November 3, 2005 Milpitas, CA -- Force10 Networks has increased the 10-Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) density of its TeraScale E-Series to 224 ports per system, with the introduction of a 16-port 10-GbE card designed for the platform.
"Building on its history of networking technology innovation, Force10 is the first to market with a high density solution at a price point designed to accelerate the adoption of 10-GbE in data centers," comments Sachi Sambandan, vice president of engineering at Force10 Networks. "This combination of leading density and performance in a cost-effective chassis configuration will cause network architects to rethink design strategies."
The company says the 16-port 10-GbE card for the TeraScale E-Series allows data center managers to simplify their networks by eliminating the network's access layer, which typically relies on stackable switches to reduce costs.
According to the company, as higher capacity servers generate traffic that is greater than 1 Gbit/sec, a bottleneck is created between the server and switch. The company says that with the 16-port 10-GbE card, data center managers can directly connect to high performance servers to guarantee line-rate throughput between the servers and the TeraScale E-Series. Additionally, the company says that the ability to connect directly to servers enables data center managers to extend the reliability and performance of the TeraScale E-Series platform from the network's core to its edge.
The 10-GbE card, as well as all other TeraScale E-Series cards, can be individually programmed on a per port basis via Command Line Interface. The company says the ability to have both 10-GbE LAN and WAN ports on a single card enables design flexibility and eliminates the need to maintain spares. The 16-port card supports SR, LR, ER, and ZR optics.
The 16-port 10-GbE card for the TeraScale E1200 and E600 will be generally available in December 2005, with a U.S. list price of $57,500. An 8-port 10-GbE card for the TeraScale E300 will be priced at $37,500.