http://www.comms-express.com/news/switches/ en-gb Fri, 10 Feb 2012 13:00:02 GMT Copyright: (C) Comms Express 2007 http://www.comms-express.com/images/logo.jpg http://www.comms-express.com/ Network equipment manufacturer Cisco beat turnover estimates during the last three months, it has been reported.

According to a company statement, net income rose to $2.18 billion (£1.37 billion), or 40 cents a share, in the quarter to January 28th 2012.

This was up from $1.52 billion, or 27 cents a share, a year earlier.

Frank Calderoni, Cisco's chief financial officer, said the firm has consistently reiterated its commitment to using the cash generated in its business to drive shareholder value.

The company does so with a combination of stock repurchases, dividends, mergers and acquisitions, and research and development, he explained.

"This quarter, with the strength of our business, we're pleased to announce an increase in our dividend," Mr Calderoni added.

"Going forward, we will continue to focus on driving the greatest return for our investors."

Cisco recently announced an intention to reclaim market share from its rivals in the network switches market.

News provided by Comms Express, number one for Cisco switches on the net]]> http://www.comms-express.com/news/switches/cisco-turnover-rise-in-three-months-to-february-801288292/ 2012-02-09 11:27:48 switches market will be worth £17.9 billion per year by 2016, a new report has predicted.

Research conducted by the Dell'Oro Group indicates that sales of Ethernet switches optimised for larger data centre deployments will help drive this growth.

Within five years, 10Gb Ethernet is expected to comprise the majority of revenue, although 40Gb and 100Gb are also expected to grow.

"We expect the Ethernet Switch market to experience two significant years of market growth in 2013 and 2014 from the migration of servers towards 10Gb Ethernet," said Alan Weckel, senior director of Dell'Oro Group.

"We believe that in 2013, most large enterprises will upgrade to 10Gb Ethernet for server access through a mix of connectivity options ranging from blade servers, SFP+ direct attach and 10G Base-T."

The paper also identified a number of industry leaders in this segment of the market - including Alcatel-Lucent, Avaya, Brocade, Cisco, Extreme, Dell, HP, IBM, and Juniper.

News provided by Comms Express, number one for networking news on the net]]> http://www.comms-express.com/news/switches/ethernet-switches-worth-17-9bn-by-2016-801275603/ 2012-01-26 13:25:31 network equipment manufacturer Netgear has added to its portfolio with a new media storage router model.

The firm unveiled the WNDR4700 Netgear router at the Consumer Electronics Show 2012, much to the delight of electronics enthusiasts.

It represents an advance on predecessor the ENDR4700, which was Apple's most popular home router in 2010, reports ITProPortal.

The solution provides storage, backup, wireless networking and streaming in a single package, helping to improve the overall user experience.

Netgear has built in 2TB of storage space, which can be upgraded for a higher-capacity hard drive. The inclusion of two USB 3.0 ports is also aimed at improving storage services.

The firm's WNDR4700 router is scheduled to go on sale in the summer.

News provided by Comms Express, number one for network supplies on the net ]]> http://www.comms-express.com/news/switches/summer-2012-launch-for-wndr4700-netgear-router-801267962/ 2012-01-18 13:10:55 Network equipment manufacturer D-Link has launched a new series of Gigabit switches with Layer 2+ features.

The firm has unveiled the D-Link DGS-3420 xStack family of products, which are designed to offer the ideal balance of performance, security and management flexibility.

The D-Link DGS-3420 - along with the DGS-3120 and DGS-3620 xStack switches with Layer 2 and Layer 3 features - allows businesses of all sizes to standardise on a robust solution that can serve as a departmental, aggregation or core switch.

In addition, the DGS-3420 series also enables businesses to future-proof their networks with IPv6 support, D-Link stated.

"Businesses are continually searching for cost-effective ways to manage large amounts of data within tight IT budgets without sacrificing performance or flexibility," said Mark Prowten, director of product marketing for switches at the firm.

"The D-Link 3420 series provides businesses with extensive security features, uncompromising performance, and ease of use making it an ideal solution for scaling existing bandwidth intensive networks."

Formed in Taipei in 1986, D-Link is the world's largest non-US vendor of networking solutions and equipment.

