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Interactive scorecard and NetResults: Switches

Network World Fusion, 04/16/01/01

Every network is unique. This calculator lets you change the weights given to scores from our review to see how this product might be best suited for your needs.

Here's how it works:
New scoring for reviews
As of Jan. 8, Network World has switched its scoring scale. We will now score products on a scale of 1 to 5, rather than 1 to 10. We feel that scoring on a 1 to 5 range would be more easily understood than previous methods. As it relates to school grades, the new scoring would establish 1=D, 2=C, 3=B, 4=A. A score of 5 would be the exceptional score - a scholastic equivalent would be scoring an A in an honors class.

For each category below, assign the percentage weight you think is most appropriate. The percent-o-meter box on the right will keep track of your weightings to let you know when you've reached 100%. When you fill in the last box, hit your enter key, and you'll see how the apps rate (along with our final score for comparison).

Percent-
o-meter

Category	Our weight	Your weight
Link aggregation	25%	%
Failover	25%	%
QoS handling	25%	%
Baseline forwarding	12.5%	%
Baseline latency	12.5%	%

Results table

Below, you'll find the 1-5 score given to each app by our reviewers. To obtain the final score: Multiply each individual score by the weighting given that category, then add up all those resulting numbers.

Catalyst 6509 Black Diamond 6808 Passport 8610

Link aggregation 4 2 2

Failover 5 2 1

QoS handling 5 2 2

Baseline forwarding 4 4 4

Baseline latency 4 4 4

Our total 4.50 2.50 2.25

YOUR TOTAL

Scoring key:
5: Exceptional showing in this category. Defines the standard of excellence;
4: Very good showing. Although there may be room for improvement, this product was much better than average;
3: Average showing in this category. Product was neither especially good nor exceptionally bad;
2: Below average. Lacked some features or lower performance than other products, or than was expected;
1: Considerably subpar, or lacking features being reviewed.

NetResults

Catalyst 6509
RATING: 4.50
COMPANY: Cisco, (408) 526-7208
COST: $97,965 as tested
PROS: Best link aggregation and QoS by far; a solid performer.
CONS: Not quite line rate; 16-port cards are blocking.

Black Diamond 6808
RATING: 2.50
COMPANY: Extreme Networks, (408) 579-2800
COST: $104,750 as tested
PROS: High throughput; low latency with single links.
CONS: Link aggregation seriously degrades performance.

Passport 8610 Routing Switch
RATING: 2.25
COMPANY: Nortel Networks, (905) 863-0000
COST: $74,715 as tested
PROS: Low price.
CONS: Doesn't support multiple concurrent trunks; failover using OSPF.

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