Nortel pumps up stackables

Nortel earlier this week added a 10/100M bit/sec Ethernet switch to its line of LAN gear and unveiled an operating system intended to unite a stack of different switches.

The BayStack – a name left over from the Bay Networks days – line of stackable switches got a new member, the BayStack 470-24T. This 24-port desktop switch can be stacked eight high, for a total of 196 ports of 10/100 and up to 16 Gigabit Ethernet uplinks (in addition to the stacking ports).

The BayStack switches have some security features built in, like Secure Shell, IEEE 802.1x, RADIUS and SNMPv3.

The new, unifying operating system is called BayStack Operating System Switching Software, or BoSS. It lets you control a stack of different BayStack devices as if they were a single unit, with one IP address. Having a single operating system for these switches reduces complexity and makes upgrading easier, Nortel says.

In addition to working with the new switch, BoSS will work with the BayStack 470-48T, the BayStack Business Policy Switch and the BayStack 460-24T-PWR (which provides power over Ethernet links). It will even work with the BayStack 450, an older switch.

Both the new switch and the new operating system are expected to ship by the end of the month.