News provided by Comms Express, number one for network kits on the net]]> http://www.comms-express.com/news/switches/d-link-adds-to-switches-portfolio-801266811/ 2012-01-17 14:30:58 Netgear has launched a new technology platform that enables consumers to purchase and download apps from the cloud for their home network.

The Smart Network Cloud Application Platform is designed to allow consumers to capitalise on modern IT innovations by optimising and personalising their connected home.

According to Netgear, the network enables "enhanced capabilities" and management of practically any connected device, while providing a platform for innovative new applications to exist in the cloud.

These can be readily downloaded by consumers - allowing them to shape their network to match their particular lifestyle and needs.

Downloaded apps will enable "a nearly infinite number of capabilities, controls and applications" for these connected Netgear home network devices, including media, gaming, security, energy conservation and more.

Cedar Milazzo, senior director of engineering at the network equipment provider, said the new platform opens up a whole new world of possibilities for consumers everywhere.

"For the first time, consumers can use our dashboard to create a customised network experience that caters to their needs and desires," she said.

"Today's smart devices are only as smart as the networks they are connected to."

News provided by Comms Express, number one for Netgear router equipment on the net]]> http://www.comms-express.com/news/switches/netgear-launches-network-cloud-application-platform-801260116/ 2012-01-10 13:30:48 Network equipment manufacturer Cisco is set for a turnaround in fortunes this year, one commentator has predicted.

Writing for Barron's, Michael Santoli said the firm's share price is set to rise after a difficult 12 months.

He noted that, in 2011, Cisco fought through a "tough" product transition, and suffered from the demise of its ill-conceived Flip video-camera initiative and slower cable-box sales.

A decline in tech spending by governments - major clients of the firm - also hit overall turnover, as did "bruising" price competition in the network switches market.

"In response, Cisco streamlined its engineering-management team, cut headcount and curtailed its consumer-product ambitions," Mr Santoli stated.

This has left the networking giant well-placed to enjoy a strong 2012, he suggested.

According to Infonetics Research, Cisco's fortunes began to improve during the third quarter of 2011 with a strong three months in the Ethernet switches market.

News provided by Comms Express, number one for Cisco switches on the net]]> http://www.comms-express.com/news/switches/better-year-predicted-for-cisco-in-2012-801258569/ 2012-01-09 11:27:39 switches can play a role in reducing energy consumption within the office environment, it has been claimed.

Darren Clare, head of information technology services at Zycko, said the solutions can be used to increase efficiency in working areas and in the data centre.

He noted that everybody uses network switches within their environment at some time, to maximise the value of their hardware.

But not all firms are using data centre-grade switches which allow the firm to scale energy consumption up or down, Mr Clare said.

Such network tools help promote green IT policies and can help businesses and other organisations reduce costs, he added.

"It's all about cost savings and reducing the carbon footprint," Mr Clare said.

Earlier this month, Intel claimed data centres can save four per cent in energy costs for every 1ºC they increase the heat.

This is because they are able to spend less of cooling equipment for their severs and cabinets, the firm stated.

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Writing for the Data Centre Journal, Pooja Chopra said the increasing need for computing services is creating strong demand for off-site data centres, where IT hardware can be stored, managed and monitored in server racks.

She claimed that looking after servers in-house can be a complex and expensive task, so more firms are turning to outsourcing providers who have particular expertise in this area.

They place their trust in the third-party, who is then under pressure to deliver high-quality data centre services to their clients.

"With an aim to have the online processes running smoothly, data centres and servers therein need to be up 24/7 all the time," Ms Chopra explained.

"Usually the data centre contains servers, routers and switches to make communication between these servers with each other."

She urged businesses to assess their requirements, growth and scalability before selecting in-house or off-site IT, as every individual company has a different set of circumstances.

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According to Gadget Mania, the Wi-Fi router has become one of the most important pieces of network equipment for the office.

"Whether you've got multiple computers you need to connect to the internet or to each other at home, or you need to form a small network at your office, the one piece that will always be there is the router," the news provider stated.

It added that the router is "the most important part of a network", and selecting a good model helps avoid "tons of trouble" when transferring data from one computer to another or to remote computers via an external connection.

