From PC WEEK: Cisco readies 8500 Gigabit features due 4 to 6 weeks later
By Scott Berinato, PC Week Online
04.20.98
Cisco Systems Inc. plans to
announce next week its first
routing switch, the Catalyst
8500. But it won't include
Gigabit Ethernet capabilities
initially.
The 8500 will be offered in
two models--the 8510 and 8540--each of which is
designed for corporations looking to incorporate
routing switch technology on the network
backbone, sources said.
The 8510 and 8540 switches, which will support
5G-bps and 20G-bps capacities, respectively,
include full support for Cisco's IOS software,
NetWare IPX and AppleTalk protocols, as well as
Class Based Queuing and advanced security
capabilities, they said.
The 8510, which Cisco will demonstrate at
NetWorld+Interop in Las Vegas next month, will
enter beta testing in May and ship in June. The
8540 will ship in September, sources said.
But the Gigabit Ethernet capabilities on the 8510
switch will be delayed for at least four to six
weeks after it ships, according to sources. The
delay appears to be the result of problems on the
level of application-specific integrated circuits,
sources said.
The features included in the initial release make
the 8500 more like a traditional switch rather than
one that requires users to adapt their networks to
the new technology, one analyst said.
"What it would do is put a switch in the context of
a real network," said Tom Nolle, an analyst at
CIMI Corp., in Voorhees, N.J.
While pricing for the switches was not available,
Cisco could charge a 30 percent to 35 percent
premium over similar switches from competitors,
for an estimated starting price of $20,000,
sources said.
Bay Networks Inc.'s Accelar 1150 switch, for
example, complete with four Gigabit Ethernet
ports and expansion capabilities for 10/100M-bps
ports, is $14,995.
Cisco officials in San Jose, Calif., would not
comment on unannounced products.
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