Dune Intros 10 GigE Switches

SUNNYVALE, Calif. -- Dune Networks, a provider of networking devices for Metro Ethernet, Enterprise and Data Center platforms, announced today the availability of its PETRA line of FAP (Fabric Access Processor) devices as part of its SAND chipset. Announced today are the P220 and P230 devices in the Petra family, providing 40Gbps and 80Gbps full-duplex traffic management and fabric access functionality, respectively.

By quadrupling the level of integration of existing devices in the market today, the P220 and P230 drive the evolution of Ethernet switches toward dense 10GE-port systems. The P220 and P230, together with the new generation of classification devices, enable the economic design of non-blocking switches with deep buffering and densities of hundreds of 10GE ports in a single shelf. The devices further support 40GE or OC768c rate ports and are ready of 100GE port rates.

The PETRA family enables system vendors to build a product-line that shares the same switching and traffic management infrastructure, and to address both different densities and different applications. Cost effective small chassis can be designed by meshing several P220/P230 devices without the need for fabric devices/cards. Half-rack chassis with densities of hundreds of 10GE ports can be designed by interconnecting the P220/P230 with the fabric element devices. Multiple chassis of different sizes can be interconnected in a non-blocking, resilient way via multi-stage fabric organization, supporting a world record of over 100Tbps of line-rate capacity or thousands of 10GE ports or 40GE/100GE equivalent.

System vendors who ship in volume switching platforms based on earlier generations of SAND devices (e.g. FAP10V/20V/11V/21V FE200) are now able to enhance their deployed switching systems. New line cards with higher 10GE ports density, or supporting 40GE/OC768c port rates, can be plugged into the legacy deployed systems. The P220 and P230 maintain Dune’s backward compatibility methodology and can extend a product life-cycle to more than 10 years.

Jag Bolaria, Senior Analyst with The Linley Group declared, “Dune’s P220 and P230 devices strengthen Dune’s leading position in the switch market. On the basis of availability, non-blocking performance, integration, and scalability, Dune’s P220 and P230 represent the leading fabric and TM architecture, as well as being the first 80G full-duplex devices to sample. We believe the PETRA family should enable Dune’s customers to target new applications and reduce development time.”Dune Networks