options and shares subject to
repurchase from the calculation of diluted loss per common share because all
such securities are anti-dilutive for all periods presented. The total numbers
of shares excluded from the calculations of diluted net loss per share was
30,834,912, 36,082,561, 30,818,069 and 36,514,805 for the years ended June 30,
1997 and 1998 and the six months ended December 31, 1997 and 1998. See Note 6
for further information on these securities.
 
   Unaudited Pro Forma Stockholders' Equity
 
   If the offering contemplated by this prospectus is consummated, all of the
redeemable convertible preferred stock outstanding will automatically be
converted into common stock. Unaudited pro forma stockholders' equity at
December 31, 1998, as adjusted for the assumed conversion of convertible
preferred stock based on the shares of convertible preferred stock outstanding
at December 31, 1998, is disclosed on the consolidated balance sheet.
 
   Accounting for Stock-Based Compensation
 
   Extreme's grants of stock options are for a fixed number of shares to
employees with an exercise price equal to the fair value of the shares at the
date of grant. As permitted under SFAS Statement No. 123, "Accounting for
Stock-Based Compensation" ("FAS 123"), Extreme accounts for stock option
grants to employees and
 
                                     F-10
<PAGE>
 
                            EXTREME NETWORKS, INC.
 
            NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS--(Continued)
 
     (Information for the six months ended December 31, 1997 is unaudited)
 
directors in accordance with APB Opinion No. 25, "Accounting for Stock Issued
to Employees" ("APB 25") and, accordingly, recognizes no compensation expense
for stock option grants with an exercise price equal to the fair value of the
shares at the date of grant.
 
   Comprehensive Loss
 
   Extreme adopted Statement of Financial Accounting Standards (SFAS) 130,
"Reporting Comprehensive Income," at December 31, 1998. Under SFAS 130,
Extreme is required to display comprehensive income and its components as part
of the financial statements. Other comprehensive income includes certain
changes in equity that are excluded from net income. Specifically, SFAS 130
requires unrealized holding gains and losses on available-for-sale securities,
to be included in accumulated other comprehensive income. Comprehensive loss
for the years ended June 30, 1998 and 1997 and the six month period ended
December 31, 1998 approximated net loss.
 
   Recently Issued Accounting Standard
 
   In June 1997, the FASB issued SFAS No. 131, "Disclosures about Segments of
an Enterprise and Related Information" effective for financial statements for
periods beginning after December 15, 1997. SFAS No. 131 establishes standards
for the way that public business enterprises report financial and descriptive
information about reportable operating segments in annual financial statements
and interim financial reports issued to shareholders. SFAS No. 131 supersedes
SFAS No. 14, "Financial Reporting for Segments of a Business Enterprise," but
retains the requirement to report information about major customers. Extreme
will adopt SFAS No. 131 effective June 30, 1999. Extreme expects that the
implementation of this standard will not have a material effect on its
financial statement disclosures.
 
   In June 1998, the FASB issued SFAS No. 133, "Accounting for Derivative
Instruments and Hedging Activities." Extreme is required to adopt SFAS No. 133
for the year ending June 30, 2002. SFAS No. 133 establishes methods of
accounting for derivative financial instruments and hedging activities related
to those instruments as well as other hedging activities. Because Extreme
currently holds no derivative financial instruments and does not currently
engage in hedging activities, adoption of SFAS No. 133 is expected to have no
material impact on Extreme's financial condition or results of operations.
 
   In March 1998, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants
issued SOP 98-1, "Accounting for the Costs of Computer Software Developed or
Obtained for Internal Use," SOP 98-1 requires that entities capitalize certain
costs related to internal use software once certain criteria have been met.
Extreme is required to implement SOP 98-1 for the year ending June 30, 2000.
Adoption of SOP 98-1 is expected to have no material impact on Extreme's
financial condition or results of operations.
 
                                     F-11
<PAGE>
 
                            EXTREME NETWORKS, INC.
 
            NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS--(Continued)
 
     (Information for the six months ended December 31, 1997 is unaudited)
 
 
2. Investment Securities
 
   The following is a summary of available-for-sale securities (in thousands).
As of June 30, 1998 and December 31, 1998 at cost which approximates fair
market value:
 
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                                                           June 30, December 31,
                                                             1998       1998
                                                           -------- ------------
   <S>                                                     <C>      <C>
   Money market fund...................................... $    99     $   78
   U.S. corporate debt securities.........................  12,410      6,821
   Foreign corporate debt securities......................   6,938        --
                                                           -------     ------
                                                           $19,447     $6,899
                                                           =======     ======
   Classified as:
     Cash equivalents..................................... $ 8,452     $   78
     Short-term investments...............................  10,995      6,821
                                                           -------     ------
                                                           $19,447     $6,899
                                                           =======     ======
 
</TABLE>
 
   At June 30, 1998 and December 31, 1998, all of the available-for-sale
securities are due in one year or less by contractual maturity.
 
