25 Must-See New Products At Interop 2009

Interop Las Vegas kicks off Monday at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center. As North America's largest business technology event, Interop has become the be-all-and-end-all event to catch up on the latest and greatest gear -- whether it be wireless access points or storage equipment. Hundreds of vendors will converge on the show floor to display their wares, proving that economic uncertainty has done little to stifle tech innovation.



Here is a sneak peek at 25 hot, new products that will make their public debut at Interop as it runs May 18 through May 21 in Las Vegas.



Shown here is the entrance to the exhibit hall at Interop Las Vegas 2008, courtesy of Interop.

Adtran will unveil a new set of switches, the NetVanta 1544 family, on the Interop show floor. The new line of Layer 3, Gigabit aggregation switches includes Fibre, PoE and non-PoE models. The NetVanta 1544 family bridges the gap between 1 Gbps and 10 Gbps to hit midmarket enterprises looking for higher bandwidth aggregation hardware at an affordable price point.

Force 10 Networks is set to pull the curtain up on the ExaScale E600 virtualized switch/router. This monster delivers 10/100/1000Base-T density for midsize chassis and has the ability to cut power consumption by up to 70 percent per port, the industry's lowest consumption rate.

Xirrus will announce the Rapid Deployment Wi-Fi Array Kit. The kit, aimed at disaster response, temporary events or conference applications, is an on-the-spot Wi-Fi network when and where it's needed. The $4,999 kit includes an XS4 (4-radio) Wi-Fi array, supporting up to 256 users with a single cable drop; an XP-MSI power injector; an XE-2500 snap-on cover for weather protection; a 100-foot CAT 5E cable; a mounting tripod; and two industrial-strength carrying cases.

At Interop, Infoblox plans to unveil the Infoblox PortIQ appliance, a box that offers visibility into switch port usage for network capacity planning, security investigations and troubleshooting.

The PortIQ appliance helps network admins identify the physical port associated with every connected device and get reports on network port utilization. In addition, the ability to quickly locate where devices are connected increases security and eases troubleshooting efforts, which ultimately boils down to operational cost savings.

The Infoblox PortIQ appliance is now available on the Infoblox-1050-A, 1550-A and 1552-A appliance platforms. Pricing for the PortIQ appliance with the IPAM connector for an Infoblox grid, which synchronizes data to the Infoblox IPAM system, starts at $14,845 in the U.S. on the Infoblox-1050-A. Pricing for the PortIQ appliance with the capacity management application (includes the IPAM connector) starts at $32,495 in the U.S. on the Infoblox-1050-A.

Astaro will debut the Astaro Web Gateway, a virtual appliance that offers integrated URL filtering, malware detection, instant messaging and peer-to-peer application control, as well as bandwidth optimization to secure Web access. Other key features of the Astaro Web Gateway include HTTPS, HTTP and FTP scanning; dual antivirus engines; active directory/e-directory integration; and clustering capabilities, which gives SMBs an all-in-one Web security solution.

SEH is taking printing to new levels at Interop with the unveiling of the ISD400 for enterprises. The ISD400 can handle up to 150 printers and 450 users. The 19-inch device is designed for operation in server racks, offering high availability of all printing services by taking over the complete print-spooling function in a network-printing environment. By taking over spooling functions, the SEH ISD400 device eases management of print jobs and queues, secures network printing and relieves existing server resources and network traffic load.

ATEN Technology will show off its new Touch Screen LCD KVM (KL3116T), a touch-screen, dual-rail LCD KVM switch that offers secure access to up to 16 servers with support for either USB or PS/2 in a 1U rack configuration. The new touch-screen model is ATEN's latest addition to its lineup of rack-mount LCD KVM solutions and is part of its ALTSUEN product line.

NEXCOM will use Interop as the launching pad for its next-generation network security appliance, the NSA 7110, a 2U 19-inch, rack-mount platform that supports the latest Intel 5520 series, the Tylersburg memory control hub and the Intel ICH10R I/O controller. The NSA 7110 supports a host of IP network applications: firewall, VPN, network load balance, network bandwidth management, antivirus, mail filter and more.

The box supports up to 24GB DDRIII system memory with six memory sockets, four swappable HDD trays, two swappable system-cooling fans and three independent LAN module bays.

At Interop, Blade Network Technologies will showcase its new 10 Gigabit Ethernet switch, a converged networking switch for blade servers. The Blade FCoE-ready 10 Gigabit Ethernet Blade Service Switch is a new 24-port, 10 Gigabit Ethernet or 1 Gigabit/10 Gigabit Ethernet switch that lets enterprises deploy open unified networks. It offers a single network fabric for data and storage (FCoE or iSCSI), 100 Gbps of data center connectivity and up to 480 Gbps of low-latency bi-directional throughput designed for cloud computing.

