Extreme Intros BlackDiamond 20808 Metro Ethernet Transport Switch

Extreme Networks (News - Alert) has introduced the BlackDiamond 20808 metro Ethernet transport switch, the first purpose-built metro Ethernet transport switch, delivering a combination of value, scale and performance for converged packet transport.

 

Eve Griliches (News - Alert), program director for IDC’s telecom equipment group, finds BlackDiamond 20808 to be a terrific introduction for Extreme Networks. She stated that this new release from Extreme Networks is changing the game for Ethernet transport in the metro with the right combination of density and scale.

 

Extreme Networks refers to the IDC’s (News - Alert) Product Flash on the announcement. IDC expects the Carrier Ethernet routing and switching market to reach well over $7.6 billion with a 5-year CAGR of 17.5 percent by 2012.

 

Elaborating on the benefits of the BlackDiamond 20808 switch, the company’s officials said that the device raises the bar for scaling metro Ethernet transport networks with the highest slot capacity in the industry -- 120 Gbps per slot in an 8-slot system delivering 2 Tbps of switching capacity. The company claims that this slot capacity results in outstanding 10 Gigabit Ethernet (GE) port-density, with up to 64 10 GE ports per chassis and 192 10 GE ports per rack. Also, the BlackDiamond 20808 switch fabric provides ample capacity for future high density, line-rate 40 GE and 100 GE line-card upgrades.

Purpose-built for metro Ethernet transport networks, the BlackDiamond 20808 switch boasts an architecture that is optimized for metro Ethernet performance with fully distributed network processors that deliver line rate performance for a variety of industry standard and emerging protocols.

 

Available at a list price of under $5,800 per 10 GE port, the BlackDiamond 20808 switch provides a dramatic reduction in provider capital expenditures. In contrast to router-based metro architectures which need complex provisioning by highly trained engineers, BlackDiamond 20808 switch reduces the operational expenses due to the operational simplicity of Layer 2 solutions. The switch also enables increased carrier profitability thanks to a scalable metro Ethernet transport network that can carry more services at a lower cost.

 

Peter Lunk, senior director of service provider marketing, Extreme Networks, noted that aiming to drive profitability, service providers are searching to increase the average revenue per user while lowering the cost of delivering services. To achieve this goal, the service providers need an alternative to the complex and costly model of extending MPLS to the edge.

 

Lunk stated that Ethernet transport is the clear choice for economical metro packet delivery and the BlackDiamond 20808 switch at the metro core offers the right mix of value, capacity, scalability and protocols to deliver more profitable business, residential and mobile backhaul services.