3. Property and Equipment
 
   Property and equipment consist of the following (in thousands):
 
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                                                    June 30,
                                                  --------------  December 31,
                                                   1997    1998       1998
                                                  ------  ------  ------------
   <S>                                            <C>     <C>     <C>
   Computer and other related equipment.......... $  745  $3,465     $3,799
   Office equipment, furniture, and fixtures.....    199     522      1,927
   Software......................................    638   2,106      2,692
   Leasehold improvements........................     88     145        145
                                                  ------  ------     ------
                                                   1,670   6,238      8,563
   Less accumulated depreciation and
    amortization.................................   (315) (1,769)    (3,391)
                                                  ------  ------     ------
   Property and equipment, net................... $1,355  $4,469     $5,172
                                                  ======  ======     ======
</TABLE>
 
   Included in property and equipment are assets acquired under capital lease
obligations with a cost and related accumulated amortization of approximately
$2,093,000 and $490,000, respectively, at June 30, 1998, and approximately
$2,093,000 and $870,000, respectively, at December 31, 1998.
 
4. Notes Payable
 
   In October 1996, Extreme entered into a note payable with a bank that
allowed the Company to borrow up to $400,000. Interest is payable monthly
based on an annual rate of 11%. Principal outstanding was $49,909 at December
31, 1998. Payments of approximately $18,000 are due monthly through April 16,
1999. The note is secured by Extreme's assets.
 
                                     F-12
<PAGE>
 
                            EXTREME NETWORKS, INC.
 
            NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS--(Continued)
 
     (Information for the six months ended December 31, 1997 is unaudited)
 
 
   In November 1996, Extreme entered into a $300,000 note payable agreement
with a leasing company. The note accrues interest monthly based on an annual
rate of 9%. Payments of approximately $11,000 are due monthly with a final
$30,000 payment due May 1, 1999. The note is secured by all of Extreme's fixed
assets.
 
   In November 1997, Extreme entered into a $2,000,000 note payable with a
leasing company. The note accrues interest monthly based on an annual rate of
9.75%. Payments of approximately $56,000 are due monthly through May 1, 2001.
The note is secured by all of Extreme's fixed assets.
 
5. Commitments
 
   Extreme has outstanding purchase order commitments for materials of
approximately $4,400,000 and $12,300,000 at June 30, 1998 and December 31,
1998, respectively. Extreme expects these purchase orders to be fulfilled and
the related invoices to be paid in fiscal year 1999. Of this amount, the
Company has accrued and expensed approximately $893,000 of the outstanding
purchase order commitments for materials due to obligations to suppliers as of
June 30, 1998. This expense is included within cost of revenue in the year
ended June 30, 1998.
 
   The Company has entered into equipment lease lines of credit for a total of
$4,000,000, of which approximately $3.1 million remains available at December
31, 1998. These arrangements are secured by the property and equipment subject
to the leases. Under the terms of these lines of credit, Extreme may not
declare or pay any dividends without prior consent of the lenders.
 
   Extreme has entered into a revolving line of credit for $5.0 million.
Borrowings under this line of credit bear interest at the bank's prime rate.
At December 31, 1998, there were no outstanding borrowings under this line of
credit.
 
   Extreme leases its primary facilities under operating leases, all of which
expire during 1999. Rent expense was approximately $220,000 and $712,000 for
the years ended June 30, 1997 and 1998, respectively, and approximately
$385,000 for the six months ended December 31, 1998.
 
   Future payments under all noncancelable leases at December 31, 1998 are as
follows (in thousands):
 
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                                                 Capital Leases Operating Leases
                                                 -------------- ----------------
   <S>                                           <C>            <C>
   Years ending June 30:
     1999.......................................     $  360           $225
     2000.......................................        721             42
     2001.......................................        708             25
     2002.......................................        409             --
                                                     ------           ----
   Total minimum payments.......................      2,198           $292
                                                                      ====
   Less amount representing interest............       (259)
                                                     ------
   Present value of minimum payments............      1,939
   Less current portion.........................       (588)
                                                     ------
   Long-term portion............................     $1,351
                                                     ======
</TABLE>
 
   See Note 8 for subsequent events regarding lease of new facility.
 
                                     F-13
<PAGE>
 
                            EXTREME NETWORKS, INC.
 
            NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS--(Continued)
 
     (Information for the six months ended December 31, 1997 is unaudited)
 
 
6. Shareholders' Equity
 
   Convertible Preferred Stock
 
   A summary of convertible stock is as follows (in thousands):
 
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                                               June 30,
                 ---------------------------------------------------------------------
                                1997                               1998                        December 31, 1998
                 ---------------------------------- ---------------------------------- ----------------------------------
                            Issued and  Liquidation            Issued and  Liquidation            Issued and  Liquidation
                 Authorized Outstanding Preference  Authorized Outstanding Preference  Authorized Outstanding Preference
                 ---------- ----------- ----------- ---------- ----------- ----------- ---------- ----------- -----------
<S>              <C>        <C>         <C>         <C>        <C>         <C>         <C>        <C>         <C>
Series A........   15,000     14,580      $ 5,249     15,000     14,580      $ 5,249     15,000     14,580      $ 5,249
Series B........    9,000      8,886       12,263      9,000      8,886       12,263      9,000      8,886       12,263
Series C........      --         --            --      5,900      5,595       20,534      5,900      5,595       20,534
                   ------     ------      -------     ------     ------      -------     ------     ------      -------
                   24,000     23,466      $17,512     29,900     29,061      $38,046     29,900     29,061      $38,046
                   ======     ======      =======     ======     ======      =======     ======     ======      =======
</TABLE>
 
   In May 1996, under a stock purchase agreement, Extreme issued 14,579,999
Series A convertible preferred shares at a price of $.333 per share. In May
and June 1997, under a stock purchase agreement, Extreme issued 8,886,228
Series B convertible preferred shares at a price of $1.38 per share. In
January and March of 1998, under a stock purchase agreement, Extreme issued
5,595,088 Series C convertible preferred shares at a price of $3.67 per share.
 
