Enterasys Takes Aim At Midmarket

The Matrix V2 can classify Layer 2, Layer 3 and Layer 4 traffic, providing the Quality of Service (QoS) capabilities required to support applications such as voice- or video-over-IP, said Stanley Stevens, product marketing manager for Matrix V-series switches at Enterasys, Andover, Mass.

The switch also includes advanced security features, such as support for 802.1x and media access control (MAC) port locking authentication, and was designed for easy deployment and management, Stevens said.

"We've been begging for this switch for a while now, so we're glad it's here," said Amir Sohrabi, executive vice president of Managed Solutions Planning Xperts, a solution provider based in Arlington, Va. "It's something we really needed to have to compete with Cisco [Systems] and some of the 3Com offerings out there," he said.

The 24-port 10/100Base-TX switch can be used alone or stacked with seven other switches to offer up to 192 ports, providing more flexibility to both partners and customers, Stevens said.

It also includes two expansion slots for Gigabit Ethernet uplink connections or stacking modules.

"Most of our competitors provide switches that are either stand-alone or stackable. If the customer decides at some point they've outgrown [the switch], they have to take it out and put in a new one," Stevens said.

The new switch competes against Cisco's Catalyst 2950 switch line, as well as Nortel's BayStack 450-24T and 3Com's SuperStack 3 4400 switches, he said.

The launch of the Matrix V2 likely ushers in the phaseout of Enterasys' Vertical Horizon line of low-end switches over the next several months, Stevens said. The Vertical Horizon 2402 switch carries the same list price as the Matrix V2 but doesn't include the classification, security or management features that the new product offers, he said.

Available now, Matrix V2 comes in two models: a base unit priced at $1,195 and a bundle that includes the base unit and two 1000BaseT uplinks for $1,295.