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No one gets fired for buying Cisco. But do net managers who go with
the biggest vendor get the best bargains?
Not if the Summit48 LAN switch from Extreme
Networks Inc. is
anything to go by. The device offers most of the same features found
on high-end, chassis-based, departmental Ethernet
switches—capacity, routing, and redundancy—for less than
what most low-end stackable switches cost.
And the early reviews are good. "So far I've had zero complaints,
and that's unusual in this business," says Hans Baartmans, Unix and
network administrator at Texas Instruments Inc. (Dallas), which is
evaluating the Summit48.
But it's up to net managers to decide whether a rock-bottom price
makes up for the drawbacks. Like Extreme's other products, the
Summit48 can be hooked up only to Ethernet LANs, and it routes only
IP.
Inside the Box
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Balancing Act
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The Summit48 switch packs 48 10/100-Mbit/s Ethernet ports and two
1-Gbit/s Etherne
t ports into a stackable box that's 3.5 inches high.
All ports can be set to function in full-duplex mode and are connected
internally by a nonblocking switching fabric with an aggregate
capacity of 17.5 Gbit/s.
A Layer 2 version of the Summit48 forwards traffic at the MAC
(media access control) layer. A Layer 3 version handles IP routing.
Net managers can upgrade the switch from one level to the other by
paying the difference in price between the two models. Extreme says
the Summit48's ASIC-based design means it can route IP packets as fast
as it switches them—handling in excess of 10 million packets per
second.
Both versions also support policy-based QOS (quality of service).
This means net managers can define traffic groups based on a variety
of criteria—including MAC address, IP address, or UDP (user
datagram protocol) session number—and then assign minimum and
maximum bandwidth and delay levels.
Extreme (Cupertino, Calif.) hasn't skimped on reliability either. A
redundant power supply is available as an option. And the Summit48
features redundant load balancing on its gigabit ports.
Dollar Daze
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MORE INFO
Product Summary
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Better yet, corporate networkers can get all of that without
breaking the bank. The Layer 2 model costs $7,995, or $160 per port.
Compare that to the Layer 2 Superstack II 3900 from 3Com Corp. (Santa
Clara, Calif.), which comes in at $8,995 for 36 10/100-Mbit/s ports
and one 1-Gbit/s port, or $243 per port. As for the 2924 Layer 2
switch from Cisco Systems Inc. (San Jose, Calif.), it costs $3,995 for
24 10/100-Mbit/s ports ($165 per port)—but it doesn't yet offer
gigabit Ethernet. And while the 350T-HD Layer 2 device from Bay
Networks Inc. (Santa Clara) is actually cheaper than the
Summit
48—$3,595 for 24 10/100 ports, or $149 per port—it
also does not support gigabit Ethernet.
Layer 3 pricing is even more compelling: The Extreme box lists for
$11,995, or $240 per port. A similarly configured Layer 3 Accelar 1200
from Bay costs $1,000 per port (for a total of $49,965). The same
configuration for the Cisco Catalyst 5505 chassis-based modular switch
costs $760 per port, for a total of $38,000. (At press time, both 3Com
and Cisco were preparing to announce new Layer 3 switch products.
Details were not available.)
Layer 3 switching capability has helped win over TI's Baartmans,
who says he likes the flexibility it gives him. "You don't realize how
different this is from the standard router concept until you actually
do it. I can set this network up any way I like, and the wire-speed
routing means I won't see any more latency."
So does that mean the rest of TI is now lining up to switch to
Extreme? Not yet—and maybe not ever. Baartmans says he gets more
flexib
ility in choosing equipment because he works in R&D.
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