   Each share of Series A, B, and C convertible preferred stock is
convertible, at the option of the holder, into one share of common stock,
subject to certain provisions. The outstanding shares of convertible preferred
stock automatically convert into common stock either upon the close of
business on the day immediately preceding the closing of an underwritten
public offering of common stock under the Securities Act of 1933 in which
Extreme receives at least $10,000,000 in gross proceeds and the price per
share is at least $5.00, or at the election of the holders of at least a
majority of each series of the outstanding shares of preferred stock.
 
   Series A, B, and C convertible preferred stockholders are entitled to
annual noncumulative dividends of $.0267, $.1104, and $.2936, respectively,
per share if and when declared by the board of directors. No dividends have
been declared as of December 31, 1998.
 
   The Series A, B, and C convertible preferred stockholders are entitled to
receive, upon liquidation, the sum of (i) an amount per share equal to the
issuance price; (ii) $.0267 per share of Series A preferred stock, $.1104 per
share of Series B preferred stock, and $.2936 per share of Series C preferred
stock per annum accruing annually on the anniversary date of issuance of the
Series A, B, and C preferred stock, respectively; and (iii) all declared but
unpaid dividends. Thereafter, the remaining assets and funds, if any, shall be
distributed pro rata among the common stockholders. If the assets or property
were not sufficient to allow full payment to the Series A, B, and C
stockholders, the available assets shall be distributed ratably among the
Series A, B, and C shareholders.
 
   The Series A, B, and C convertible preferred stockholders have voting
rights equal to the common shares issuable upon conversion.
 
   Warrants
 
   In November 1996, Extreme issued warrants to a lease financing company to
purchase 210,000 shares of Series A convertible preferred stock with an
exercise price of $.33 per share, in consideration for equipment leases and a
loan. In July 1997, Extreme issued warrants to the same lease financing
company to purchase 48,347 shares of Series B convertible preferred stock with
an exercise price of $1.38 per share, in consideration
 
                                     F-14
<PAGE>
 
                            EXTREME NETWORKS, INC.
 
            NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS--(Continued)
 
     (Information for the six months ended December 31, 1997 is unaudited)
 
for equipment leases. The warrants may be exercised at any time within a
period of (i) 10 years or (ii) 5 years from the effective date of an initial
public offering completed by Extreme, whichever is longer.
 
   In November 1997, the Company issued warrants to a lease financing company
to purchase 79,051 shares of Series C convertible preferred stock with an
exercise price of $2.53, in consideration for a loan. The warrants may be
exercised at any time within a period which expires the sooner of (i) 10 years
or (ii) 3 years from the effective date of an initial public offering.
 
   Common Stock
 
   In May 1996, Extreme issued 4,725,000 shares of common stock to founders
for cash. The common stock is subject to repurchase until vested; vesting with
respect to 25% occurs on the first anniversary of the issuance date, with the
balance vesting ratably over a period of three years as specified in the
purchase agreements. At June 30, 1998 and December 31, 1998, approximately
1,771,875 and 1,181,250 shares, respectively, were subject to repurchase at
their original issuance price.
 
   Extreme has reserved 15,000,000, 9,000,000, and 5,900,000 shares of its
common stock for issuance upon conversion of its Series A, B, and C
convertible preferred stock, respectively. Extreme has also reserved
12,014,309 common shares for issuance under the 1996 Stock Option Plan, of
which 92,349 and 1,912,786 shares remain available at June 30, 1998 and
December 31, 1998, respectively.
 
   Stock-Based Compensation
 
   Under the 1996 Stock Option Plan (the "Plan"), which was adopted in
September 1996, options may be granted for common stock, pursuant to actions
by the board of directors, to eligible participants. A total of 12,014,309
shares have been reserved under the Plan. Options granted are exercisable as
determined by the board of directors. Options vest over a period of time as
determined by the board of directors, generally four years. The term of the
Plan is 10 years. Options to purchase approximately 4,297,346 and 2,990,009
shares of common stock have been exercised as of June 30, 1998 and December
31, 1998, respectively, but are subject to repurchase until vested.
 
   The Company has elected to continue to follow APB 25 and related
interpretations in accounting for its employee and director stock-based
compensation plans. Because the exercise price of Extreme's employee stock
options equals the market price of the underlying stock on the date of grant,
no compensation expense was recognized.
 
