Adtran Adds PoE To Switch Portfolio

The Huntsville, Ala.-based vendor, known for its line of low-cost access routers, first entered the switch market nearly a year ago with its NetVanta 1000 series of security-enabled Layer 2 24-port managed switches and combo switch-routers -- all-in-one boxes that include switching, routing and security capabilities.

Now the company is rolling out four new Fast Ethernet NetVanta 1224 models that support the IEEE's 802.3af standard for PoE, giving solution providers a product line that can provide in-line power to devices such as VoIP phones, wireless access points and surveillance cameras, said Joe McClain, product manager at Adtran.

"If you're trying to put an access point in the ceiling and you don't have a power outlet there, to bring a contractor in to run power up there can [cost] several thousand dollars," McClain said.

The new models include the NetVanta1224 PoE switch, 1224ST PoE switch with dual Gigabit uplinks, the 1224R PoE switch-router and the 1224STR PoE switch-router with dual Gigabit uplinks.

In addition, Adtran is also unveiling the NetVanta 1524ST, a stackable Layer 2 Gigabit Ethernet edge switch that includes 24 10/100/1000 ports as well as four ports for Gigabit uplink over copper or fiber.

The new products carry price points low enough to entice small-business customers with features that previously were out of reach, said Chad Brush, senior account executive at Digital Connections, Hendersonville, Tenn.

"This is going to allow for us to introduce PoE into smaller companies, and as the products come out and get more attention in the market, I think there will be a lot of larger companies that also look at Adtran," Brush said.

Small businesses are increasingly in the market for PoE capabilities as they roll out VoIP to allow employees to work from home, providing more flexibility and decreasing real estate costs, Brush said.

The new PoE-enabled products provide full power to all 24 ports, a stateful inspection firewall, optional VPN functionality, as well as support for VLANs and Quality of Service. In addition, they also include an Application Layer Gateway that supports Session Initiation Protocol, an emerging VoIP call control standard. The gateway allows SIP traffic to successfully navigate through firewalls.

The NetVanta PoE-enabled switches start at $1,795, while PoE-enabled switch-routers start at $2,195. The new Gigabit Ethernet switch starts at $1,395. All are available now.