Ethernet Switch offers capacity of 40 Gb per slot.
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Press Release Summary:
BigIron® MG8(TM) 10-Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE) switch is based on Terabit-capacity Ethernet switching architecture powered by Terathon(TM) ASIC chipset. Layer 3 backbone switch offers 1.28 Terabits of total, non-blocking, switching capacity and wire-speed forwarding in all 32, 10-Gigabit Ethernet ports, for 480 million total packets/sec of Layer 2/3 switching performance per system. Implementation of RFC 3176 (sFlow(TM)) enables wire-speed traffic monitoring on every port.
Original Press Release:
Foundry Networks Announces Next Generation Enterprise 10-Gigabit Ethernet Switch and Industry Leading Pricing Based On New Terabit Capacity Switching Platform
New BigIron MG8 10-Gigabit Ethernet Switch Sets New Price-Performance, Density, Reliability and Feature Benchmark For Enterprise Networks
San Jose, CA - April 28, 2003 - Foundry Networks®, Inc. (Nasdaq: FDRY), a performance and total solutions leader for end-to-end switching and routing, today announced the BigIron® MG8(TM) 10-Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE) switch, one of the first in a series of 10-Gigabit Ethernet products based on the new Terabit-capacity Ethernet switching architecture powered by Foundry's fourth generation Terathon(TM) ASIC chipset. The BigIron MG8 is a high performance Layer 3 backbone switch optimized for high-density Gigabit Ethernet and 10GbE deployments including high speed enterprise communication backbones, converged campus networks, supercomputing clusters, grid computing and storage networks.
The new BigIron MG8 backbone switch offers enterprise customers an industry-leading 1.28 Terabits of total non-blocking switching capacity and wire-speed forwarding in all thirty-two (32) 10-Gigabit Ethernet ports for a total of up to 480 million packets per second of Layer 2/3 switching performance per system. The system's compact form factor allows enterprises to fit three (3) BigIron MG8 systems in a standard seven-foot rack to deliver 96 individual 10-Gigabit Ethernet ports, at an industry-leading price per 10GbE port.
Dr Stuart Brough, director of Information Technology at the University of Strathclyde said: "Network content, covering a huge variety of research activities, teaching material and corporate data is now being transported by the new network with greater ease and reliability than previously. We have seen a dramatic uptake in network performance, availability and connectivity with the new 10 Gigabit Ethernet network, which is a 180 degree turnaround from our previous experience with network redundancy and failover. The network is also easily handling much larger files for key sections of the user community. In particular, University design students and researchers will be able to use the network to handle much larger datasets than previously."
The MG8 enterprise backbone switch offers non-blocking local switching through a new design using physically separated management and backplane functions while offering an industry-leading 40-Gigabit capacity per slot and allowing for higher density modules and a path to 40 Gigabit connections in the future. To monitor application traffic and network performance in 10-Gigabit speed, the Terathon ASIC includes a robust implementation of RFC 3176 (sFlow(TM)) to enable wire-speed traffic monitoring on every port.
"The next stage in Ethernet's evolution is 10-Gigabit Ethernet, a standard ratified in 2002 that is starting to gain steam with larger enterprises and super computing research networks," said Rachna Ahlawat, a senior analyst for Gartner Dataquest. "10GbE is expected to begin a steady ramp up in 2003 and beyond as the pent-up demand for reliable high-speed backbone aggregation is satisfied. Ethernet's impressive ancestry points towards 10GbE becoming a mainstream networking technology with an added catalyst of increasing Gigabit over Copper installations in the enterprise," added Ahlawat.
The new BigIron MG8 switch provides the following significant benefits:
o Unparalleled port density of up to 256 Gigabit Ethernet ports and 32 10GbE ports per system; and 768 Gigabit Ethernet ports and 96 10GbE ports per 7 foot rack
o Extensive support of system resiliency and availability features such as 802.1w rapid spanning tree fail-over protocol, 802.3ad link aggregation, Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol (VRRP), Metro Ring Protocol and Virtual Switch Redundancy Protocol for maximum fault tolerance
o High Performance Multicast support
o Support for advanced Layer 3 functionality including BGP4 load sharing among multiple equal-cost paths to achieve Layer 3 traffic balancing across multiple network paths, additionally Foundry's OSPF, RIP I and RIP II feature set allows user-configurable settings for optimizing the network delay, transmission cost and bandwidth usage
o Support for Jumbo frames to scale server farm throughput
o Wire-speed forwarding on all Gigabit and 10-Gigabit Ethernet interfaces for a total throughput of up to 480 million packets per second
o Support for redundant management modules with rapid fail over, hot-swappable power supplies, fan trays and interface modules
o Ultra low port-to-port switching latency delivering next generation applications such as Voice over IP (VoIP) and streaming media applications
o Advanced Layer 2/3 switching functions with advanced Layer 2/3 switching and policy based routing at wire-speed performance
o IronShield(TM) security with wire-speed extended Access Control Lists, Secure Shell, Secure Copy, authentication with AAA, RADIUS, and TACACS, and protection against Denial of Service attacks
With the industry's best wire-speed 10GbE density, the new BigIron MG8 switch is the 10-Gigabit switch of choice for enterprises requiring high speed switching backbones for supporting mission-critical applications. Adding to the platform's versatility is support for hot-swappable XENPAK based 10-Gigabit Ethernet optic modules. The BigIron MG8 switch supports both LR and ER optics, providing customers flexibility and serviceability in network deployments.
"The BigIron MG8 is a revolutionary product derived from our new Terabit capacity technology architecture and is powered by our new Terathon ASIC chipset," said Ken Cheng, vice president and general manager of the Enterprise Business Unit at Foundry Networks. "It delivers the density, performance, reliability and features needed by the world's most demanding networks. The BigIron MG8 switch is complementary to our BigIron family of Layer 2/3 backbone switches and provides a perfect end-to-end solution to those enterprises who require performance from wiring closet to the core in order to support their business applications," added Cheng.
Pricing and Availability, US List Prices (USD)
AC system $54,995
Management module $14,995
4-port 10GbE modules $64,995
Long Reach (LR or 10 km) XENPAK optic $4,995
Extended Reach (ER or 50km) XENPAK optic $11,995
The BigIron MG8 switch and modules will be available in Summer 2003.
About Foundry Networks
Foundry Networks, Inc. is a leading provider of high-performance enterprise and service provider switching, routing and Web traffic management solutions including Layer 2/3 LAN switches, Layer 3 Backbone switches, Layer 4 - 7 Web switches and Metro Routers. Foundry's 5,800 customers include the world's premier ISPs, Metro service providers, and enterprises including e-commerce sites, universities, entertainment, health and wellness, government, financial, and manufacturing companies. Some of these customers include: AOL, EarthLink, China Telecom, MSN, Verio, Cable & Wireless, Yahoo!, Incyte Genomics, Deutsche Bank, The University of Washington, University of Miami, Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique (INRIA) of France, The British Library, U.S. Army, Air Force and Navy, NASA and the National Space Development Agency of Japan.
For more information about the company and its products, call 1.888.TURBOLAN or visit www.foundrynetworks.com.