   Pro forma information regarding net income has been determined as if
Extreme had accounted for its employee stock options under the fair value
method prescribed by FAS 123. The resulting effect on pro forma net income
disclosed is not likely to be representative of the effects on net income on a
pro forma basis in future years, due to subsequent years including additional
grants and years of vesting.
 
                                     F-15
<PAGE>
 
                            EXTREME NETWORKS, INC.
 
            NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS--(Continued)
 
     (Information for the six months ended December 31, 1997 is unaudited)
 
 
   The fair value of each option granted through December 31, 1998 was
estimated on the date of grant using the minimum value method with the
following weighted-average assumptions: no dividends; an expected life of six
years in the years ended June 30, 1997 and 1998, and four years in the six
months ended December 31, 1998; and risk-free interest rate of 6.7%, 6.0% and
5.7% in the years ended June 30, 1997 and 1998, and the six months ended
December 31, 1998, respectively. The weighted average fair value of options
granted in the years ended June 30, 1997 and 1998 and the six months ended
December 31, 1998 are $.01, $.37 and $1.17, respectively. For purposes of pro
forma disclosures, the estimated fair value of options is amortized to pro
forma expense over the options' vesting period. Pro forma information follows
(in thousands, except share and per share amounts):
 
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                                                   Years Ended       Six Months
                                                     June 30,          Ended
                                                 -----------------  December 31,
                                                  1997      1998        1998
                                                 -------  --------  ------------
   <S>                                           <C>      <C>       <C>
   Net Loss:
    As reported................................. $(7,923) $(13,936)   $(4,936)
    Pro forma................................... $(7,935) $(14,053)   $(5,097)
   Basic and diluted net loss per share:
    As reported.................................          $  (3.18)   $  (.72)
    Pro forma...................................          $  (3.21)   $  (.74)
</TABLE>
 
   The following table summarizes stock options activity:
 
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                                                                    Weighted-
                                                                     Average
                                                      Number of   Exercise Price
                                                        Shares      Per Share
                                                      ----------  --------------
   <S>                                                <C>         <C>
    Granted..........................................  7,150,500      $ .03
    Exercised........................................ (5,409,750)     $ .02
    Canceled.........................................   (165,000)     $ .03
                                                      ----------      -----
   Options outstanding at June 30, 1997..............  1,575,750      $ .05
    Granted..........................................  1,771,460      $1.29
    Exercised........................................   (724,775)     $ .21
    Canceled.........................................    (18,500)     $ .35
                                                      ----------      -----
   Options outstanding at June 30, 1998..............  2,603,935      $ .84
    Granted..........................................  1,399,397      $5.83
    Exercised........................................   (256,670)     $1.82
    Canceled.........................................    (36,334)     $2.59
                                                      ----------      -----
   Options outstanding at December 31, 1998..........  3,710,328      $2.55
                                                      ==========      =====
</TABLE>
 
                                     F-16
<PAGE>
 
                            EXTREME NETWORKS, INC.
 
            NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS--(Continued)
 
     (Information for the six months ended December 31, 1997 is unaudited)
 
 
   The options outstanding at December 31, 1998 have been segregated by
exercise price as follows:
 
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                              Outstanding Options
   ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                         Options                                                    Weighted-
    Range of           Outstanding                 Weighted-Average                  Average
    Exercise               and                        Remaining                     Exercise
     Prices            Exercisable                 Contractual Life                   Price
    --------           -----------                 ----------------                 ---------
                                                      (In years)
   <S>                 <C>                         <C>                              <C>
   $ .02                  988,000                        7.94                         $ .02
   $ .14-1.00             660,279                        8.62                         $ .46
   $1.25-1.75             618,950                        9.19                         $1.70
   $3.00-5.50             342,599                        9.54                         $4.13
   $5.75                  831,500                        9.79                         $5.75
   $6.50-8.50             269,000                        9.91                         $7.04
   ----------
    ---------           ---------
   $ .02-8.50           3,710,328                        8.98                         $2.55
   ==========           =========
</TABLE>
 
   During the year ended June 30, 1998, in connection with the grant of
certain stock options to employees, Extreme recorded deferred stock
compensation of $437,000 representing the difference between the exercise
price and the deemed fair value of Extreme's common stock on the date such
stock options were granted. Such amount is included as a reduction of
stockholders' equity and is being amortized by charges to operations on a
graded vesting method. Extreme recorded amortization of deferred stock
compensation expense of approximately $68,000 and $93,000 for the year ended
June 30, 1998 and the six-month period ended December 31, 1998, respectively.
At December 31, 1998, Extreme had a total of approximately $276,000 remaining
to be amortized over the corresponding vesting period of each respective
option, generally four years. The amortization expense relates to options
awarded to employees in all operating expense categories. This amount has not
been separately allocated to these categories.
 
