Adtran Trumpets Form Factor, Security For Layer 3 Switch Upgrade

Adtran on Wednesday confirmed updates to its managed Layer 3 Ethernet switching products with an eye toward smaller form factors and stronger security for SMBs.

Both new additions, the NetVanta 1534 (listed at $1,545) and NetVanta 1544 (listed at $2,295), are a half-rack width, meaning not only less power consumption per switch, according to Adtran, but also enough physical room for two switches (48 ports total) in a single, standard 19-inch rack space.

Each switch also now comes with a Kensington lock to protect from theft.

Among under-the-hood enhancements, Adtran is including a desktop security auditing feature that uses Microsoft's Network Access Protection (NAP) Protocol to monitor client computers. Another new function, Network Forensics, can map the IP or MAC addresses of devices to their corresponding port location on the switch, and there's also a diagnostics tool for identifying bad fiber splices and other potential network disruptions.

The second-generation NetVanta 1534 offers 24 fixed 10/100/1000 Base-T ports along with two 2.5 Gbps ports and two 1 Gbps SFP (small form-factor pluggable) ports, and among other features can support up to 255 active VLANs.

The NetVanta 1544 also offers 24 fixed 10/100/1000 Base-T ports, and four 2.5-Gbps SFP ports, key for switch aggregation.

Joe Mclean, product manager for the NetVanta line at Adtran, said SMB customers don't often need to jump to 10 Gbps, but aren't often finding Ethernet switch products that offer the opportunity to grow beyond 1 Gbps without paying through the nose.

"Moving over to 10-gig [Gbps] is a very large jolt to the pocket book," he explained. "What this gives to the small- and medium-sized businesses who can't justify a full 10-gig is the ability to go slightly above standard 1-gig, with a very minimal price delta. You can also start at a 2.5-gig and add from there as you grow your bandwidth needs."

The network security conversation with SMB customers is no longer optional, Mclean said, which is why the NetVanta upgrades saw so many new security features.

"These guys don't have good backup policies, and it's easy for someone to get on to their network and destroy a hard drive," he said. "It's something they're opening their eyes to and and that they need to be concerned about. We look at things we can do differentiate ourselves in the small-medium enterprise and this is one place we see value."

The new NetVantas are available now.

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