Modular Switching

Alcatel-Lucent OmniSwitch 9000 Family
The Alcatel-Lucent OmniSwitch 9000 family is a competitive offering, with strong features and software, and is sized for any small or medium data center or campus installation. (8/10/2010)
| Client Access|

Avaya Ethernet Routing Switch 8300
The Avaya Ethernet Routing Switch 8300 is competitive because of its low price point and good architecture. The product is fairly old and, despite updates, it is showing signs of that age. (7/20/2010)
| Client Access |

Brocade FastIron SX Family
Brocade FastIron SX series is threatening to competitors due to strong PoE, solid performance, and high reliability. With this product being offered by IBM under its brand, the SX products will become more widely known and available. (7/20/2010)
| Client Access |

Cisco Catalyst 4500-E Series
Cisco’s Catalyst 4500-E family of mid-range modular switches remains a strong competitor due to the on-going investment in the product. Its performance, capacity and port diversity keep the 4500-E visible and viable. (7/20/2010)
| Client Access |

Enterasys S-Series
The Enterasys S-Series is competitive in the mid-range modular and small-medium data center market with good density, flexible chassis options and Enterasys’ strong policy management capabilities. (7/20/2010)
| Client Access |

Extreme Networks BlackDiamond 8800 Series (8500/8800 Modules)
The Extreme BlackDiamond 8800 Series with 8500/8800 modules is a strong contender for the small data center or wiring closet with good density, investment protection and software features. (7/20/2010)
| Client Access |

Top

• Current Analysis Perspective
• Product Strengths & Weaknesses
• Product Point and Counterpoint
• Product Buying Criteria
• Product Metrics

• Management/Ease of Use
  • Management and Ease of Use criteria identify hardware and/or software features that differentiate the administration, maintenance, and reliability characteristics of this product.
• Performance
  • Performance criteria measures the aggregate capacity of the switch fabric, switching throughput, switch latency, and other factors which contribute to the overall speed and capacity of the device.
• Port Diversity
  • Scalability criteria measures the ability of the solution to grow with the needs of the enterprise, encompassing chassis size, blade/port density, and how upgradeable the overall solution is.
• Scalability
  • Incorporates the product’s power consumption per stream/chassis in full configuration and design elements aimed at reducing total cost of ownership (TCO).
• Total Cost Of Ownership
  • Total Cost of Ownership takes into consideration device pricing, warranty, and service pricing/offerings, as well as soft costs such as costs associated with deploying a specific product or training staff to use a significantly different interface.

• Physical Characteristics
  • Device Class
  • Primary Target Market
• QoS Features
  • Total Number of Transmit Queues Per Port
  • Total Number of Receive Queues Per Port
  • Strict Priority Queues
  • Rate Limiting Support
  • Rate Limiting Granularity
  • Classify by IP DSCP/TOS
  • Write/Re-write IP DSCP/TOS
• Protocol Support
  • 802.1w Fast Spanning Tree
  • 802.1s Per VLAN Spanning Tree
  • 802.3ad Trunking
  • 802.1x User Authentication
  • Network Login
  • IGMP Snooping
  • IP Routing
  • IP Routing Protocols
• Interface Support
  • 10/100Base-T
  • 10/100Base-T with 802.3af
  • 100Base-FX
  • 10/100/1000Base-T
  • 10/100/1000Base-T with 802.3af
  • 1000Base-X (GBIC or SFP)
  • 10G - Fixed Optics
  • 10G - Modular
  • Other (Specify Type and Port Count)
  • Special Modules (Non-line Cards)
• Chassis-Specific Characteristics
  • Total Number of Slots in Chassis
  • Reserved Slots
• Fabric Module
  • Fabric Type
  • Fabric Location
  • Fabric Redundancy
• High Availability
  • Hot-Swap Fan Trays
  • Hot-Swap Line Cards
  • Hot-Swap Management Module
  • Hot-Swap Fabric Module
  • Hot-Swap Power Supplies
  • Hot-Swap Other
  • Minimum Number of Power Supplies
  • Maximum Number of Power Supplies
  • Power Supply Load Distribution
  • Non-Stop Code Upgrade
• Performance
  • Backplane Size
  • Forwarding Rate
  • Switch Forwarding Latency
• Pricing
  • Bare Chassis Configuration
  • 10/100Base-T Line Card Price (non-PoE)
  • 10/100Base-T Line Card Price (PoE)
  • 10/100/1000Base-T Line Card Price
  • 1000Base-X GBIC/SFP Line Card Price
  • 10 Gig Modular Line Card Price
• Support
  • Standard Warranty
  • Enterprise Maintenance Contract