NEW YORK - Cabletron spinoff Enterasys Networks yesterday launched a series of high-end switches, its first products as a separate company.
The Matrix E7 is aimed at high-end enterprise customers and service providers such as ISPs and application service providers (ASP). The Matrix switches will eventually replace Cabletron's existing SmartSwitches.
Brady Cole, product manager at Enterasys, says customers can expect performance and scalability improvements with the Matrix series.
The Matrix E7, the first product in the series, has a modular design that can accommodate more than 500 Ethernet or Fast Ethernet ports and more than 80 Gigabit Ethernet ports in a single chassis, with a switching throughput of more than 100 million packets per second.
The E7 also has Layer 2 through 7 switching features. Cole says it is designed to support existing and future business needs, including voice over IP, e-commerce, enterprise resource planning applications and call center management.
Colin Hay, an analyst with Gartner Group, says Enterasys should have a good chance of succeeding in the enterprise because Cabletron has always had strong service and support to back up its products.
Enterasys' Cole says the E7 will begin shipping in volume by mid-April. The E7 has modular pricing - the chassis is $6,995; power supplies are $1,995 each; and switching modules are priced at $12,995 each. Each chassis can accommodate up to seven switching modules.
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