Force10 Networks announced that Equinix, the leading provider of network-neutral data centers and Internet exchange services, has deployed the industry-leading TeraScale E-Series switch/routers in a 10 Gigabit Ethernet upgrade to its Washington, D.C. area Internet Business Exchange (IBX) center, with planned deployments to IBX centers in the New York, Silicon Valley and Chicago areas by the end of 2005. "Many of our customers are experiencing increasingly high volumes of traffic on their networks and will need the capacity 10 Gigabit Ethernet provides to guarantee service on their own networks," said Jay Adelson, chief technology officer of Equinix. "After more than a year of rigorous testing, we chose Force10, which provides a reliable, high density solution with a long lifespan, enabling us to deliver 10 Gig services to our customers without continual network upgrades." More than 200 networks serving over 90% of the world's Internet networks and users operate at Equinix, offering customers the opportunity to choose from numerous network providers and services. The Force10 TeraScale E-Series provides the density and resiliency that Equinix requires to flexibly interconnect these providers. Supporting 672 line-rate Gigabit and 56 line-rate 10 Gigabit Ethernet ports, the TeraScale E-Series provides the high level of scalability Equinix requires to expand its services to meet customer demand. Additionally, the TeraScale E-Series provides the resiliency and traffic monitoring capabilities that enable Equinix to deliver high network availability and rapidly respond to changes in network usage. With Force10's sFlow feature, Equinix can more effectively control and manage network usage while full redundancy of all key components coupled with Force10's hitless failover feature ensures that the TeraScale E-Series continues to process traffic in the event of a component failure. "Equinix earned the reputation as one of the premier providers of Internet exchange services in the world by building a high performance network-neutral infrastructure with the industry's most advanced technology," said Andrew Feldman, vice president of marketing at Force10 Networks. "With the Force10 TeraScale E-Series providing unmatched density and resiliency at the core of its new 10 Gigabit Ethernet upgrade, Equinix is continuing to stay ahead of the competition by deploying the most sophisticated technology available." Equinix operates 15 IBX centers with a total footprint of more than one million square feet in the United States and Asia Pacific, enabling customers to directly interconnect with each other for critical traffic exchange requirements. At Equinix, customers can leverage premium data center services for secure colocation; diverse, reliable and cost-effective IP connectivity; next-generation traffic exchange and peering; and managed outsourced IT infrastructure services for greater control, improved performance and lowered costs for their network and Internet operations. The Force10 TeraScale E-Series leads the industry in density, supporting 672 line-rate Gigabit and 56 line-rate 10 Gigabit Ethernet ports. And with the built-in redundancy of all key components, the TeraScale E-Series ensures maximum network availability. Together, the high density and resiliency of the TeraScale E-Series ensure predictable performance, transforming the network into a strategic and competitive asset.