Foundry Flashes SuperX Switches

Foundry Networks Inc. (Nasdaq: FDRY) has unveiled its SuperX family of 10-Gigabit Ethernet switches -- its latest attempt to tackle hardware giant Cisco Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: CSCO). (See Foundry Launches 10-Gig Switches.)

The new FastIron, TurboIron, and BigIron SuperX devices each come in a six-rack-unit high chassis. The three boxes offer up to 16 ports of 10-Gigabit Ethernet and 12 ports of Gigabit Ethernet on the management module. The BigIron and FastIron devices can also offer up 204 ports of Gigabit Ethernet, with the main difference between the two boxes being the amount of memory in the devices line cards.

Joshua Johnson, senior analyst at Synergy Research Group Inc., believes flexibility is the key benefit of these new devices. “It gives customers some flexibility in how they design their networks,” he says. “If you’re a mid-sized customer it’s a much cheaper core switch than stackables that are linked across the backplane."

Johnson believes the SuperX products offer key modular features such as the ability to swap ports in and out, at a size that is closer to that of a stackable switch.

With basic list prices of $15,000 for the FastIron SuperX, $30,000 for the BigIron SuperX, and $45,000 for the TurboIron SuperX, Foundry is again stoking the flames of 10-Gbit/s Ethernet, analysts say.Price is fast becoming a major weapon in Foundry’s armory. Last year the company pushed the cost of 10-Gbit/s Ethernet down with the launch of its 8X10G stackable switch (see Foundry Drops 10-GigE Prices).

With the FastIron SuperX up against Cisco’s 4500 and the BigIron SuperX up against Cisco’s 6500, analysts say that Foundry could give the San Jose, Calif.-based router giant a run for its money. “[The SuperX] is a super-dense box if you look at the price performance per port. It’s a best alternative to the 4500,” says Zeus Kerravala, vice president of enterprise infrastructure at The Yankee Group.

Max Flisi, research analyst at IDC, agrees. “[Foundry] are pushing the price of 10 Gbit/s down,” he says, “They are certainly being aggressive, and the competition is going to intensify.”

Cisco declined to provide a comment for this article.

Foundry is also looking to tap into the emerging market for voice-over-IP (VOIP) products with the new launches. The company has upgraded its IronWare software to allow the allocation of VOIP phones to a voice-based local area network (LAN). These can also be tagged according to priority level and IP data.So, what next for Foundry? A company spokeswoman confirmed to NDCF that Foundry’s next big announcement will involve a “huge service provider push.”

— James Rogers, Site Editor, Next-Gen Data Center Forum