7. Income Taxes
 
   The provision for income taxes consists of the following (in thousands):
 
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                                                                    December 31,
                                                                        1998
                                                                    ------------
     <S>                                                            <C>
     Current provision:
       Federal.....................................................     $100
       State.......................................................      100
       Foreign.....................................................      500
                                                                        ----
     Total current provision.......................................     $700
                                                                        ====
</TABLE>
 
   The difference between the provision for income taxes and the amount
computed by applying the Federal statutory income tax rate (35 percent) to
income before taxes is explained below:
 
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                                                June 30,  June 30,  December 31,
                                                  1997      1998        1998
                                                --------  --------  ------------
   <S>                                          <C>       <C>       <C>
   Tax at federal statutory rate............... $(2,773)  $(4,878)    $(1,483)
   State income tax............................      --        --         100
   Unutilized net operating losses.............   2,773     4,878       1,483
   Federal alternative minimum taxes...........      --        --         100
   Foreign tax.................................      --        --         500
                                                -------   -------     -------
     Total..................................... $    --   $    --     $   700
                                                =======   =======     =======
</TABLE>
 
                                     F-17
<PAGE>
 
                            EXTREME NETWORKS, INC.
 
            NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS--(Continued)
 
     (Information for the six months ended December 31, 1997 is unaudited)
 
 
   Significant components of Extreme's deferred tax assets are as follows (in
thousands):
 
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                                                June 30,  June 30,  December 31,
                                                  1997      1998        1998
                                                --------  --------  ------------
   <S>                                          <C>       <C>       <C>
   Deferred tax assets:
     Net operating loss carryforwards.......... $ 3,120   $ 7,448     $ 6,586
     Tax credit carryforwards..................     209     1,139       1,350
     Accruals and reserves.....................      --       627       1,343
     Accrued purchase commitments..............      --       357         357
                                                -------   -------     -------
   Total deferred tax assets...................   3,329     9,571       9,636
   Valuation allowance.........................  (3,329)   (9,571)     (9,636)
                                                -------   -------     -------
   Net deferred tax assets..................... $    --   $    --     $    --
                                                =======   =======     =======
</TABLE>
 
   FASB Statement No. 109 provides for the recognition of deferred tax assets
if realization of such assets is more likely than not. Based upon the weight
of available evidence, which includes Extreme's historical operating
performance and the reported cumulative net losses in all prior years, Extreme
has provided a full valuation allowance against its net deferred tax assets.
 
   The net valuation allowance increased by $3,329,000, $6,242,000, and
$65,000 during the periods ended June 30, 1997, June 30, 1998, and December
31, 1998, respectively.
 
   As of December 31, 1998, Extreme had federal and state net operating loss
carryforwards of approximately $16.6 million and $16.0 million, respectively.
Extreme also had federal and state research and development tax credit
carryforwards of approximately $850,000 and $750,000, respectively. The net
operating loss and tax credit carryforwards will expire at various dates
beginning in 2004 through 2019, if not utilized.
 
   Utilization of the net operating loss and tax credit carryforwards may be
subject to a substantial annual limitation due to the ownership change
limitations provided by the Internal Revenue Code and similar state
provisions. The annual limitation may result in the expiration of the net
operating loss and credit carryforwards before utilization.
 
8. Subsequent Events (unaudited)
 
   1999 Employee Stock Purchase Plan
 
   In January 1999, the Board of Directors approved the adoption of Extreme's
1999 Employee Stock Purchase Plan (the "1999 Purchase Plan"), subject to
stockholder approval. A total of 1,000,000 shares of common stock has been
reserved for issuance under the 1999 Purchase Plan. The 1999 Purchase Plan
permits eligible employees to acquire shares of Extreme's common stock through
periodic payroll deductions of up to 15% of total compensation. No more than
625 shares may be purchased on any purchase date per employee. Each offering
period will have a maximum duration of 12 months. The price at which the
common stock may be purchased is 85% of the lesser of the fair market value of
Extreme's common stock on the first day of the applicable offering period or
on the last day of the respective purchase period. The initial offering period
will commence on the effectiveness of the initial public offering and will end
on April 30, 2000.
 
                                     F-18
<PAGE>
 
                            EXTREME NETWORKS, INC.
 
            NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS--(Continued)
 
     (Information for the six months ended December 31, 1997 is unaudited)
 
 
   Reincorporation, Amendment to the Articles of Incorporation
 
   During January 1999, Extreme's Board of directors authorized the
reincorporation of the Company in the State of Delaware. This reincorporation
is to be effective prior to Extreme's initial public offering. Upon
reincorporation, Extreme will be authorized to issue 150,000,000 shares of
Common Stock, $.001 par value and 2,000,000 shares of undesignated Preferred
Stock, $.001 par value.
 
   Facility Lease
   
   In February 1999, Extreme agreed to lease 77,000 square feet for the
purpose of being its primary facility in Santa Clara, California. The related
cost of this lease is approximately $120,000 per month. The lease expires in
December 2002. Extreme commenced occupancy in March 1999.     
 
 Amended 1996 Stock Option Plan
 
   In January 1999, the Board of Directors approved an amendment to the 1996
Stock Option Plan to (i) increase the share reserve by 5,000,000 shares, (ii)
to remove certain provisions which are required to be in option plans
maintained by California privately-held companies and (iii) to rename the Plan
as the "Amended 1996 Stock Option Plan."
 
                                     F-19
<PAGE>
 










                     Graphic of various products of Extreme
<PAGE>
 
                         [EXTREME NETWORKS, INC. LOGO]
<PAGE>
 
                                    PART II
 
                    INFORMATION NOT REQUIRED IN PROSPECTUS
 
Item 13. Other Expenses of Issuance and Distribution.
 
