Enterasys puts modules on the IT runway

Upgrading technology is often a costly and time-consuming expenditure. Progressing further in its modular approach to upgrading technology, Rochester, N.H.-based Enterasys Networks has released two fibre-optic modules for the Matrix E7 and Matrix E6 platforms.

According to the company, the new 48- and 24-port modules provide 100Base-FX connectivity to deliver fast Ethernet from the network edge directly to the file servers or desktop PCs using fibre-optic cable.

Ken Kogut, Enterasys’ product marketing director for switching products, said Enterasys is focused on delivering security, availability and mobility.

“It is all about the secure, available and mobile delivery of content,” Kogut said, adding that the new modules offer a tremendous boost in performance and capacity.

The 6H308-48 and 6H308-24 modules offer embedded Layer 2-4 services including multi-layer frame classification, advanced quality of service (QoS), standards-based virtual local area networks (VLANs), security and traffic containment to servers and desktops at the network edge, the company said.

“Unlike traditional routed solutions that are much more costly and much more complex, these modules enable much more precision control at critical network entry areas,” Kogut said.

He added that a modular approach allows Entrasys customers to protect their investments.

According to Scott McCollum, director of IT services for Sinclair Community College in Dayton, Ohio, the college designed a campus-wide telecom project three years ago. Not knowing what would come of the project, there was a concern about purchasing products at the time.

“We bought an E6 chassis three years ago. And now we want to be able to take advantage of some of the new capabilities that are coming out in the E7 as far as the newer, faster bus, the greater expandability where you can put more modules into a chassis to get higher port density,” McCollum said. “Those same modules that we bought (three years ago), we just pull them out of an E6 and put them into an E7. You can mix and match the kinds of connections that you need.”

Although Sinclair has a copper based infrastructure and does not plan on using the two new modules from Enterasys, McCollum said that by providing a modular architecture, Enterasys has enabled the college to continue to use the original purchased products in its telecom project.

Kogut said that the two modules are ideal for three specific areas. “One would be in heavy manufacturing environments,” he said. “Both of these modules can be deployed, because they are fibre, without concern for radio frequency (RF) interference. A second place where this would be a good fit would be in places with distance limitations. Government agencies that are concerned about safeguarding against intrusion always benefit from the inherent security resiliency of fibre-optic connections. So RF concerns, distance limitations and heavy manufacturing where there is RF interference are three good solutions where these modules fit nicely.”

Kogut noted that the throughput on the modules is 3.6 million packets per second (pps), and both come with a switching capacity of 6GB per second. The company said that customers using the 6G308-48 and 6H308-24 will benefit from Enterasys’ Distributed Switching Architecture, in which each module in the chassis has its own switching engine and management that provides maximum network availability.

Pricing for the 6H308-48 is US$26,995. The cost for the 6H308-24 is US$19,495. Both modules are available now. For more information, visit www.enterasys.com.

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