LU P550 Cajun Switch announcement [LAN switch for campus backbone]
Monday July 20, 8:29 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
Lucent Technologies Announces Pricing, Availability of
New Layer 3 Routing Functionality for P550 Cajun
Switch
Company Also Announces Price Reductions For All P550 Layer 2-Only
Modules, And Introduces Two New Gigabit Ethernet Modules
MARLBOROUGH, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 20-- Lucent Technologies today
announced pricing and availability of its P550 Cajun Switch with Integrated Routing, consisting of
a new set of multilayer (Layer 2 switching/Layer 3 routing) modules for the company's
high-capacity, fault-tolerant, 10/100/1000 megabits per second (Mbps) Ethernet switch.
At the same time, Lucent announced price reductions of up to 20 percent on its existing P550
Layer 2-only switching modules, driving the per-port prices of 10/100 Mbps Ethernet and Gigabit
Ethernet below $300 and $2,000, respectively, in certain configurations, and also introduced two
new Gigabit Ethernet Layer 2 modules.
The new Integrated Routing functionality for the P550 Cajun Switch delivers up to 18 million
packets per second of scalable IP and IPX routing at wire speed, along with 45.76 gigabits per
second of backplane switching capacity - all in the same highly-reliable, 7-slot, modular chassis.
With two-to-three times the capacity of most other Ethernet switches, and hardware-based traffic
filtering and prioritization, Lucent's P550 Cajun Switch allows network managers to deliver
integrated switching and routing and more bandwidth than ever to growing local area networks
and high-performing desktops.
Designed specifically with the campus backbone in mind, Lucent's P550 Cajun Switch with
Integrated Routing performs the same Layer 3 routing functions as legacy software-based routers,
but at gigabit wire speed. The P550's ''no bottlenecks'' design directs internetwork traffic 10-100
times faster than these more expensive software-based offerings, and provides more scalability
than other next-generation hardware-based routers.
According to Michael Howard, founder and CEO of Infonetics Research, a San Jose,
Calif.-based consulting firm, ''Because the P550 with Integrated Routing incorporates both Layer
2 and Layer 3 functionality in the same chassis, users get the high-performance and scalability of a
10/100/1000 megabits per second Ethernet switch, combined with the power of an IP/IPX
router. Lucent's P550 Cajun Switch allows network managers to implement switching and routing
in their campus LANs where they need it and when they need it in a cost-effective manner.
Lucent has raised the competitive bar in this market segment with this new Layer 3 functionality
and the price reductions of its existing Layer 2 modules.''
''The response we have received to date from our Layer 3 beta customers has been exceptional,''
said Menachem E. Abraham, president of Lucent's Enterprise Infrastructure Products Group.
''We are delivering an extremely competitive product to the market with a robust set of features
and uncompromised reliability, and at the same time offering users wire-speed 10/100 routing
ports that break the $500 per port barrier. We feel the switching and routing capabilities of the
P550 Cajun Switch puts Lucent squarely in a leadership position as the next-generation campus
LANs are designed and built,'' he asserted.
The P550 has played a key role in the network of one of America's most visible and premier
sports and entertainment arenas the United Center in Chicago which was one of the beta test
locations for the P550 Cajun Switch with Integrated Routing. Home of the six-time National
Basketball Association's champion Chicago Bulls and the National Hockey League's Chicago
Blackhawks, the United Center also hosts numerous concerts, ice shows and other family events
annually.
According to Joseph A. Inzerillo, the United Center's technical director, ''Layer 3 switching is the
largest fundamental change to networking since 100 megabits-per-second Ethernet, and the
Lucent implementation is simply second to none. It is easy to forget how revolutionary a product
the Cajun Switch is because the interface is so friendly and intuitive that it is second nature to
configure. The purchasing decision is simple. This product does what no other can at incredible
speeds no contest.''
Product Details
Each P550 Cajun Switch accepts new, multilayer (Layer 2/Layer 3) modules that add 1.5 million
or 3 million packets per second of routing capability for a total of up to 18 million packets per
second. These packets cross an undersubscribed crossbar switching fabric designed to handle as
much traffic as users can deliver, unlike some competing systems which are oversubscribed,
resulting in packet loss or delay. The P550's new ASIC-based Packet Routing Engine performs
classic packet-by-packet routing without resorting to proprietary schemes, making it completely
interoperable with existing standards-based installations. The new multilayer modules are also
completely compatible with the P550's existing Layer 2-only modules, which lets users tailor the
precise proportions of routing and switching performance they require.
In addition to a new multilayer Supervisor Module, users can mix-and-match five new multilay er
media modules for the P550 Cajun Switch with Integrated Routing that can provide up to 12
Gigabit Ethernet ports, 60 fiber Fast Ethernet ports or 72 10/100 Ethernet ports in a single P550
chassis.
