INTERCONNECTS

Foundry Networks today announced that it has equipped the world's largest public internet exchange, Amsterdam Internet Exchange (AMS-IX), with three high-performance BigIron RX-16 Layer 2/3 10Gbe switches. The award-winning switches will form the backbone of the exchange network. AMS-IX is an independent Internet exchange, connecting the IP networks of more than 220 Internet Service Providers and carriers with each other. A pioneer in applying market-leading high-capacity switches, the exchange's current exponential growth rates require increasingly higher switch capacity. Already the world's largest public peering Internet exchange in terms of bandwidth, clients and switch ports, AMS-IX traffic continues to grow in overall volume by 9% per month. AMS-IX selected Foundry's high capacity switching solution to handle current and projected volume growth and to accommodate a greater than envisioned demand for individual 10 Gigabit Ethernet connections. The Dutch-based Internet Exchange Point (IXP) found the solution in the BigIron RX-16, the most powerful member of Foundry's next generation BigIron switch family. AMS-IX services its members from four independent co-locations in Amsterdam. All four co-locations are currently equipped with Foundry BigIron switches in a double 'star' topology. To accommodate the increased overall switching volume and demand for high bandwidth interfaces, AMS-IX will add the new BigIron RX-16s to two of the four locations. Each BigIron RX-16 has a switching capacity of up to 1.536 terabits per second and will ultimately be configured with 64 10 GE ports interconnecting the edge switches as well as providing 10GE member connections. "As we look to answer the growing demand for 10 Gigabit Ethernet connections and to servicing our members beyond the 100 Gbps milestone, we have turned to Foundry Networks. Foundry has provided us one of the most robust, technically advanced and highest performing switching solutions available," said Henk Steenman, Chief Technical Officer of AMS-IX. "We're excited about playing a pioneering role in switch applications and look forward to enhancing the core of our service with Foundry's newest high capacity BigIron switches." "The AMS-IX network services some of the most demanding customers in the world and continually pushes the envelope of technology," said Bob Schiff, vice president of product marketing for Foundry Networks. "We are delighted that as part of AMS-IX's practice of selecting best-in-class solutions and partners, Foundry Networks has been chosen to play a key role in the development and deployment of their next generation network infrastructure. The BigIron RX Series offers a compelling and powerful solution for enterprise and service provider customers requiring a future-ready solution for high performance, high density and high availability network infrastructure," continued Schiff.