July 5, 2006 Munich -- Allied Telesis, formerly Allied Telesyn, has extended its portfolio of uplink modules with the launch of the AT-SPFX family, its new range of Fast Ethernet fiber-optic modules. The AT-SPFX transceivers provide what the company claims is industry-standard 100BaseFX uplink capability in a small form-factor pluggable (SFP) format, eliminating the need for customers to purchase proprietary equipment to provide a 100-Mbit/sec fiber uplink. In addition, the AT-SPFX family enables the switch to support either 100- or 1000-Mbit/sec operation.

Until now, no industry-standard SFP format for older switches has been available, say company representatives, forcing customers that needed a 100-Mbit/sec uplink to buy vendor-specific, fixed-format equipment, which often were more expensive than the SFP itself. The AT-SPFX family solves this problem by delivering the flexibility and compatibility of the industry-standard 100BaseFX format in a small footprint, making it easier and more cost effective for customers to build or expand their network and facilitate service operations, says the company.

"Allied Telesis' AT-SPFX SFPs are compatible with the AT-8000S and AT-9924SP switches, among others, while helping to drive forward a more universal standard for small form factor pluggables," notes Melvyn Wray, senior vice president of marketing for Allied Telesis' EMEA Division. "In addition, the AT-SPFX's ability to provide 100-Mbit/sec connectivity to a Gigabit switch enables our customers to better leverage their existing hardware investments while enhancing their network performance."