The P550 lets managers control network traffic by performing, in hardware, policy IP filtering and
prioritization based on source and/or destination IP address or subnet, Layer 4 TCP/UDP port
number (or choice of other Layer 4 protocol), and IPX filtering and prioritization based on service
name, service type, network numbers and MAC address of the sender. The P550 also delivers
full Quality of Service (QoS) support for multimedia through Resource Reservation Protocol
(RSVP).
The P550 Cajun Switch with Integrated Routing supports the full suite of IP protocols for unicast
(OSPF, RIP and RIP2) and multicast (IGMP, DVMRP, PIM and MOSPF), plus IPX (RIP) at
no extra charge.
Web-Based Network Management
The P550's capacity, scalability and fault tolerance are complemented by its comprehensive,
Web-based network management system that provides point-and-click configuration of the Cajun
Switch's extensive feature set quickly and easily from any frames-capable Web browser.
Additionally, a highly-functional Command Line Interface is available through the P550's front
panel console port, or in-band using Telnet.
NetCare Services
The P550 Cajun Switch with Integrated Routing is supported by Lucent's NetCare Services
organization, a global team of service and support professionals who provide a broad set of
consulting, integration, management and maintenance services for multivendor data and video
networks, voice systems and networks and call centers.
Integrated Routing Availability and Pricing
The P550's new multilayer supervisor and media modules are available now with volume
shipments scheduled to commence within 30 days at the following North American list prices:
----------------------------------------------------------------------
MODEL # DESCRIPTION PRICE
----------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------
P5500R-SW P550 Cajun Switch w/ Integrated Routing
(includes 7-slot chassis, multilayer
Supervisor Module and one 400W power
supply) $14,950
----------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------
M5502R-1000SX-F 2-Port Gigabit Ethernet Module w/
Integrated Routing (850nM) $ 5,750
----------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------
M5502R-1000LX-F 2-Port Gigabit Ethernet Module w/
Integrated Routing (1300nM) $ 7,950
----------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------
M5502R-1000SLX-F 2-Port Long-Distance Gigabit Ethernet
Module w/ Integrated Routing (10Km) $ 8,950
----------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------
M5510R-100FX 10-Port Fiber Fast Ethernet Module w/
Integrated Routing $ 9,950
----------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------
M5512R-100TX 12-Port 10/100 Ethernet Module w/
Integrated Routing $ 5,550
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Layer 2-Only Module Price Reductions
As part of today's announcement, Lucent also disclosed it has
reduced the prices of its Layer 2-only modules, and introduced two new
Gigabit Ethernet Layer 2 modules: a four-port, long-wavelength card
and a four-port, long-distance module. "Our pricing in this area has
been very competitive from day one," Abraham observed, "and we feel
these new price reductions make our already superior price/performance
even more compelling for customers." The P550's new Layer 2 prices are
indicated below.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
MODEL # DESCRIPTION OLD PRICE NEW PRICE % CHANGE
----------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------
M5502-1000SX-F 2-Port Gigabit
Ethernet Module
(850nM) $4,950 $ 4,450 - 10%
----------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------
M5502-1000LX-F 2-Port Gigabit
Ethernet Module
(1300nM) $7,195 $ 6,650 - 8%
----------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------
M5502-1000SLX-F 2-Port Long-Distance
Gigabit Ethernet
Module (10Km) $8,150 $ 7,650 - 6%
----------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------
M5504-1000SX-F 4-Port Gigabit
Ethernet Module
(850nM) $8,995 $ 7,950 - 12%
----------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------
M5504-1000LX-F 4-Port Gigabit
Ethernet Module
(1300nM) New $ 11,950 N/A
----------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------
M5504-1000SLX-F 4-Port Long-Distance
Gigabit Ethernet
Module (10Km) New $ 13,950 N/A
----------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------
M5510-100FX 10-Port Fiber Fast
Ethernet Module $9,950 $ 7,950 - 20%
----------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------
M5520-100TX 20-Port 10/100
Ethernet Module $6,950 $ 5,950 - 14%
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Lucent Technologies, headquartered in Murray Hill, N.J., designs, builds and delivers a wide
range of public and private networks, communications systems and software, data networking
systems, business telephone systems and microelectronic components. Bell Labs is the research
and development arm for the company. More information about Lucent Technologies is available
on the company's Web site at: www.lucent.com
Contact:
Lucent Technologies
John H. Ricciardone, 508/303-8885 ext 234
jricciardone@lucent.com
or
Stephen Loudermilk, 908/953-7514
sloudermilk@lucent.com
More Quotes and News:
Lucent Technologies Inc (NYSE:LU - news)
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