   The following table sets forth all expenses to be paid by the Registrant,
other than underwriting discounts and commissions, in connection with this
offering. All amounts shown are estimates except for the registration fee and
the NASD filing fee.
 
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                                                                    Amount to be
                                                                        Paid
                                                                    ------------
      <S>                                                           <C>
      Registration fee.............................................  $   14,387
      NASD filing fee..............................................       5,675
      Nasdaq National Market.......................................      63,725
      Blue sky qualification fees and expenses.....................       5,000
      Printing and engraving expenses..............................     200,000
      Legal fees and expenses......................................     425,000
      Accounting fees and expenses.................................     300,000
      Director and Officer liability insurance.....................     100,000
      Transfer agent and registrar fees............................      10,000
      Miscellaneous expenses.......................................     176,213
                                                                     ----------
                                                                     $1,300,000
                                                                     ==========
</TABLE>
 
Item 14. Indemnification of Officers and Directors.
 
   Section 145 of the Delaware General Corporation Law authorizes a court to
award, or a corporation's board of directors to grant, indemnity to officers,
directors and other corporate agents under certain circumstances and subject
to certain limitations. The Registrant's Certificate of Incorporation and
Bylaws provide that the Registrant shall indemnify its directors, officers,
employees and agents to the full extent permitted by Delaware General
Corporation Law, including in circumstances in which indemnification is
otherwise discretionary under Delaware law. In addition, the Registrant
intends to enter into separate indemnification agreements with its directors,
officers and certain employees which would require the Registrant, among other
things, to indemnify them against certain liabilities which may arise by
reason of their status as directors, officers or certain other employees. The
Registrant also intends to maintain director and officer liability insurance,
if available on reasonable terms.
 
   These indemnification provisions and the indemnification agreement to be
entered into between the Registrant and its officers and directors may be
sufficiently broad to permit indemnification of the Registrant's officers and
directors for liabilities, including reimbursement of expenses incurred,
arising under the Securities Act.
 
   The Underwriting Agreement filed as Exhibit 1.1 to this Registration
Statement provides for indemnification by the underwriters of the Registrant
and its officers and directors for certain liabilities arising under the
Securities Act, or otherwise.
 
Item 15. Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities.
 
   Since May 1996, the Registrant has sold and issued the following
unregistered securities:
 
     (1) On May 17, 1996, the Registrant issued and sold an aggregate of
  4,725,000 shares of common stock to three executive officers of Extreme at
  a price of $.0033 per share for a total offering price of $23,625.
 
                                     II-1
<PAGE>
 
     (2) From June 1996 to December 31, 1998, the Registrant granted options
  to purchase 10,321,357 shares of common stock pursuant to its Amended 1996
  Stock Option Plan at exercise prices ranging from $.02 per share to $8.50
  per share for a total offering price of $10,266,871.
 
     (3) On May 28, 1996, the Registrant sold 14,579,999 shares of Series A
  preferred stock to a group of thirty-five private investors at a price of
  $.333 per share for a total offering price of $4,860,000.
     
     (4) In September 1996, in connection with its acquisition of all of the
  outstanding capital stock of Mammoth Technology, Inc., the Registrant
  entered into a Stock Purchase Agreement with Mammoth pursuant to which the
  Registrant issued 675,000 shares of its common stock to the three former
  shareholders of Mammoth Technology, Inc. at a price of $.02 per share for a
  total offering price of $13,500.     
 
     (5) On November 7, 1996, in connection with an equipment lease, the
  Registrant issued a warrant to an equipment lessor to purchase 147,000
  shares of Series A preferred stock at an exercise price of $.333 per share.
 
     (6) On November 7, 1996, in connection with an equipment lease, the
  Registrant issued a warrant to an equipment lessor to purchase 63,000
  shares of Series A preferred stock at an exercise price of $.333 per share.
 
     (7) On May 7, 1997 and June 17, 1997, the Registrant sold an aggregate
  of 8,886,228 shares of Series B preferred stock to a group of forty-eight
  private investors at a price of $1.38 per share for a total offering price
  of $12,263,359.
 
     (8) On July 30, 1997, in connection with the extension of a line of
  credit, the Registrant issued a warrant to a bank to purchase 48,347 shares
  of Series B preferred stock at an exercise price of $1.38 per share.
     
     (9) On January 12, 1998, March 23, 1998 and March 31, 1998, the
  Registrant sold an aggregate of 5,595,088 shares of Series C preferred
  stock to a group of thirty-seven private investors at a price of $3.67 per
  share for a total offering price of $20,533,973. In connection with this
  sale, Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorporated acted as placement agent and was
  paid a customary fee for its services.     
 
     (10) On November 17, 1997, in connection with the extension of a line of
  credit, the Registrant issued a warrant to a bank to purchase 79,051 shares
  of Series C preferred stock at an exercise price of $2.53 per share in the
  event such extension is drawn down. As of December 31, 1998, the Registrant
  had not drawn down on this extension.
 
