Dell Networking launches new switching platform
Dell Friday announced new additions to its networking products aimed at enhancing performance of networks of customers to help them thrive in next-generation, software-defined 10G cloud and virtualised data centers.
One of the network products is Dell S4820T, which is a high-performance 1/10/40G Top-of-Rack Switch.
The Dell S4820T top-of-rack (ToR) switch is purpose-built for deployment in high-performance data center and cloud computing environments, leveraging the popularity of twisted-pair copper cabling and providing the right mix of scalability, performance, operational simplicity and cost-effectiveness.
The Dell S4820T is powered by the Force10 operating system (FTOS) and designed to support both Layer 2 and Layer 3 functionality required for Web 2.0, enterprise and cloud server provider data centers.
Its key features include:
- 10GBASE-T connectivity - seamless migration from one gigabit to 10 gigabit servers: Especially for customers looking to consolidate server I/O at 10G, Dell enables low-cost copper connectivity between servers and switches, allowing maximum investment protection and cable reuse.
- LAN/SAN convergence: The S4820T is also ideal for customers aiming to consolidate LAN and SAN traffic over a common DCB-enabled 10G switching fabric and is one of the first copper-based 10G switches in the industry to support Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) using twisted-pair cabling. To that end, the S4820T is being lab tested by leading 10GBASE-T network interface card (NIC) and converged network adapter (CNA) vendors—Broadcom, Emulex, Intel and QLogic.
- High-performance fabric uplinks: The S4820T is equipped with four 40G uplinks providing for high-speed fabric connectivity enabling scalable multi-rack deployments demanded by larger customers.
Other new products are Dell MXL 10/40GbE Blade Switch and PowerEdge M I/O Aggregator.
The Dell MXL - powered by FTOS and purpose-built for the Dell PowerEdge M1000e blade server chassis - is a full-featured 1/10/40GbE Layer 2 and Layer 3 blade switch that offers increased bandwidth, scalability, performance and operational simplicity for data center and campus environments.
The Dell PowerEdge M I/O Aggregator offers similar connectivity options and is optimized for plug-and-play simplicity and rapid ‘configuration-free’ deployments.
Both products support local switching of server-to-server (east-west) traffic within the PowerEdge 1000e chassis. This enhances network performance as traffic no longer has to travel up to – and back down from – the data center core as other architectures require.
Dell also announced the commercial availability of OpenFlow for its FTOS code base. Available now for the Dell Z9000 and S4810 data center switches, OpenFlow is a key technology enabler for next-generation software-defined network (SDN) deployments. The new software is fully compliant with available standards-based OpenFlow controllers, including the Big Switch Controller from Dell partner Big Switch Networks.
The addition of commercially available OpenFlow functionality reinforces Dell’s commitment to software-defined infrastructure. Dell is one of the only vendors to offer a complete and unbiased approach to SDN embracing legacy networking environments, greenfield controller-based deployments as well as hypervisor-oriented architectures.
“We’re seeing strong momentum in our Dell Networking business with double-digit revenue growth in our last quarter,” said Ekarja Panjavinin, Country Manager, Dell Corporation (Thailand).
“We see networking as a key enabler in helping enterprise customers move to next-generation, 10 and 40G solutions in application-aware, converged, virtualized and hybrid cloud environments.”
The Dell S4820T is available worldwide now from Dell and its global PartnerDirect channel partners.
