SMC Networks' 10G Ethernet Solutions Set Is Broadest In Industry

Irvine, CA - SMC Networks is demonstrating SMC's full range of 10G networking solutions this week at Supercomputing 2007 (SC07) in Reno, Nevada. The only vendor with full range of 10GBASE-T and 10G Fiber solutions — from switch to NIC — SMC's extensive product range lets companies plan deployments that maximize network performance at acceptable cost levels so that the strength of 10G can be part of any overall Ethernet strategy. The company's demonstration of 10Gigabit technology is centered in its booth, #2403, at SC07, November 12-15 in Reno's Spark's Convention Center.

A long-time supplier of quality Ethernet switching technology, SMC Networks continues to bring leading edge technology and products to its customers. In line with the company's strategic initiative to maximize network efficiency, speed and bandwidth for a variety of network applications cost-effectively, SMC has developed, and will continue to develop, 10Gigabit Ethernet solutions that leverage the benefits of 10G where it's needed most. As the 10G networking market evolves and redistributes, SMC continues to develop a breadth of products to address today's demands, ensuring that deployment of 10G is a practical solution, when and where it makes a difference — whether for the whole network, or in specific high-performance applications and areas of the network. The company will continue to introduce more 10G switches that optimize bandwidth in key areas of the network, and will continue to extend that bandwidth down the wire with 10G adapters for true switch-to-NIC 10G.

"The acceleration in server performance demands high performance networking — there's no reason for the network to be a bottleneck. Businesses of all sizes now have servers that are crying out for network solutions that match their performance, and SMC is delivering those solutions," said Iain Kenney, Director of Product Marketing, SMC Networks. "We continue to help the technology catch up to the underlying demand by providing solutions that leverage the best and fastest technology in an optimal configuration — at a price that enables it to win out in more cost-benefit analyses."

SMC Networks' solutions for 10G networking include the industry's first multi-port combination 10GBASE-T and 10G fiber XFP network switch. Broadly available beginning next week, the new SMC8724-10BT TigerSwitch 10G Standalone 24-port 10G switch leverages best-in-industry 10G technology, including Solarflare's 10Xpress PHY and switching silicon from Fulcrum Microsystems. A great combination of speed, efficiency, and economy, its 20 10GBASE-T ports and four XFP-based 10G fiber ports provide flexible 10Gigabit connectivity. Additional options from SMC for 10G switching include the TigerSwitch 10G SMC8708L2 Standalone 8-port 10G Managed L2 switch, an all-fiberoptic XFP, high-performance 10G core aggregator switch; and SMC's TigerSwitch 8728L2 and 8748L2 10/100/1000 Managed Switches with optional 10 Gigabit uplinks.

Also an industry first, SMC Networks will demonstrate its standards-compliant 10GBASE-T server adapter and its 10BASE-CX4 and XFP optical server adapter that include Solarflare's Solarstorm controller silicon. SMC's new line of 10G network adapters, which includes the copper-based SMC10GPCIe-10BT and the SMC10GPCIe-XFP, stress performance, thermal management, and affordability. All of the new adapters run on a high speed PCI-Express x8 Host Bus and, in line with SMC's commitment to flexibility, all of the new SMC Networks 10G adapters are half-height, with brackets for half- or full-height installation. SMC's 10G Ethernet Adapters for each high-bandwidth application market segment: Network-Attached Storage (NAS) Servers, Storage Area Network (SAN) Arrays, High Performance Cluster Computers, Blade Servers, Video Servers, Application Servers and Web Accelerators will ship beginning next week, breaking price barriers as well, with prices from $799 to $1299 MSRP.

As early as 2003, SMC Networks began introducing 10/100/1000 network switches with optional slots for 10G fiber uplinks to accommodate the growing need it saw for selective high-bandwidth connectivity as a means for maintaining overall network performance. The level of deployment of those optional 10G uplinks grew, confirming for SMC that the demand for 10G was real and immediate, so SMC introduced a family of TigerSwitch 10G Standalone 10Gigabit XFP fiber managed Ethernet switches, beginning with the SMC8708L2. Designed for network interconnection and specialty applications that benefited from maximal pipeline, these solutions brought fiber optic 10G — and unmatched performance — to networks for about $2000 to $6000 per port, depending on connector type.

User demand for 10G speed and bandwidth continues to grow, even ahead of budgets. SMC's 10G copper solutions address that need with 10G connectivity over shorter runs (up to 100m) at roughly half the per-port price of fiber switching, independent of the substantial cable savings — savings that come both in material and installation. 10GBASE-T enables implementation of efficient data centers and short distance networks where the ease of installation of Cat6A makes deployment of 10G feasible. The SMC8724-10BT, shipping next week, and has 20 10GBASE-T ports and four XFP-based 10G fiber ports for the ultimate in bandwidth and port density — with versatility — all in a small 1U-high form factor. And, its conformance with IEEE802.3an assures customers that the new TigerSwitch 10G Standalone 24-port 10G switch is fully standards-compliant and interoperable. Incorporating multilayer L2/L4 switch management features, the SMC8724-10BT is easy to install and operate in any standards-based Ethernet network.

While 10GBASE-T fills an important role for many data center and NAS applications, 10G fiber is still unquestionably in demand, and that demand will continue to evolve and grow. The SMC8708L2, SMC's first 8 port 10G Layer 2 managed switch, is a core aggregator switch designed to handle heavy traffic workgroups or power users and is capable of reaching up to 160Gbps with a non-blocking switching architecture — and it provides that speed and bandwidth over distances of up to 40 kilometers. SMC Networks will continue to develop Ethernet networking products that incorporate density, efficiency and bandwidth appropriate to varying customer applications, including additional copper and fiber optic 10G, Gigabit and 10/100 Fast Ethernet products.

Ethernet switching has been a critical technology, in terms of advancing the utility of networking, for many years, and SMC has been at the center of it all with 30 years of longevity, experience and noted quality. Enhancing speed and bandwidth management is critical to today's and tomorrow's networks, and SMC Networks is well-placed to deliver on these advances in technology through the company's current and planned product lines. SMC's new line of 10G network adapters — including fiber and copper adapters for 10G connections to servers — that stress performance, thermal management, and affordability make the connection down the line, and are rolling out now, with the first of them available this month. Several key architectural features included in the new SMC 10G Ethernet Adapters separate them from the rest of the pack: cut-through architecture for the lowest latency Ethernet solution on the market; virtualization of the host interface; and VNIC, for the cleanest, most efficient acceleration of I/O in virtualized operating system deployments, to deliver real performance benefits over a broad range of applications. SMC's 10G Ethernet Adapters for each high-bandwidth application market segment: Network-Attached Storage (NAS) Servers, Storage Area Network (SAN) Arrays, High Performance Cluster Computers, Blade Servers, Video Servers, Application Servers and Web Accelerators are available now. The new 10G adapter product family includes the industry's first standards-compliant 10GBASE-T server adapter and XFP optical server adapters running on a high speed PCI-Express x8 Host Bus. And, in line with SMC's commitment to flexibility, all of the new SMC Networks 10G adapters are half-height, with brackets for half- or full-height installation.

"Bringing networks to the next level of Ethernet with 10 Gigabit is now easier and more cost-effective than ever," said Russell Stern, chief executive officer of Solarflare Communications. "With the availability of 10G Ethernet NICs and high-performance, standards-based 10GBASE-T over copper solutions, the widespread deployment to address all business demands for advanced and converged SAN and LAN applications at the core is now possible."

SOURCE: SMC Networks