   For additional information concerning these equity investment transactions,
reference is made to the information contained under the caption "Certain
Transactions" in the form of prospectus included herein.
 
   The issuances of securities describe in Items 15(a)(2) were deemed to be
exempt from registration under the Securities Act in reliance on Rule 701
promulgated thereunder as transactions pursuant to a compensatory benefit plan
or a written contract relating to compensation. The issuance of securities
describe in item 15(a)(1) and 15(a)(3) through 15(a)(10) were deemed to be
exempt from registration under the Securities Act in reliance on Section 4(2)
of the Securities Act as transactions by an issuer not involving any public
offering. The recipients of securities in each such transaction represented
their intention to acquire the securities for investment only and not with a
view to or for sale in connection with any distribution thereof and
appropriate legends were affixed to the share certificates and other
instruments issued in such transactions. All recipients either received
adequate information about Extreme or had access, through employment or other
relationships, to such information.
 
                                     II-2
<PAGE>
 
Item 16. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules.
 
   (a) Exhibits.
 
<TABLE>   
<CAPTION>
   Exhibit
   Number                        Description of Document
   -------                       -----------------------
   <C>     <S>
    1.1**  Form of Underwriting Agreement.
    2.1**  Form of Agreement and Plan of Merger between Extreme Networks, a
            California corporation, and Extreme Networks, Inc., a Delaware
            corporation.
    3.1**  Certificate of Incorporation of Extreme Networks, Inc., a Delaware
            corporation.
    3.2**  Form of Amended and Restated Bylaws of Extreme Networks, Inc., a
            Delaware corporation.
    4.1**  Second Amended and Restated Rights Agreement dated January 12, 1998
            between Extreme Network and certain stockholders.
    5.1    Opinion of Gray Cary Ware & Freidenrich, LLP.
   10.1**  Form of Indemnification Agreement for directors and officers.
   10.2**  Amended 1996 Stock Option Plan and forms of agreements thereunder.
   10.3**  1999 Employee Stock Purchase Plan.
   10.4**  Sublease, dated June 5, 1997, between NetManage, Inc. and Extreme
            Networks, Inc., a California corporation, to Master Lease, dated
            September 30, 1994, between Cupertino Industrial Associates and
            NetManage, Inc.
   10.5**  Sublease, dated January 1, 1999, between Apple Computer, Inc., a
            California corporation, and Extreme Networks, Inc., a California
            corporation, to Lease Agreement, as amended.
   21.1**  List of subsidiaries.
   23.1    Consent of Ernst & Young LLP, Independent Auditors.
   23.2    Consent of Counsel (included in Exhibit 5.1).
   24.1**  Power of Attorney.
   27.1**  Financial Data Schedule (available in EDGAR format only).
</TABLE>    
- --------
       
**Previously filed.
 
   (b) Financial Statement Schedules.
 
   All schedules have been omitted because the information required to be set
forth therein is not applicable or is shown in the consolidated financial
statements or notes thereto.
 
Item 17. Undertakings.
 
   The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes to provide to the underwriters
at the closing specified in the underwriting agreement certificates in such
denominations and registered in such names as required by the underwriters to
permit prompt delivery to each purchaser.
 
   Insofar as indemnification by the Registrant for liabilities arising under
the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling
persons of the Registrant pursuant to the provisions described in Item 14
above or otherwise, the Registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the
Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public
policy as expressed in the Securities Act, and is, therefore, unenforceable.
In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other
than the payment by the Registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director,
officer, or controlling person of the Registrant in the successful defense of
any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or
controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the
Registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been
settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate
jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public
policy as expressed in the Securities Act and will be governed by the final
adjudication of such issue.
 
                                     II-3
<PAGE>
 
   The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes that:
 
     (1) For purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act,
  the information omitted from the form of Prospectus filed as part of this
  Registration Statement in reliance upon Rule 430A and contained in a form
  of prospectus filed by the Registrant pursuant to Rule 424(b)(1) or (4) or
  497(h) under the Securities Act shall be deemed to be part of this
  Registration Statement as of the time it was declared effective.
 
     (2) For the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities
  Act, each post-effective amendment that contains a form of prospectus shall
  be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities
  offered therein, and the offering of such securities at the time shall be
  deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.
 
                                     II-4
<PAGE>
 
                                  SIGNATURES
   
   Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the Registrant
has duly caused this Amendment No. 3 to the Registration Statement to be
signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the
City of Cupertino, County of Santa Clara, State of California, on the 5th day
of April 1999.     
 
                                          Extreme Networks, Inc.
 