Mellanox Technologies will publicly debut the ConnectX ENt Dual-Port10GBASE-T Network Interface Card (NIC), a dual-port adapter card for PCIe 2.0. The card offers high throughput, low latency and high availability with lower power to accelerate the data center. The ConnectX ENt supports leading virtualization acceleration features like NetQueue and SR-IOV and I/O consolidation fabrics with Data Center Bridging fabric enhancement and FCoE.

Interop Las Vegas will see APCON introduce a new technology that aims to change network monitoring strategies. The company will unveil an aggregation and filtering solution called INTELLAFLEX, a packet aggregator blade that works in conjunction with its INTELLAPATCH Series 3000 switching chassis (shown).





The company will also demonstrate TITAN EnterPoint, its centralized software solution for managing network-monitoring activity.

Napatech plans to launch and demonstrate the first product in a new family of in-line network analysis adapters at Interop. The NT20E In-Line Adapter is an intelligent real-time network adapter that offers full line-rate processing, analysis and transmission of 10-Gbps data with zero packet loss.







The NT20E also includes advanced features for further off-loading CPUs, such as packet and flow classification, balanced multi-CPU traffic processing on up to 32 cores and extensive filtering features. The NT20E In-Line is suited for 10-Gbps applications that require hardware acceleration with maximum throughput and minimal CPU load. A software suite is provided to allow quick and easy integration of the NT20E In-Line supporting Linux, FreeBSD or Windows operating systems.

Social productivity software vendor Spigit will unveil its InnovationSpigit 2.0 management platform that helps nurture enterprise innovation with a social networking-style community environment. InnovationSpigit 2.0 lets employees across the company contribute ideas, offer feedback and evaluate concepts to help streamline idea generation and reveal actionable intelligence that fosters more effective and efficient decision-making.

InnovationSpigit 2.0 offers a dynamic, interactive- and multimedia-rich community that builds a fun and collaborative environment through which employees share ideas. It employs game-theory reputation and ranking, currency and asset management, trading markets and incentive and rewards modules to encourage participation.

The tool is available on several deployment options: subscription, perpetual and hosted service.

A10 Networks will introduce the new AX 5200, the highest-performance model in its AX Series Advanced Traffic Manager family. The AX 5200 Application Delivery Controller combines performance, high port density, energy savings and space savings, delivering three million-plus Layer 4 connections per second in a 2U form factor. The box ties in a full suite of application acceleration, optimization, load balancing, networking and security features to boost data-center efficiency while lowering energy and operations costs. The AX 5200 has a max power consumption of just 680 Watts, which can save up to 80 percent in energy costs compared to the competition.

Stampede Technologies at Interop will debut the newest additions to its arsenal of application-acceleration and WAN-optimization products, the new Stampede FX Series 2000 and 4000. The boxes help reduce bandwidth utilization and improve end-user performance in large enterprises. The FX Series 2000 (shown) or 4000 can be deployed as either a single-sided outbound optimization solution or remote software technology, which can be added for a two-sided solution that is able to deliver an optimal bi-directional optimization tool. The bi-directional solution uses Stampede's Client Software, which has multiple, flexible deployment options, including a multiuser client version, which can turn any Windows or Linux PC into a shared acceleration server without having to purchase additional hardware for the remote location.

The single-sided solution can provide 25 percent to 30 percent reduction in downstream bandwidth, while the bi-directional solutions can offer as much as 75 percent reduction in bandwidth in both directions.

Faronics will showcase version 3.2 of its Power Save software, which helps companies reduce operating costs by eliminating computer energy waste. According to Faronics, for every 1,000 computers Power Save is deployed on, companies can save up to $40,000 per year. Power Save software keeps machines running when users need them and powers them down when they are inactive. The software also produces networkwide energy savings reports.







Power Save version 3.2 introduces support for several energy-consumption profiles, improves the software's Wake On LAN capabilities and reporting and adds the ability to wake up a computer via a Web browser.

Ecessa is set to debut ClariLink, an SME WAN link controller with specialized SIP application management for reliability over the WAN. ClariLink enables SIP traffic to be deployed across multiple WAN or service provider networks for redundant link connectivity and automatic real-time fail-over to ensure that call and data sessions remain active in the case of a service provider outage.



