Meskwaki Casino Wins Big With Foundry Networks' High-Performance Upgrade

IronView Network Manager and FastIron GS Convergence-Ready Edge Switches Network Iowa's Largest Gaming Casino -- Foundry Networks today announced that Meskwaki Casino, the largest full service casino in the Midwest, has selected its best-of-breed compact Power over Ethernet (PoE) edge switches and network management system as the critical ingredients for their ongoing network upgrade. The FastIron GS Series, a new generation of compact PoE-ready edge switches, enables cost-effective and high-performance convergence at the network's edge. Featuring 10/100/1000 Mbps Ethernet to the desktop and field-upgradeable to support PoE and 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE), the FastIron GS provides Meskwaki Casino with a convergence-ready and scalable solution that eliminates "fork-lift" upgrades in the future. Additionally, Foundry's IronView Network Manager (INM) management application is used in combination with sFlow traffic monitoring, embedded in Foundry switches and routers, and open source security applications, such as Snort, to deliver network-wide security and threat mitigation, without the added cost of ancillary security sensors. "When we decided to upgrade our network, we knew we needed a turnkey solution that we could grow into without requiring us to rip and replace our infrastructure in the future," said Doug Kranig, MIS Director for Meskwaki Casino. "Foundry's FastIron GS coupled with INM not only provides us with a complete security solution to detect and resolve network anomalies on the casino floor, but it also protects our investment because of the seamless and affordable upgrade path to PoE. Since we are a true 24x7 business with tens of millions of dollars at stake, we cannot afford any downtime. This is why Foundry's reputation of providing high quality, reliable and scaleable networking solutions were key factors in our decision." Featuring modular upgradeability for PoE, 10GbE and redundant power in a 1.5U high form, the FastIron GS Series provides businesses like Meskwaki Casino with a flexible and reliable solution for enabling wireless LAN, Voice over IP (VoIP), IP video surveillance and high-speed networking at the network edge. With an inexpensive plug-and-play upgrade, the FastIron GS Series can support up to 48 10/100/1000 Mbps Class 3 PoE ports -- the highest Class 3 PoE port density in its class. "We are happy to have Meskwaki Casino join our growing number of large gaming casino customers benefiting from our convergence-ready and secure networking solutions," said Bob Schiff, vice president and general manager, enterprise business unit for Foundry Networks. "This deployment is an excellent example of how Foundry customers are taking advantage of our advanced switching and management products to implement a total networking solution that features network-wide security to protect and defend critical assets from malicious attacks."