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To: RetiredNow who wrote (19190)	11/9/1998 11:55:00 PM
From: jach	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 77397

Extreme packs big punch in desktop switch By Jeff Caruso Network World, 11/09/98 Cupertino, Calif. - Desktop switches have begun to take on features usually reserved for high-end chassis systems, and the trend will continue this week as Extreme Networks unveils the Summit24 switch. Less expensive than chassis and more powerful than conventional desktop switches, the new category of switches has been gaining popularity over the past year. For example, Bay Networks (now a division of Nortel Networks) introduced the BayStack 450 in July, Cabletron announced the SmartSwitch Router 2000 in September, and Cisco unveiled the 2926G switch last month. Like most desktop switches, these devices typically have a fixed number of ports. But they also boast some sort of priority queuing or qualityof-service (QoS) mechanism, load sharing and Layer 3 switching capabilities. In April, Extreme introduced its first switch in this category, the Summit48, and the upcoming Summit24 is simply a version of the Summit48 with 24 ports of 10/100M bit/sec Ethernet instead of 48. The new stackable offering also has a Gigabit Ethernet uplink to connect to a backbone network. Lightpoint Entertainment is using the Summit24's 48-port big brother to connect approximately 40 Silicon Graphics workstations and servers, says Chip Ray, CGI systems specialist at the Orlando, Fla., company. All the graphics the company creates are stored on a central server that can hold 300G bytes, and the workstations access it over the network. Because the switch operates at wire-speed, "users get the feeling that the data is stored locally," Ray says. Ray adds that the Extreme device's manageability is a key to its value. For example, Lightpoint can use the Summit48 to assign file transfers a higher priority through the switch than Web traffic or shared whiteboard applications. The management features let Ray track utilization, assign virtual LANs and adjust QoS levels. While such functions are available on chassis-based switches, the cost is much higher, Ray says. The Summit24 will cost $5,495 for Layer 2 and $9,495 for Layer 3 functions. By comparison, Extreme's BlackDiamond chassis starts at $15,995. Filtering down Users are starting to look for rich functions at the network edge, says Mike McConnell, director of enterprise management and LAN programs at Infonetics Research in San Jose, Calif. A recent Infonetics survey showed that the features most important to network managers in workgroup switches include SNMP management and QoS. "This is typically stuff you find in the high end, but users are starting to ask for it at the workgroup level," McConnell says. In backbone switches, the demand is for high capacity and redundancy, he adds. Advanced capabilities at the desktop switch level will lay the groundwork for new network schemes in the future, says Ron Westfall, an analyst at Current Analysis in Sterling, Va. "To enforce policy-based management throughout an architecture, you would need Layer 3 functionality integrated onto your LAN switch." Layer 3 capabilities at the edge also mean less Layer 3 traffic weighing down the uplinks, notes George Prodan, Extreme's vice president of marketing. Extreme developed the Summit24 because many customers don't need or want to pay for a full 48 ports, he says. As LAN switches continue to reinforce their commodity status, more functions will be standard on low-cost devices, McConnell says. "The prices are so compelling that users can get it all." The Summit24 is shipping now. ===================== Remember, intense competitions with compelling prices drive profit down for everyone. Get a lesson from the disk drive segment before it's way too late.