Network Computingwww.networkcomputing.com

The Accelar 1150 has four fixed-configuration Gigabit Ethernet ports and two slots for expansion cards, which are smaller than the blades for the Accelar 1200 and are not interchangeable. An eight-port 10/100 module or four-port 100BASE-FX module can be installed, as can one- and two-port Gigabit Ethernet modules.

Bay Networks provided us with a beta version of the Accelar 1150. However, when it came time to test the unit, we discovered it had a faulty board, so we could not run benchmarks on this switch. The switch has a 15-Gbps backplane like the Accelar 1200, so we would expect comparable performance.

The Accelar 1050 is a no-nonsense gigabit edge switch. The 1050 has 12 autonegotiating 10/100 BASE-TX ports and a single Gigabit Ethernet uplink. There are no expansion slots, though the switch can be fitted with redundant power supplies. In all of our Layer 2 and Layer 3 benchmarks, the switch proved to be 100 percent non-blocking.

The Accelar 1050 lists for $7,495, or $577 per port--more than three times the cost of the Summit48, but with only a quarter of the port density. The Accelar 1150 starts at $8,995, or $2,250 per gigabit port. Its modular design makes it ideal for places where fiber optic 100-Mbps connections are required. The four ports of Gigabit Ethernet in the chassis allow for high-speed backbone connectivity to the rest of the network.

Send your comments on this article to Joel Conover at jconover@nwc.com.