Allied Telesis Announces the SwitchBlade x908 Generation 2 Advanced Layer 3 Modular Switch

SAN JOSE, CA - July 18, 2017 - Allied Telesis, a leading provider of hardware and software products that build secure, feature-rich and scalable data exchange solutions, has launched the highly-scalable SwitchBlade™ x908 Generation 2 modular switch. Re-architecting a data network to accommodate the exponentially-growing number of connected IoT devices can be complex and expensive for IT managers, who need solutions that support network growth—without major architectural changes. With the ability to support over 100,000 IP connections and manage over 30,000 video streams, the x908 GEN2 is today’s solution for the IoT age and smarter industries everywhere.

“The IoT, edge computing, and application virtualization are all driving an increase in connections and data throughput at such a rate that many organizations are finding it difficult to maintain the necessary infrastructure to keep up,” said Graham Walker, Product Marketing Manager. “The x908 GEN2 provides a scalable platform that IT managers can use to grow their network at a pace that suits their business, secure in the knowledge that it will continue to meet their demands well into the future.”

The x908 GEN2 consists of a 3RU chassis with slots for eight high-speed expansion modules, and features hot-swappable fans and AC and DC power supplies. The range of hot-swappable expansion modules consists of:

Four high-speed hot-swappable expansion modules allow IT managers to configure and reconfigure the x908 GEN2 to suit current and future network requirements. XEM2-12XS and -12XT modules provide 12 1G/10G connections with SFP or RJ45 ports, allowing up to 96 10G ports per chassis. For high-bandwidth applications such as server virtualization and cloud computing, the XEM2-4QS provides four 40G QSFP+ ports per module, allowing up to 32 40G ports per chassis. When only the highest speeds will do for an enterprise backbone, the XEM-1CQ features a 100G CFP port.

Four x908 GEN2 switches can be stacked using Virtual Chassis Stacking (VCStack™) with up to 320Gbps of bandwidth on each stacking link. A four-unit x908 GEN2 stack can deliver up to 128 40G ports, or 384 10G ports. VCStack provides a highly available system where network resources are spread out across stacked units, reducing the impact if a link or unit fails. Aggregating switch ports on different units across the stack provides excellent network resiliency. Long distance stacking allows a VCStack to be created over fiber links up to 10km—perfect for distributed network environments. Stacking will be available in a future software release.

When a high-performing, resilient Enterprise backbone is required, x908 GEN2 switches use Ethernet Protection Switched Ring (EPSR™) to maximize network availability. EPSR creates a resilient ring that can utilize 10G, 40G or 100G connections with sub-50 millisecond recovery on node or link failure, so the customer experience is unaffected—even with demanding voice or video applications.

The x908 GEN2 provides powerful network management with Allied Telesis Autonomous Management Framework™ (AMF). AMF meets the increasing management requirements of today’s modern converged networks by automating many everyday tasks, including configuration management. The x908 GEN2 switch can operate as the AMF network master, to provide powerful centralized management features, and manage a complete network as one single virtual device. The network can be expanded with plug-and-play simplicity, and network node recovery is fully zero-touch. AMF Guestnode allows third-party devices, such as IP phones and security cameras, to be part of an AMF network too.

Powered by AlliedWare Plus™ and featuring AMF, the SwitchBlade x908 Generation 2 modular switch enables organizations to build high-capacity, resilient and secure backbones, which support simplified management, increased operational efficiency and a lower total cost of ownership.