Foundry launches 10G line

Foundry Networks is launching the new year with several high-end network switch/router announcements: two new application switches, introduced earlier this month, along with the expected announcement of a new Ethernet edge router with multiterabit switching capacity and high-density 10G interfaces.

The ServerIron GT boxes will add speed and higher-level, packet-switching intelligence to data centers that host corporate application servers, or for large Web server farms, Foundry says. The Ethernet router, called the NetIron MLX, is aimed at service-provider networks delivering Ethernet-based services, or businesses with carrierlike bandwidth and network resiliency needs, according to the company.

"The MLX will play in both enterprise and service-provider markets," says Bobby Johnson, Foundry CEO. "Carriers would use the MLX in Metro Ethernet networks to provide MPLS, and Layer 2 and Layer 3 services. . . . [The switch] can act as a high-performance cluster fabric switch in the enterprise, or as an enterprise data-center or server-farm switch."

To continue reading, register here and become an Insider. You'll get free access to premium content from CIO, Computerworld, CSO, InfoWorld, and Network World. See more Insider content or sign in.

Foundry Networks is launching the new year with several high-end network switch/router announcements: two new application switches, introduced earlier this month, along with the expected announcement of a new Ethernet edge router with multiterabit switching capacity and high-density 10G interfaces.

The ServerIron GT boxes will add speed and higher-level, packet-switching intelligence to data centers that host corporate application servers, or for large Web server farms, Foundry says. The Ethernet router, called the NetIron MLX, is aimed at service-provider networks delivering Ethernet-based services, or businesses with carrierlike bandwidth and network resiliency needs, according to the company.

"The MLX will play in both enterprise and service-provider markets," says Bobby Johnson, Foundry CEO. "Carriers would use the MLX in Metro Ethernet networks to provide MPLS, and Layer 2 and Layer 3 services. . . . [The switch] can act as a high-performance cluster fabric switch in the enterprise, or as an enterprise data-center or server-farm switch."

The new ServerIron GT switches include dual 10G Ethernet ports for aggregating large amounts of server links. They also are capable of reading data inside packets at Layer 4-7, allowing applications to be switched to servers that are the most available to process the traffic, among other capabilities, Foundry says.

Click to see: Foundry's ServerIron GT switch

The ServerIron GT C Series switch includes two slots - one for holding a dual-port 10G Ethernet line card, with another expansion slot available for an optional SSL acceleration card. The SSL acceleration card can be used to offload encryption of SSL-protected traffic flows, such as secure remote Web e-mail, SSL VPN links or e-commerce transactions. The E series switch is built almost identically to the C series, but includes a second expansion slot for another SSL blade or another two-port 10G blade.

Foundry says the switch also acts as a security device. By inspecting traffic at Layer 4, it can detect anomalies in standard TCP/IP protocol handshakes, which could be a potential denial-of-service attack, such as a ping flood or other TCP-based attacks. Layer 7 traffic inspection lets the device detect and cut off application-layer threats, such as HTTP-based attacks, or known attack methods that target specific applications.

The ServerIron GT switches compete with pure Layer 4-7 switches, such as Cisco's CSS line of content boxes, Crescendo, F5's Big-IP, Nortel's Alteon switch products, as well as content switches from Radware. Other Web front-end products that have Layer 4-7 switch capabilities include Citrix's Netscaler switches, Juniper's Redline-based application appliances and devices from Coyote Point.

The C series and E series ServerIron GT switches cost $40,000 and are expected to be available next month. SSL modules cost $10,000 for a single-processor card and $17,000 for a dual-chip card. On the heels of its ServerIron GT launch, Foundry is expected to launch a carrier-focused Ethernet edge router, designed for service providers delivering Ethernet-based broadband services.