Extreme set to roll out thin Layer 3 switch

SANTA CLARA - Extreme Networks this week will introduce a thin Layer 3 switch designed to give customers routing and switching capabilities for workgroup applications, plus a new network security feature.

In addition to being half the size of Extreme's existing 10/100 Ethernet switch, the 48-port Summit48si runs a new version of ExtremeWare software that adds support for the IEEE 802.1X security protocol, which lets administrators require a user to log on before using a switch port.

The Summit48si is 1.75-inches high and features dual redundant, hot-swappable power supplies. The switch has two Gigabit Ethernet uplinks and differs from the Summit48i, which also features 48 10/100 Ethernet ports, but has four Gigabit Ethernet uplinks. Extreme says that a small percentage of its users required those uplinks - which were there primarily for redundancy - and removing them let it reduce the size of the box by half.

The Summit48si can perform full Layer 3 routing, including multicast, and provide guaranteed quality of service at wire speed. The switch uses the vendor's Inferno processors for hardware acceleration of routing and most other functions.

The Extreme 48si competes with Layer 3 switches from Foundry Networks, Cisco, Nortel, 3Com and Dell. The switch is designed to sit in a wiring closet.

Available now, the 48si starts at $5,800.