Digital to unleash Gigabit
Ethernet attack
By Scott Berinato, PC Week Online
ATLANTA -- Digital Equipment Corp., looking to
reinforce its networking business, will launch a Gigabit
Ethernet blitz here at NetWorld+Interop starting
Wednesday.
The onslaught will begin with a new GigaSwitch for the
Ethernet platform with support for Gigabit Ethernet
modules.
The seven-slot switch will support up to 24 Gigabit
Ethernet ports or 120 Fast Ethernet connections. A
45G-bps backplane will forward 33 million packets per
second, said Digital officials, in Maynard, Mass.
Modules for the GigaSwitch/Ethernet will include a
20-port 10/100 blade, a 10-port Fast Ethernet module,
and two- and four-port versions of the Gigabit Ethernet
module. All will ship in February, except the four-port
Gigabit module, which is due in April, the officials said.
The GigaSwitch hardware will also support
aggregation, meaning that one switch could support a
full-duplex 4G-bps backbone, officials said.
GigaSwitch chassis, which support other protocols
such as ATM and FDDI, will also be able to support the
new Fast Ethernet modules so users can hook the two
switches together.
Digital will also use the N+I stage to accelerate its
overall Gigabit Ethernet strategy. That strategy will
include a Gigabit Ethernet uplink module for the
MultiSwitch 900, an EtherWorks 1000 network
interface card for Gigabit Ethernet to connect servers
and enhancements to workgroup connectivity with Fast
Ethernet hardware.
The overall strategy calls for tight integration between
Digital's networking and server businesses. Officials
say such integration will give the company a leg up on
the many Gigabit Ethernet startups that can't integrate
their boxes into the servers deployed across a campus.
"You will see fewer point products and more integrated
solutions coming down the line," said Jim Kunzel, vice
president of engineering at Digital's network products
business. "Obviously, servers are a part of that. We
want to get one face in front of the customer." |
