[December 13, 2005] Foundry Networks Raises the VoIP Convergence Bar Tweet SAN JOSE, Calif., Dec. 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Foundry Networks, Inc. , a performance and total solutions leader for end-to-end switching, routing and application Web switching, today announced the release of the FastIron Edge X-Series 424-Power Over Ethernet (POE) switch (FES X424- POE). The FastIron Edge X-Series 424-POE combines twenty-four ports of 10/100/1000 Mbps with IEEE 802.3af Power over Ethernet, redundant modular power supplies and 10 Gigabit Ethernet in a compact form. FastIron Edge X424-POE is an important addition to Foundry's successful family of FastIron Edge X Series 10-Gigabit Ethernet fixed configuration aggregation switches. The new switch model provides a powerful, yet cost- effective solution for delivering POE over 10/100/1000 Mbps copper connections to powered IP endpoints such as voice over IP handsets, video over IP cameras and wireless access points. Customers may initially deploy the FES X424-POE using trunked Gigabit Ethernet fiber uplinks for connecting to the network backbone and upgrade at a later time with one or two ports of 10 Gigabit Ethernet. This field upgradeability provides customers a smooth migration path to 10 Gigabit Ethernet eliminating the expense and disruption of a wholesale product replacement. "We are seeing increasing deployment of Power Over Ethernet solutions by our enterprise customers," said Bob Schiff, vice president and general manager of Foundry's enterprise business unit. "Organizations are implementing Power Over Ethernet for mission-critical applications such as voice over IP and cannot afford downtime. Additionally, bandwidth growth in many environments is driving the need for 10 Gigabit Ethernet. The FES X424-POE switch is a powerful solution providing the expandability and the reliability our customers are asking for in a cost-effective and compact design." "We selected Foundry over four years ago as our networking partner for implementing a district-wide Ethernet network," said Garett McKay, director of information services technology for El Monte Union High School District. "This has been a very positive experience for us and it was natural that we turned to Foundry again as we planned our network upgrade to address new and emerging requirements including wireless access and converged voice-data networking. Foundry has consistently delivered on its commitments to product quality and technology advancement, providing the District with a reliable infrastructure that delivers the flexibility we need today with scalability and future- readiness to meet our needs for years to come." Voice Over IP (VoIP) is Now in Mass Deployment Enterprise customers are actively integrating VoIP into their telecom infrastructure. According to a report by Merrill Lynch, as of June 2005, VoIP system sales grew 31 percent year-over-year, while sales of traditional voice systems declined by 20 percent during the same period. The industry is embracing VoIP, making the transition from legacy voice systems to a next- generation all-IP communications infrastructure. Enterprise customers are protecting their investment and future-proofing network deployments with Ethernet edge solutions that support POE. About the FastIron Edge X Series 424-POE The FastIron Edge X Series 424-POE supports: -- 24 ports 10/100/1000 POE with 4 ports that are combination SFP and 10/100/1000 Mbps POE providing support for either fiber or copper connectivity. A flexible mix of small-form pluggable optics (SFP) is available for fiber-based Gigabit Ethernet connectivity -- SX, SX2, LX, CWDM, LHA and LHB. -- One AC power supply and an available slot for an optional redundant power supply providing 1+1 power redundancy for system and POE requirements. -- Each 10/100/1000 POE port is IEEE 802.3af compliant. One power supply provides up to 15.4 watts for each 10/100/1000 Mbps port. -- System software includes advanced Layer 2 features and base Layer 3 features. -- Optional one- or two-port 10 Gigabit Ethernet module supporting pluggable XFP 10 Gigabit Ethernet optics. Supported XFP optics includes SR, LR, ER and ZR. -- Optional software upgrade to full Layer 3 services includes support for BGP-4 and multicast protocols. The FastIron Edge X424-POE offers advanced Quality of Service (QoS) features and delivers low latency and jitter to ensure optimal VoIP performance. About the FastIron Edge X Series Layer 2/3 Switch Family The FastIron Edge X Series family of layer 2/3 switches (FES X Series) extends the power and performance of Gigabit Ethernet and 10-Gigabit Ethernet to the network's edge. The FastIron Edge X Series switches are 1.5U high compact Gigabit Ethernet edge switches with options for one or two ports of 10-GE. The switches are available in three base configurations, 24-port 10/100/1000 Mbps gigabit over copper configuration, 48-port 10/100/1000 Mbps gigabit over copper configuration and 24-port SFP fiber configurations. Each model supports four ports that are implemented as combination copper-SFP ports to provide additional flexibility. All models are configurable with redundant power supplies. The FastIron Edge X Series switches feature advanced layer 2 services and protocols including IEEE 802.1Q VLANs, Q-in-Q encapsulation, Metro Ring Protocol (MRP) and Virtual Switch Redundancy Protocol (VSRP). These advanced layer 2 features enable providers to deliver scalable and resilient Ethernet services to their customers. Additionally, the switches are software upgradeable to support full layer 3 routing services, including IP multicast and BGP-4 routing with scalability to 100,000 BGP routes. The routing services further extend the range of applications in which these products can be used. FastIron Edge X424-POE systems are available now. US list prices are provided below. FESX424-POE (Base L3) $6,995 FESX424-POE-PREM (Full L3) $7,995 FESX424-POE+1XG (Base L3) $10,495 FESX424-POE+1XG-PREM (Full L3) $11,485 FESX424-POE+2XG (Base L3) $12,495 FESX424-POE+2XG-PREM (Full L3) $13,485 About Foundry Networks Foundry Networks, Inc. is a leading provider of high-performance enterprise and service provider switching, routing and Web traffic management solutions including Layer 2/3 LAN switches, Layer 3 Backbone switches, Layer 4 - 7 application switches, wireless LAN and access points, access routers and metro routers. Foundry's 8,900 customers include the world's premier ISPs, metro service providers, and enterprises including e-commerce sites, universities, entertainment, health and wellness, government, financial, and manufacturing companies. For more information about the company and its products, call 1.888.TURBOLAN or visit http://www.foundrynetworks.com/. Foundry Networks, FastIron, and the 'Iron' family of marks are trademarks of Foundry Networks, Inc. All other trademarks are the sole property of their respective holders. Press Contacts: North America Europe Asia/Pacific Pavel Radda Tom Herbst Jenny Liu Foundry Networks Kaizo Foundry Hong Kong 408.586.1746 +0207.580.8852 +852.2845.3818 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Investor Contact: Jason Golz Financial Dynamics 415.439.4532 [email protected] Foundry Networks, Inc. CONTACT: Press: North America, Pavel Radda of Foundry Networks,+1-408-586-1746 or [email protected], Europe, Tom Herbst of Kaizo,+0207.580.8852 or [email protected], for Foundry Networks, or,Asia/Pacific, Jenny Liu of Foundry Hong Kong, +852.2845.3818 [email protected]; or Investors: Jason Golz of Financial Dynamics,+1-415-439-4532 or [email protected], for Foundry Networks Web site: http://www.foundrynetworks.com/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]