Cabletron changes course, introduces first router family

Washington, D.C.

Cabletron Systems, Inc. last week made its first foray into the routing world.

Using technology it recently acquired from YAGO Systems, Inc., the company introduced the Smart-Switch router family, which should help Cabletron users build next-generation backbones. The routers will also help the company more effectively compete with market leaders Cisco Systems, Inc., Bay Networks, Inc. and 3Com Corp. Cabletron previously built networks relying on its SmartSwitch hubs and switches and SecureFast software. The SmartSwitch router family consists of two boxes, an eight-slot Model 8000 and a 16-slot Model 16000. Both boxes are rebranded versions of YAGO's MultiLayer Switch Router 8000. The eight-slot SmartSwitch Router 8000 delivers 15 million packet/sec and supports up to 14 Gigabit Ethernet ports and 56 10/100 Ethernet ports.

The 16-slot model delivers 30 million packet/sec and supports up to 30 Gigabit Ethernet ports and 120 10/100 Ethernet ports.

"Cabletron's SmartSwitch routers are fast because they employ a chip created by YAGO engineers that's designed to do routing tasks," said Glenn Gabriel Ben-Yosef, president of Clear Thinking Research, Inc., in Boston. "Things are run in the hardware at wire speed, as opposed to the software." Both boxes run SecureFast, the software that controls the routers and tells the switch how to route, perform Layer 3 switching and link virtual LANs. SecureFast also supports policy, accounting and directory services. The YAGO connection

Experts have been critical of SecureFast in the past, saying it was proprietary - which made it difficult for users to mix and match Cabletron devices in a multivendor environment.

But because Cabletron has had a 25% interest in YAGO for the past year, Cabletron engineers have been working with YAGO engineers to make sure SecureFast will work with the new Smart-Switch routers. In fact, Cabletron says SecureFast has been standards-compliant since November. Cabletron also will produce an integrated management module for Spectrum, its network management software, which will let users manage the routers. Cabletron plans to add ATM, frame relay and other WAN modules in the second half of this year. Prices for the new SmartSwitch routers begin at $499 per port. The Model 8000 is expected to ship in the second quarter and the 16000 in the second half of the year. Cabletron can be reached at (603) 332-9400.

Margret Johnston of the IDG News Service's Washington, D.C. bureau contributed to this story.