INTERCONNECTS

Foundry Networks, a performance and total solutions leader for end-to-end switching and routing, today announced aggressive new pricing for many of its 10-gigabit Ethernet (10-GE) products and accessories. The new prices will enable customers to take advantage of 10-GE performance and enjoy the cost benefits of migrating to this next level of networking. As the network edge migrates to “gigabit over copper” (GoC) connectivity, it is becoming increasingly important that the network be able to aggregate this capacity effectively. Network designs that rely on gigabit connectivity from the edge to the backbone can lead to bandwidth bottlenecks starving vital business applications, including voice and video over IP, of the capacity required for high quality application performance. Foundry’s 10-GE switches eliminate this bottleneck delivering the benefits of 10-GE at prices that make it the right investment choice for network planners. The 10-gigabit Ethernet ports on Foundry products support pluggable XENPAK or XFP transceivers providing flexibility in connecting to a range of media types including CX4 copper, multimode fiber and single mode fiber. In the case of other vendors’ solutions, the high price of these transceivers has caused end users to delay their 10-GE purchases. Foundry’s 10-GE pricing initiative removes this hurdle by dramatically reducing the pricing of these transceivers. For example, Foundry has reduced the pricing of its short reach XFP optics (up to 300 meters over multimode fiber) by 60% to $1,245 (US list) and of its short reach XENPAK optics by 40% to $2,495 (US list). This pricing is the lowest in the industry and reflects the market’s growing volume of 10-GE shipments. Foundry’s 10-GE product families include the EdgeIron family of stackable layer 2 switches, FastIron Workgroup X-series layer 2 fixed configuration switches, FastIron Edge X-series layer 2/3 fixed configuration switches, the recently introduced FastIron SuperX compact modular layer 2/3 switch, the BigIron MG8 layer 2/3 backbone switch and the NetIron family of multiservice routers for service providers. 10-GE port prices start as low as $1,250 (US list) for the 8-port EdgeIron 8x10G. “We’re seeing a growing need for more cost-effective 10 gigabit Ethernet solutions,” said Bob Schiff, vice president of product marketing at Foundry Networks. “Gigabit Ethernet is fast becoming the standard for new edge deployments. These high speed ports are helping to fuel new applications and, in turn, are creating greater demand on the network. Additionally, data center applications are continuing to evolve and expand – e.g., high-density HPC, multimedia applications, storage over IP – driving increased bandwidth requirements. These pricing initiatives will help our customers meet their growing bandwidth needs at prices that will allow them to easily cost-justify and quickly benefit from the power of 10 gigabit Ethernet.” The 10-GE price per port for Foundry’s 10-GE products and the pricing for the XFP and XENPAK pluggable transceivers are shown in the following table: Product Family Network Applications 10-GE Port Price (US list) EdgeIron 24GS & 48GS Workgroup, Access, HPC $1,995 (1-port module) EdgeIron 8x10G Aggregation, HPC $1,250 (8-port stackable) FastIron Workgroup X-series Access, HPC, Metro $2,750 (2-port module) FastIron Edge X-series Access, Aggregation, Metro $2,750 (2-port module) FastIron SuperX Access, Aggregation, Backbone, HPC $3,000 (2-port module) BigIron MG8 Aggregation, Backbone, HPC $4,250 (8-port module) NetIron 40G Aggregation, Metro Core $6,250 (4-port module) XFP 10-GE Pluggable Transceivers: Transceiver Price (US list) 10G-XFP-SR 850 nm optics, 300 meter reach over multimode fiber $1,245 10G-XFP-LR 1310 nm optics, 10 km reach over single mode fiber $2,495 10G-XFP-ER 1550 nm optics, 40 km reach over single mode fiber $9,995 XENPAK 10-GE Pluggable Transceivers: Transceiver Price (US list) 10G-XNPK-SR 850 nm optics, 300 meters over multimode fiber $2,495 10G-XNPK-LR 1310 nm optics, 10 km reach over single mode fiber $3,495 10G-XNPK-ER 1550 nm optics, 40 km reach over single mode fiber $9,995 10G-XNPK-CX4 15 meters over CX4 copper cable $995 10G-XNPK-LX4 WWDM optics, 300 meters over FDDI-grade fiber $4,995