                                                  /s/ Vito E. Palermo
                                          By: _________________________________
                                                      Vito E. Palermo
                                                  Vice President and Chief
                                                     Financial Officer
   
   Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this Amendment
No. 3 to the Registration Statement has been signed by the following persons
in the capacities and on the dates indicated:     
 
<TABLE>   
<CAPTION>
              Signature                            Title                 Date
              ---------                            -----                 ----
 
<S>                                    <C>                           <C>
           Gordon L. Stitt*            President, Chief Executive    April 5, 1999
______________________________________  Officer and Chairman
           Gordon L. Stitt              (Principal Executive
                                        Officer)
 
       /s/ Vito E. Palermo             Vice President and Chief      April 5, 1999
______________________________________  Financial Officer
           Vito E. Palermo              (Principal Financial and
                                        Accounting Officer)
 
          Charles Carinalli*           Director                      April 5, 1999
______________________________________
          Charles Carinalli
 
            Promod Haque*              Director                      April 5, 1999
______________________________________
             Promod Haque
 
           Lawrence K. Orr*            Director                      April 5, 1999
______________________________________
           Lawrence K. Orr
 
            Peter Wolken*              Director                      April 5, 1999
______________________________________
             Peter Wolken
 
        /s/ Vito E. Palermo                                          April 5, 1999
*By __________________________________
           Vito E. Palermo
          (Attorney-in-fact)
</TABLE>    
 
                                     II-5
<PAGE>
 
                                    EXHIBITS
 
<TABLE>   
<CAPTION>
   Exhibit
   Number                        Description of Document
   -------                       -----------------------
   <C>     <S>
    1.1**  Form of Underwriting Agreement.
    2.1**  Form of Agreement and Plan of Merger between Extreme Networks, a
            California corporation, and Extreme Networks, Inc., a Delaware
            corporation.
    3.1**  Certificate of Incorporation of Extreme Networks, Inc., a Delaware
            corporation.
    3.2**  Form of Amended and Restated Bylaws of Extreme Networks, Inc., a
            Delaware corporation.
    4.1**  Second Amended and Restated Rights Agreement dated January 12, 1998
            between Extreme Network and certain stockholders.
    5.1    Opinion of Gray Cary Ware & Freidenrich, LLP.
   10.1**  Form of Indemnification Agreement for directors and officers.
   10.2**  Amended 1996 Stock Option Plan and forms of agreements thereunder.
   10.3**  1999 Employee Stock Purchase Plan.
   10.4**  Sublease, dated June 5, 1997, between NetManage, Inc. and Extreme
            Networks, Inc., a California corporation, to Master Lease, dated
            September 30, 1994, between Cupertino Industrial Associates and
            NetManage, Inc.
   10.5**  Sublease, dated January 1, 1999, between Apple Computer, Inc., a
            California corporation, and Extreme Networks, Inc., a California
            corporation, to Lease Agreement, as amended.
   21.1**  List of subsidiaries.
   23.1    Consent of Ernst & Young LLP, Independent Auditors.
   23.2    Consent of Counsel (included in Exhibit 5.1).
   24.1**  Power of Attorney.
   27.1**  Financial Data Schedule (available in EDGAR format only).
</TABLE>    
- --------
       
**Previously filed.

<PAGE>
 
                 [GRAY CARY WARE & FREIDENRICH LLP LETTERHEAD]





April 5, 1999



Securities and Exchange Commission
Judiciary Plaza
450 Fifth Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C.  20549

     Re:      Extreme Networks, Inc. Registration Statement on Form S-1

Ladies and Gentlemen:

  As counsel to Extreme Networks, Inc. (the "Company"), we are rendering this
opinion in connection with a proposed sale of those certain shares of the
Company's newly-issued Common Stock as set forth in the Registration Statement
on Form S-1 to which this opinion is being filed as Exhibit 5.1 (the "Shares").
We have examined all instruments, documents and records which we deemed relevant
and necessary for the basis of our opinion hereinafter expressed.  In such
examination, we have assumed the genuineness of all signatures and the
authenticity of all documents submitted to us as originals and the conformity to
the originals of all documents submitted to us as copies.

  We express no opinion with respect to (i) the availability of equitable
remedies, including specific performance, or (ii) the effect of bankruptcy,
insolvency, reorganization, moratorium or equitable principles relating to or
limiting creditors' rights generally.

  Based on such examination, we are of the opinion that the Shares identified in
the above-referenced Registration Statement will be, upon effectiveness of the
Registration Statement and receipt by the Company of payment therefor, validly
authorized, legally issued, fully paid, and nonassessable.
<PAGE>
 
GRAY CARY WARE & FREIDENRICH LLP


Securities and Exchange Commission
April 5, 1999
Page Two


  We hereby consent to the filing of this opinion as an exhibit to the above-
referenced Registration Statement and to the use of our name wherever it appears
in said Registration Statement, including the Prospectus constituting a part
thereof, as originally filed or as subsequently amended.

                                  Respectfully submitted,

                                  /s/ Gray Cary Ware & Freidenrich LLP  

                                  GRAY CARY WARE & FREIDENRICH LLP

 



<PAGE>
 
                                                                   EXHIBIT 23.1
 
              CONSENT OF ERNST & YOUNG LLP, INDEPENDENT AUDITORS
   
   We consent to the references to our firm under the captions "Selected
Consolidated Financial Data" and "Experts" and to the use of our report dated
February 3, 1999 with respect to the consolidated financial statements of
Extreme Networks, Inc. included in the Registration Statement on Form S-1
(Amendment No. 3), and related Prospectus of Extreme Networks, Inc. for the
registration of shares of its common stock.     
 
                                          /s/ Ernst & Young LLP
 
Palo Alto, California
   
April 2, 1999     


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