ClariLink acts as a front-end controller, managing diverse WAN links and bandwidth capacities to provide a redundant SIP origination and termination solution. IT includes a SIP Proxy, SIP Registration Server and Network Address Translation (NAT) Proxy, which allows SIP traffic to be load-balanced with fail-over among multiple WAN links.

eTelemetry will pull the curtain up on its new Locate product with Virtual Infrastructure Discovery. The box, eTelemetry said, reduces the security risk posed by the proliferation of unmanaged OSes on the network caused by virtualization. Locate helps IT manage virtual machines by automatically mapping virtual infrastructure to real infrastructure and identifying host servers and their locations on the network -- including switch port and name of the person operating each desktop PC.

At Interop, Avocent will unveil its MergePoint Infrastructure Explorer, a solution that lets IT do more with less in the data center by reducing costs and managing rapid change with fewer resources. The solution gives data center managers a way to quickly assess current assets, including power and HVAC utilization, and visualize changes in real-time to accommodate new technology and changes in infrastructure configuration. It integrates with existing and future power and asset management offerings from Avocent and other vendors.

Enterasys will show off its newly integrated Enterasys Wireless Product Suite, formerly known as Siemens HiPath Wireless. The suite is part of the full integration of Enterasys' and Siemens' wired and wireless LAN gear.





At Interop, Enterasys will show off its HiPath Wireless portfolio, which now features new hardware platforms and software features to unify wired and wireless network management and security.







Included in the portfolio are a new enterprise-class dual-radio 802.11 a/b/g access point, the AP2605 (shown) and the new C4110 wireless controller that supports up to 500 APs.

Arista Networks will showcase its new line of 1U 10GBASE-T switches, the Arista 7100T layer 2/3 switches that include 24- and 48-port models. According to Arista, each model offers auto-negotiating 1/10GBASE-T ports with standard RJ-45 connectors and SFP+ uplink ports.

The switches are designed for data center service access and offer backward compatibility with standard Gigabit Ethernet cabling and investment protection as customers migrate from Gigabit to 10 Gigabit Ethernet. The 7000T switches enable virtualization and can accommodate network service integration with the Arista Extensible Operating System. The Arista 7100T switches support 10GBASE-T over CAT 6a cabling up to 100m, but also support CAT 5e and CAT 6 cabling with distances up to 55m.

Aruba Networks will show off its new Virtual Branch Network (VBN) solution, a product set that transparently and securely connects remote users with enterprise applications and resources to simplify the management of branch offices, clinics, home offices and telecommuters while lowering costs. The solution includes new software for data center-based Aruba controllers and three new families of wired and wireless remote access points and branch controllers.







Aruba's VBN offerings comprise the RAP-2 family, equipment no larger than a deck of playing cards for one to five users, featuring an 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi radio and two Ethernet ports; the RAP-5 family, a book-size box that includes five high-speed Ethernet ports, a USB port for broadband 3G cellular modem, encryption and an 802.11n Wi-Fi radio with integrated antennas; and the 600 Branch Office Controller family, designed for small branch offices with up to 256 users, offering WAN connectivity, network attached storage, Gigabit Ethernet, PoE and USB options, along with an integrated 802.11n Wi-Fi radio option.

Data access networking vendor Gigamon will unveil Citrus, a new GUI for its GigaVUE Data Access Switch. According to Gigamon, Citrus requires no downloads and no applets -- users just log on to any Microsoft Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox Web browser for network switch configuration and control. The Citrus GUI also features SSL encryption for secure access from any PC. The new interface also lets network engineers configure switches or ports for maximum efficiency. Citrus' Command Line Interface (CLI) integration lets users apply hundreds and thousands of filters. Through the main connection control window, users can aggregate, filter traffic on ingress and egress ports, and assign and secure specific ports to users.

Brocade is set to continue its data center push with three new product sets designed for advanced application delivery, data center connectivity and enterprise campus network capabilities.







At Interop, Brocade will showcase the TurboIron 24X 10 Gigabit Ethernet top-of-rack switch; ServerIron ADX Series Application Delivery Controllers; and FastIron CX Series of PoE+ switches (shown).







The FastIron CX Series is a compact 1U form factor switch with 24 or 48 10/100/1000 ports and an optional 10 Gigabit Ethernet module for high-performance connectivity. The CX Series is also future-ready PoE+ enabled to deliver 30 Watts of power per port.

MetaGeek will unveil its Wi-Spy 2.4i Bundled with Chanalyzer Lite, a Wi-Fi spectrum analyzer that helps pros and novices match specific interruptive signals on the network to the devices causing them. In addition to standard views, Chanalyzer Lite also provides a 3-D look to better pinpoint interference. The solution is both Windows- and Mac-compatible.