This is reposted from the MF Networking Industry and Market Analysis thread. How does this piece of hardware measure up to FC products?
Subject: Another "better" switch
Date: Mon, Sep 29, 1997 11:03 AM
From: M BUCKLEY
Message-id: <19970929150401.LAA28967@ladder02.news.aol.com>
MARLBOROUGH, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 29, 1997--
New Functionality Combines 18 Million Packets Per Second Of
Scalable, IP/IPX Routing With Industry-Leading 45.76 Gigabits Per
Second Of Backplane Capacity In Same Chassis
Prominet Corporation today unveiled its P550(TM) Cajun(TM) Switch
with Integrated Routing, a new product that can direct internetwork
traffic 10-100 times faster than more expensive software-based
routers while providing more scalability than other hardware-based
routers. This new technology provides the wire speed gigabit-scaled
capacity required for Internet traffic, multimedia and client/server
applications in the campus backbone.
With an unmatched backplane switching capacity of 45.76 gigabits
per second (Gbps), the P550 Cajun Switch with Integrated Routing is
the industry's highest-capacity multilayer switch, and has a wide
range of features that give it the most flexibility, interoperability
and fault-tolerance available.
Integrated Routing combines scalable, packet-by-packet, IP and
IPX routing at wire speed with all the unrivaled Layer 2 switching
capabilities of the P550 Cajun Switch in the same top-to-bottom
fault- tolerant, 7-slot chassis. The P550 Cajun Switch with
Integrated Routing performs the same Layer 3 functions as legacy
software-based routers, but at gigabit speed. The P550 Switch also
handles more aggregate network traffic than competitive offerings.
The P550 Cajun Switch with Integrated Routing lets network
managers deploy IP/IPX routing that is completely standards-compliant
and interoperable. It delivers its performance without requiring new
software, configurations or protocols in other routers, switches or
host computers. The P550 Cajun Switch with Integrated Routing
answers the growing demand for scalable, flexible, gigabit-speed
switching and routing as data-intensive multimedia applications
proliferate, and as greater shares of traffic involve sites outside
individual LAN boundaries.
Each 7-slot P550 Cajun Switch accepts new, multilayer (Layer
2/Layer 3) media 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 transit an undersubscribed
crossbar switching fabric designed to handle as much traffic as end
users can deliver, unlike some competing systems whose switch fabrics
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 shortcuts or
proprietary "marketecture" schemes that still other competing
products use. The new multilayer modules also are completely
compatible with the P550's existing Layer 2-only modules. Network
managers can now tailor the precise proportions of routing and
switching performance they require in their campus networks, either
at the center of the network or near the edge as required.
According to John Morency, a principal at The Registry, a Newton,
Mass.-based consulting organization, "The P550 Cajun Switch with
Integrated Routing gives network managers the most complete,
multilayer Gigabit Ethernet solution available with exceptionally
strong functionality. Prominet's clean, uncomplicated approach to
switching and routing provides users with a host of options for
constructing high-performance campus LANs."
"Integrated Routing is the planned next step in the progression
of our powerful Cajun Switch Core Architecture, and allows us to
provide our customers with a high-capacity, scalable and
cost-effective multilayer solution," said Menachem E. Abraham,
president and CEO of Prominet. "The P550 Switch with Integrated
Routing gives users choices, and lets them deploy switching and
routing - where needed and when needed - from the same compact,
fault-tolerant platform."
Modular Architecture, Optimized for the Campus LAN
A new Multilayer Supervisor Module is the first building block
that integrates routing into the P550 Cajun Switch. This module
delivers the first 1.5 million packets per second of ASIC-based
IP/IPX routing capacity, which by itself, is more routing horsepower
than most routers currently on the market. Customers can then mix
and match the following new media modules that provide up to 12
Gigabit Ethernet ports, 60 fiber Fast Ethernet ports or 72 10/100
Ethernet ports in a single P550 Switch, and scales to 18 million
packets per second of gigabit-speed routing:
-- a 2-Port Gigabit Ethernet Module that adds 3 million packets
per second of IP/IPX routing capacity to the P550 Cajun Switch with
Integrated Routing;
-- a 10-Port Fiber Fast Ethernet Module that adds 1.5 million
packets per second of IP/IPX routing; and
-- a 12-Port 10/100 Ethernet Module that adds 1.5 million packets
per second of IP/IPX routing.
Prominet has optimized the P550 Switch with Integrated Routing
for campus LAN traffic. Its Intelligent Cache technology maximizes
the chance of addressing "hits," which increase the share of packets
taking the "fast path" through the system. Each Multilayer
Supervisor Module maintains a table of 16,000 routes that feeds the
caches. Routing scales with media modules to support a total of
240,000 destination hosts or flows per system.
The P550 delivers full Quality of Service (QoS) support for
multimedia through RSVP (Resource Reservation Protocol). It also
lets managers fine-tune internetwork communications by performing
policy IP filtering and prioritization based on source IP address,
destination IP address, Layer 4 TCP/UDP port number, or IPX filtering
and prioritization based on service name, service type, network
numbers and MAC address of the sender.
The P550 Cajun Switch with Integrated Routing supports the full
suite of IP protocols for unicast (OSPF, RIP and RIP2) and multicast
(IGMP, MOSPF and DVMRP), as well as IPX (RIP and, in later releases,
NLSP).
Web-Based Network Management
The power and capacity of the P550 Cajun Switch with Integrated
Routing is matched by its versatile set of network management tools
that help users manage the P550's extensive feature set quickly and
easily, including: a Web-based server, a JAVA-enabled Element Manager
System, a Command Line Interface, SNMP and Telnet.
The Web-based server manages a P550 from anywhere on the network
via Netscape Navigator or Microsoft Internet Explorer, Versions 3.0
or higher. The Element Management System is a fully-integrated H-P
OpenView snap-in application, and is available for Windows 95 and
Windows NT. A highly-functional Command Line Interface is available
through the front-panel console port or inband using Telnet.
Pricing and Availability
The P550 Cajun Switch with Integrated Routing will be available
in the first quarter of 1998, and typical system pricing will range
from $20,000 to $60,000, depending on configuration. Prominet will
be demonstrating the P550 Cajun Switch with Integrated Routing at the
company's Cajun Caf, booth number 1637, at Networld+Interop in
Atlanta, October 8-10.
About Prominet
Prominet Corporation is a privately held startup company that
designs, builds and markets a new generation of network center and
high-performance workgroup LAN solutions that employ Gigabit Ethernet
technology. The Marlborough, Mass.-based firm was founded in
February 1996 by former executives of Chipcom Corporation, a
fast-growing supplier of intelligent switching systems that was
acquired by 3Com Corporation in October 1995. Prominet employs 60
people. Additional information about the company and its products
and services can be accessed via Prominet's World Wide Web site at
prominet.com .
Cajun, P550, Prominet and the Prominet logo are trademarks of
Prominet Corporation.
CONTACT:
Prominet Corporation
John H. Ricciardone
508/303-8885 (x234)
john-ricciardone@prominet.com
or
Beaupre & Co. Public Relations
Christine LeCompte
603/436-6690
prominet.com
lecompte@beaupre.com
--Mike Buckley |
