SANTA CLARA, Calif. and LAS VEGAS, April 28, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Foundry Networks(r), Inc. (Nasdaq:FDRY), a performance and total solutions leader for end-to-end switching and routing, today announced two new high-density interface modules to its industry-leading data center switching and routing product lines, the BigIron(r) RX Series switches and the NetIron(r) MLX Series routers. With these new interface modules, the BigIron RX Series switches and the NetIron MLX Series routers will deliver the industry's highest 10 gigabit Ethernet (10GbE) and gigabit Ethernet (GbE) density of up to 512 ports of 10GbE and 1,536 ports of GbE in a single system.
The BigIron 16-port 10GbE SFP+ module (RX-BI16XG) and NetIron MLX 48-port GbE MRJ21 module (NI-MLX-1Gx48-T) deliver exceptional flexibility and scalability for advanced data centers and high-performance computing (HPC) applications. With these new high-density interface modules, the BigIron RX Series switches and NetIron MLX Series routers now deliver more than twice the 10GbE and GbE density of their nearest competitors. Organizations can be confident that data center expansion, and HPC growth will be manageable through Foundry's(tm) industry-leading routers and switches and intelligent best-of-breed networking solutions.
In a 2007 study, DRT/Campos Research found that over the next 24 months, more than 80 percent of U.S. companies plan to expand their data centers. Organizations are running out of physical space, capacity and power due to dramatic business-critical application growth. Many of these applications require robust disaster recovery technologies as safeguards, and the new server technologies deployed to meet application growth require more than data centers' current infrastructure can deliver. Foundry's new interface modules for the BigIron RX Series and NetIron MLX Series address these critical issues head-on by delivering highly dense, scalable and power efficient solutions to enable greater flexibility and capabilities within constrained or new facilities.
"There is no question that data centers are expanding and requiring more performance capacity. Simultaneously, service providers are also demanding a significant reduction in power consumption, cooling costs and physical rack space," states Ray Mota, chief research officer for Synergy Research Group, Inc. "Foundry's new data center networking advancements address these current obstacles with a viable solution that can effectively act as a catalyst for data center growth by freeing IT operators from ongoing power constraints and delivering the capacity and performance headroom by them today and in the future."
For data centers and high-performance computing (HPC) environments, the BigIron RX-BI16XG interface module dramatically expands the number of 10GbE ports supported in a single chassis and in a single rack. Whether desiring 64 ports of 10GbE in four rack units (RU) or 512 ports of 10GbE in a single chassis, Foundry's new 16-port 10GbE module allows for unprecedented densities. This data center module leverages the advanced Quality of Service (QoS) functionality, the Virtual Output Queue (VOQ) and the lossless Clos fabric-based architecture of the BigIron RX series, allowing for incomparable performance, redundancy and scalability. The BigIron RX-BI16XG module operates in all four chassis of the series and offers data center managers and HPC cluster designers the highest density and lowest power consumption for 10GbE on the market.
The new 10GbE module augments the current BigIron RX series GbE capacity of up to 1,536 GbE ports per system. Together, these leading capacities for 10GbE and GbE provide highly scalable and highly flexible solutions for server aggregation. The industry-leading performance of the BigIron RX series enables collapsing server connectivity in the data center into fewer or into a single chassis design, consuming far less power, less cooling and utilizing less rack space resulting in a lower total cost of ownership (TCO) and simplified management. The inherent hardware and software resiliency of the series, combined with its support for industry-standard and proprietary rapid convergence protocols, further enables high-availability data center services.
The NetIron MLX routers complement the BigIron RX switches by providing high-performance, high-end routing multiple virtual routing, and advanced security capabilities in data center applications. The NetIron MLX series is unmatched in its IPv4, IPv6, and Multi-VRF wire-speed routing performance without compromise. To supplement the series' current industry-leading capacity of up to 128 10GbE wire-speed routing ports per system, the new high-density GbE interface module for the NetIron MLX router series will boost the series capacity up to 1,536 ports in a single router.
The new 48-port gigabit Ethernet (GbE) MRJ21 interface module is designed specifically for all four chassis types of the NetIron MLX Series routers. Each interface module will have eight MRJ21 connectors, with each connector supporting six ports of GbE interface. The 48-port module will more than double the GbE density on the NetIron MLX routers, giving them the highest GbE capacity and lowest power consumption for routers in their class.
The NetIron MLX routers' industry-leading GbE and 10GbE density, comprehensive routing capabilities and scalable security features enable high-density data centers with collapsed access and aggregation layers while extending high-end routing and virtualized routing services into the access layer for maximizing performance and enhancing manageability.
In addition, the NetIron MLX routers offers unmatched network scalability with up to 32 10GbE links per link aggregation and sophisticated link aggregation and equal cost multi-path (ECMP) load sharing algorithms. With this industry-leading high-bandwidth capability, the MLX provides data center architects with ample network capacity and scalability to support service growth in large enterprise and Internet data centers as well as up to 320 Gbps inter-switch and data center connectivity. The advanced, patent-pending, link aggregation and equal cost multi-path (ECMP) load sharing algorithms inherent to the NetIron MLX routers ensure optimal utilization of available network capacity, thereby offering a highly viable solution for scaling network connectivity beyond 100 Gbps today.
"Foundry is committed to advancing the capabilities of the next-generation data center," said Ken Cheng, vice president and general manager for Foundry's High-End and Service Provider Systems Business Unit. "Foundry's new modules for the BigIron RX and NetIron MLX are at the forefront of flexible and scalable solutions enabling new applications. These intelligent data center solutions provide density, robust feature sets, proven technology, and lower power consumption that result in a new industry standard for data center and HPC connectivity."
Pricing and Availability
RX-BI16XG Module: $34,995 U.S. list price with general availability in August 2008
NI-MLX-1Gx48-T Module: $34,995 U.S. list price with general availability in Q4 2008
About Foundry Networks
Foundry Networks, Inc. (Nasdaq:FDRY) is a leading provider of high-performance enterprise and service provider switching, routing, security 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, metro and core routers. Foundry's 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 www.foundrynet.com.
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Safe Harbor Statement
The foregoing may contain "forward-looking statements" which are based on management's current information and beliefs as well as on a number of assumptions concerning future events made by management. These forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements by executives or spokespeople regarding Foundry's positioning and potential plans as well as data center predictions by DRT/Campos Research and Synergy Research Group. The forward-looking statements in this press release are only predictions and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially. Foundry assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. Furthermore, no statements made by Foundry Networks, Inc. ("Foundry") in this press release, or information contained herein, may be deemed to constitute either an amendment of an existing agreement or an implied new commitment, promise or legal obligation by Foundry to develop or deliver any specific product, feature or functionality. The development, release, and timing of any product, feature, or functionality described herein remains at Foundry's sole discretion.