Foundry Debuts PoE Switch For VoIP, Converged Networks

Foundry Networks Inc. has announced a new compact power over Ethernet (POE) Layer 2/3 10-Gigabit switch designed for voice over IP (VoIP) and converged network applications.

Featuring combines twenty-four ports of 10/100/1000 Mbps and support 802.3af POE, the FastIron Edge X-Series 424-POE can provide power to networked devices like IP handsets, IP video cameras and wireless access points. Though designed to be deployed with trunked Gigabit Ethernet fiber uplinks, the unit can be upgraded with two 10 Gigabit ports, permitting a smooth migration to the new network standard.

"Organizations are implementing Power Over Ethernet for mission-critical applications such as voice over IP and cannot afford downtime," Foundry vice president enterprise business unit general manager Bob Schiff said in a statement. "Additionally, bandwidth growth in many environments is driving the need for 10 Gigabit Ethernet. The FES X424-POE switch is a powerful solution providing the expandability and the reliability our customers are asking for in a cost-effective and compact design."

Four of the switch's ports are combination small form pluggable (SFP) and 10/100/1000 Mbps POE, permitting the use of either copper of fiber optic network connections. The FES X424-POE offers advanced quality of service (QoS) features and can be upgraded with an optional redundant power supply providing 1+1 power redundancy for system and POE requirements.