8 Hot New Switches Storm The Market

Just two months into 2008, a wealth of new switches has come forth, ranging from big to small and from the data center to the SMB. This storm of activity is aptly captured by Juniper Networks, releasing its EX line of enterprise Ethernet switches known by the code name "Hurricane."

But Juniper is not alone. Cisco, SMC, Force10 and ProCurve have also unleashed new switches. So, grab your raincoat and take a look.

CISCO'S NEXUS 7000 SERIES: A SWITCHING SUPERMAN

Saying Cisco Systems' new Nexus 7000 series of data center switches is faster than a speeding bullet could be a bit of an understatement. The Nexus 7000 is a highly scalable modular platform that offers 15 terabits per second of switching capacity in a single chassis, supports up to 512 10 Gbps Ethernet and in the future will deliver 40 and 1000 Gbps Ethernet.

The high capacity switch, according to Cisco, is fast enough to download 90,000 Netflix movies in less than 39 seconds or send a high-resolution two-megapixel photo to everyone on earth in 28 minutes, without having to call.

JUNIPER'S EX 3200: THE FORECAST CALLS FOR A TWISTER

For months the industry's worst kept secret, Juniper's EX 3200, boasts 24- and 48-port configurations for network access with plug-and-pay 10/100/1000BASE-T connectivity. The fixed-configuration Ethernet platform is perfect to kick up some dust as a standalone solution for regional, branch and corporate locations. The EX 3200 has optional four-port Gigabit Ethernet and two-port 10 GbE uplink modules with pluggable optics to support high-speed connections to other switches or routers. The field-replaceable power supply and fan tray lowers mean time to repair.

The EX 3200, available in full and partial PoE, is expected to start kicking up dust as a standalone solution for regional, branch and corporate locations. With a base price of $4,000, the EX 3200 will certainly get a storm brewing when it becomes available in March.

JUNIPER'S EX 4200: BOARD UP THE (VIRTUAL) WINDOWS

Second in Juniper's Hurricane switching line is the stackable EX 4200 with Virtual Chassis Technology. Like its little brother the EX 3200, the EX 4200 brings gale force connectivity with 24- and 48-port 10/100/1000BASE-T and full or partial PoE and optional GbE and 10 GbE uplink modules, plus a 24-port fiber switch offering 100/1000BASE-X support.

The Virtual Chassis technology allows for up to 10 EX 4200 series switches to interconnect over a 128 Gbps backplane, creating a single virtual switch supporting up to 480 10/100/1000BASE-T ports and up to 40 GbE or 20 10 GbE uplink ports. Add to the mix high-availability features like redundant, hot-swappable internal power supplies and field-replaceable, multi-blower fan trays for maximum uptime and it's time to batten down the hatches and let the connectivity swirl.

JUNIPER'S EX 8200: A HURRICANE'S A-BLOWIN'

Last, but certainly not least for Juniper, is its EX 8200 line of data center switches for high-performance and high-density 10GbE core and aggregation deployments. The two switches in this series, the EX 8208 (back left in photo) and the EX 8216 (back right in photo), offer high, wirespeed 10 GbE port densities. The 8208 is an eight-slot 1.6 Terabit chassis with 64 ports, while the 8216 is a 16-slot 3.2 Terabit chassis with 128 ports.

Two fully-equipped 8216 switches will fit in a 42-unit rack and offer 256 wire-speed 10 GbE ports per rack, a storm strong enough to overturn your pickup truck.

SMC'S SMCFS26: HITS THE SMB SWEET SPOT

SMC Networks has rolled out the latest Ethernet switch to its EZSwitch family. The SMCFS26 24-port 10/100 standalone unmanaged switch has two Gigabit ports and is ideal at the center of a small network or at the edge of a large one. The new SMC offering features auto-MDIX to reduce installation complexity while eliminating the need for straight-through and cross-over cabling for connecting PCs and other networked devices.

With a price point of $159, the switch is ideal for desktop or rack-mount placement, giving SMBs an affordable option at about $7 per port.

SMC'S TIGERSWITCH: MAKE HIGH-DENSITY GROWL

Along with introducing its SMB lamb, SMC's SMCFS26 switch, the Irvine, Calif.-based vendor also hit the market this week with a high-capacity lion, or maybe tiger is a better term. The SMC TigerSwitch 24-port 10/100/1000 Managed Switch (SMC8124PL2) incorporates a PoE and an IP clustering solution, meaning as many as 32 switches can be clustered, making 1664 available ports manageable as one system.

The 24-port beast with two combo ports and PoE is shipping now and available for a penny less than $1,200.

FORCE10'S C150: A MONSTER IN THE DATA CENTER

Force10 Networks introduced its C150 resilient switch and a high-density 8-port line-rate 10 Gigabit Ethernet line card to give enterprises a highly reliable switching option for the data center. An extension of the San Jose, Calif.-based vendor's C-Series family of switches, the C150 is a four-slot switch that supports 192 line-rate Gigabit and 32 line-rate 10 GbE ports. It also supports full 15.4W PoE across all 192 GbE ports and features a power management system for per-port prioritization. The $16,500 data center monster supports 96 Gigabits per second per slot and delivers non-blocking guaranteed line-rate throughput to ensure performance regardless of traffic conditions.

The C150 runs FTOS, a modular operation system that can isolate and protect individual processes like switching, routing and management functions to ensure more predictable performance.

PROCURVE'S 2610: OUT WITH THE OLD

As a replacement for its popular 2600 series of switches, ProCurve Networking by HP, Palo Alto, Calif., has released the ProCurve Switch 2610 series, comprising five switches. The 2610-24 and 2610-40 provide 24 and 48 ports of 10/100 connectivity. The 2610-24/12PWR, 2610-24-PWR and 2610-48-PWR (pictured) are IEEE 802.3af compliant for PoE and provide up to 15.4W for 12, 24 and 48 ports. The 2610-24/12PWR has 24 10/100 ports and provides 12 ports of PoE. All switches in the series include two 10/100/1000BASE-T ports and two mini-GBIC slots for Gigabit uplink connectivity.

An optional redundant external power supply is available for redundancy in the event of a power failure. The 2610 features static routing, robust security and management features and ProCurve's free lifetime warranty and software updates, making the 2610 series a cost-effective solution for building converged enterprise edge networks.