D-Link Targets SMBs With New Line of Gigabit Smart Switches

The switches are aimed at bringing switch features to SMBs that have until now available only to larger enterprises. The switches' management features include network monitoring and troubleshooting, port configuration, VLAN traffic control, port trunking for increased bandwidth, and Class of Service (CoS) for traffic prioritization, all available via a Web interface. Pluggable (SFP) GBIC slots for fiber Gigabit Ethernet modules provide optional fiber connectivity to enable secure, long distance connections between switches.

The switches also include auto-discovery software for simple installation and configuration. The software can automatically discover up to 254 Web Smart Switches within a network for configuration, making for easier network upgrades, monitoring, and troubleshooting.

The switches work out of the box as unmanaged switches, and allow management features to be enabled or disabled on an as-needed basis.

The D-Link introduction is one in a recent blizzard of networking products released for the SMB market. Cisco, Netgear, Proxim, and McAfee, among others, have released products targeted at the growing market. According to Cisco, the market for SMB networking is $10 billion today, and growing at a compound annual rate of 15 to 20 percent.