10 Gigabit Ethernet access switches tested

Readers of this newsletter will no doubt be keenly interested in Network World's latest testing roundup - an extensive set of tests on 10 Gigabit Ethernet access switches that pit top vendors against each other. Not only did the reviewers find a winner, but they also found design flaws in two standards.

Cisco came out with the highest score, although if you look at the scorecard something is bound to jump out at you right away. Cisco's Catalyst 3750E-48PD-EF Series Switch might have earned 4.49 out of 5, but the price listed is more than twice as much as any other product in the test, including the one sitting right next to it on the scorecard, the HP ProCurve Switch 3500yl, which scored 4.46.

The author explains in the comments that the testers refrained from evaluating based on price - basically because list prices are meaningless. You may end up paying something far different. So the reviews focus on performance and features. You can take the test findings, evaluate the products on the features that are most important to you, and then go to a seller to negotiate price.

Anonymous commenters also pointed out that big names like 3Com and Nortel were left out, but as Christine Burns, Executive Editor of Testing, says, Network World asked those companies to participate and they declined. Still, the test has value to anyone considering a purchase of this kind of equipment.

As I mentioned, the tests also revealed two design flaws in standards. Authentication standard IEEE 802.1X had a problem when multiple clients were attached to the same port, as they might be through a hub attached to the switch port. The standard only provides for allowing or denying access through a port. Some vendors get around this by granting or denying access for each MAC address, but others don't.

The other flaw that was discovered was in IETF RFC 3918, the standard for the test methodology for measuring IP multicast performance. However, the author acknowledges that this condition is only likely in a lab environment.

Check out the full tests if you haven't already. It's one of the most thorough tests on 10 Gigabit Ethernet switches in some time, and it's only on Network World.