MARCH 1, 2010 -- Force10 Networks Inc. has announced the availability of a new 40-port 10-Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE) line-card for its ExaScale virtualized core switch/router platform. The new line card increases the density of the ExaScale E1200 virtualized core switch/router to 560 10GbE ports in a single half-rack chassis, which the company asserts is a new industry record.
The ExaScale’s line rate and oversubscribed 10GbE ports capabilities ensure customers can support high-density connectivity as well as true non-blocking operations where required, the company says. Force10’s 40-port 10 GbE line-card can aggregate more devices per card, ultimately leaving more chassis space available for future growth while also allowing IT architects to reduce the complexity of the network, the company adds.
“In less than one year, Force10 has outpaced market leaders such as Cisco Systems in delivering a robust and industry-leading density core switch/router platform with a wide range of line-card interfaces and performance characteristics,” says Zeus Kerravala, senior vice president, Yankee Group. “Customers need a broad interface and line-card portfolio to balance cost-effectiveness with performance and scale in data center networks.”
“When evaluating network infrastructure solutions, we have always considered the density and performance numbers provided by most vendors to be ‘perfect world’ scenarios that are rarely realized after deployment,” said John Lowell Wofford, manager of HPCC at the Center for Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, Columbia University Medical Center. “However, as a Force10 customer, we’ve seen first-hand how their claims are consistently backed up by the performance of their solutions. We anticipate these new 40-port 10GbE line cards will merit our serious consideration to cost-effectively build and maintain our data center.”
The company also believes the enhanced port density will enable Force10’s partners to provide customers with significant operational value, enabling each organization to effectively balance its performance and cost targets.
“The high density 10 GbE connectivity provided by the ExaScale platform helps IBM give its customers enterprise cloud computing and data center infrastructure solutions that are more cost-effective and energy efficient,” said Wendy McGee, director, HPC and iDataPlex, IBM. “Combining the IBM BladeCenter, iDataPlex, and System x rackmount servers with Force10’s power and space-saving ExaScale switch/router helps clients reduce costs and alleviate operational issues.”
Pricing for the 40-port 10GbE line-card starts at $97,500. The product will begin shipping in the 2nd quarter of 2010.
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