A new family of high density, high-performance 10Gigabit Ethernet switches has been launched by Enterasys Networks. Targeted at high bandwidth and latency-sensitive applications, the new 7100-Series is ideally suited to the demands of modern data centres, according to Martin May, regional director, Enterasys Networks South Africa.
“The Enterasys 7100-Series is designed to help organisations maintain an integrated end-user experience while migrating towards a virtualised network environment,” he explains.
May says the devices’ virtualisation awareness functions address the need for visibility as virtual servers become deployed and then adapt to virtual machine mobility.
“The high performance virtual switching features of the 7100-Series also increase available bandwidth in the data centre and enable resilient network topologies to include servers and aggregation switches. In addition, the units’ data centre bridging functionality effectively supports the convergence of network data and storage traffic in the data centre fabric.
“Moreover, the units’ higher aggregated capacity enables data centres to effectively scale with lower latency and higher levels of availability while their management integration and automation features enable a high degree of control over critical data centre resources – providing a consistent edge-to-core network implementation.”
He adds that the bandwidth and priority policies associated with the 7100-Series can be centrally provisioned, delivering a consistent implementation across the network.
From a technical perspective, the Enterasys 7100-Series is central to Enterasys’ OneFabric network architecture and offers flexible connectivity options using modular SFP+ transceivers and direct-attach cables as well as integrated 10GBASE-T in both 24- and 48-access port configurations.
Gigabit, 10 Gigabit, and 40 Gigabit ports are supported. Up to 64 line rate 10 Gigabit Ethernet ports can be supported in a in single rack unit configuration, thus maximising the space available for servers and storage in dense data centre applications. At the same time configurable air flow allows for adaptation to the requirements of specific hot-aisle / cold-aisle configurations.
The 7100-Series 10Gigabit Ethernet switches are available in the following configurations:
* 7148 – 48 ports 1/10Gb SFP+ with 4 10/40Gb QSFP+ ports;
* 7124 – 24 ports 1/10Gb SFP+ with 4 10/40Gb QSFP+ ports;
* 7148T – 48 ports 1/10GBASE-T with 4 10/40Gb QSFP+ ports; and
* 7124T – 24 ports 1/10GBASE-T with 4 10/40Gb QSFP+ ports.
All systems support redundant modular power supplies and fan modules and Enterasys Virtual Switch Bonding to configure highly available system configurations for mission-critical data centre environments.