Foundry Steps on the Accelerator

Foundry Networks Inc. (Nasdaq: FDRY), keen to be more than a vendor of switches and routers, has entered the Web acceleration space (see Foundry Adds Web Accelerators).

The San Jose, Calif.-based vendor is looking to tap into the lucrative market for speeding up applications over the Web with its new ServerIron SA devices, which can be deployed on top of the companys switches.

The entry level one-rack-unit-high SA 100 supports up to 200 new SSL connections with 100-Mbit/s throughput, according to Foundry. The high-end SA 800 is a 2U device supporting up to 11,000 new SSL connections per second with 700-Mbit/s throughput. However, these figures are based on Foundry’s internal benchmarking.

A Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS)-certified device, the SA F400, has also been launched specifically for customers in government and other high-security businesses, such as the financial sector. FIPS addresses government requirements for the interoperability of different systems and data transfer.

Foundry is taking a leaf from the Cisco Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: CSCO) book with the new devices. Cisco already offers an extensive line of networking products, enabling customers to build out their systems one piece at a time.But Foundry finds itself up against established vendors in the Web acceleration space, such as NetScaler Inc., F5 Networks Inc. (Nasdaq: FFIV), and SonicWall Inc. (Nasdaq: SNWL).

And this is not the only area where Foundry is filling out its product range. The vendor has also added to its ServerIron GT E-series family of Layers 4 to 7 application switches. The new E2404, for example, comes with 24 10/100 Ports and four Gigabit Ports -- the first time that 10/100 ports have been offered on the E-series range (see Foundry Adds GigE Switches).

Gopala Tumuluri, Foundry’s product line manager for switching products, says that the increased port density will help users expand their systems. “All these products come with enough empty slots to add ports,” he says.

Zeus Kerravala, vice president of enterprise infrastructure at analyst firm The Yankee Group, believes that users are clamoring for modular devices. ”We ran a survey last year and the modular [form factor] was preferred by about two thirds,” he says.

He believes that networking experts, in particular, are won over by modular products, which could spell good news for Foundry. “F5’s customers tend to be networking people,” he adds.Kerravala also expects that the new Layers 4 to 7 switches will help Foundry challenge networking giant Cisco. “Layer 4 to 7 is not their strong suit,” he says. “It’s easier to battle Cisco in 4 to 7 than it is in routing.”

A spokeswoman for Cisco declined to provide comment for this article.

— James Rogers, Site Editor, Next-Gen Data Center Forum