Gadget Mania identified a number of the best Wi-Fi routers currently available on the market - one of which is the NetGear WNDR3800 N600.

An update to the Netgear WNDR3300, it uses dual-band N technology and offers four 1Gbps Ethernet ports, a USB port for external hard drives and flash drives, and support for network attached storage functionality, the news provider stated.

Gadget Mania described the router is "a great choice" for price-conscious home users or small business owners seeking strong connectivity.

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According to Infonetics Research, the firm - which has had a difficult time competing with HP switches over the past year - turned things around between July and September.

The analyst said Cisco had turned things around with "a blowout quarter", showing that their internal reorganisation and more aggressive stance are starting to pay off.

Cisco increased its Ethernet switch revenue by 18 per cent, capturing 68 per cent of the global market during Q3 2011.

"It’s impossible to tell where things go from here, but at least for now, Cisco has changed the momentum," said Matthias Machowinski, directing analyst for enterprise networks and video at Infonetics Research.

Overall, 13 per cent more switches were sold during the third quarter than in the previous three months, generating £3.2 billion in revenue.

The report said Ethernet switch average selling prices have declined over 20 per cent during the past year, but now vendors are "holding the line" on discounting.

News provided by Comms Express, number one for Cisco switches on the net]]> http://www.comms-express.com/news/switches/q3-sees-cisco-revival-in-ethernet-switches-801237825/ 2011-12-13 14:48:37 switches and other useful devices to the market.

The latest product release is Electro Standards Laboratories' Model 7371 Single Channel Cat6A RJ45 Switch.

It features three positions of A/B/C switching and serial remote control, and according to the manufacturer, uses high performance shielded RJ45 connectors.

Electro Standards Laboratories explained that the switch is certified for Cat6a compliance.

"The Model 7371 switches all eight pins of the RJ45 interface and is transparent to data speed and format to allow seamless network switching," the firm stated.

"Switch position can be controlled manually via front panel pushbutton or remotely via ASCII RS232 Serial Data commands."

Also, the device retains last switch position in the event of a power loss and continues to pass data, the manufacturer added.

It is available with optional wide range power module 100VAC/240VAC, 50Hz/60Hz in place of standard power module, it said.

News provided by Comms Express, number one for network tools on the net]]> http://www.comms-express.com/news/switches/model-7371-rj45-switch-is-launched-801233366/ 2011-12-08 11:21:27 Netgear router available on the market, it has been claimed.

According to Northern Voices Online, the dual-band model supports three 150Mb spatial streams, as opposed to the two slower streams on the older WNDR3700.

The WNDR4500 is the first router to have two USB 3.0 ports to support a storage device and a multifunction printer, the news provider stated.

It is faster than the old while writing files to a portable drive, but slower when it comes to reading files from it, Northern Voices Online added.

"The router's browser-based user interface has been fully revamped," the site explained.

"It has a default SSID for the 2.4GHz radio and a unique, but easy-to-remember password for both radios printed on the side of the device that can be customised later."

Headquartered in California, Netgear was founded in 1996 as a subsidiary of Bay Networks.

News provided by Comms Express, number one for network equipment on the net]]> http://www.comms-express.com/news/switches/netgear-router-the-fastest-yet-801221411/ 2011-11-25 10:46:46 network tools are those which can be installed and then – to a large extent - forgotten about, it has been claimed.

Steve Bandrowczak, vice president and general manager at Avaya Networking, said enterprises do not want to be constantly changing data networking solutions, or having to modify their set-up.

He claimed that businesses are looking for tools that make it "effortless" for them to connect new IP phones, secure new devices and users.

They should also make it possible for firms to add more capacity, or next-generation applications and services in the future, Mr Bandrowczak noted.

He claimed that collaboration-ready switches deliver these features to modern enterprises, enabling IT staff to focus their attentions elsewhere.

Network tools should provide support for advanced capabilities such as network virtualisation and wireless integration that will allow enterprises to simplify their networks, Mr Bandrowczak said.

Zeus Kerravala, principal analyst at ZK Research, recently claimed the network has become the most scalable delivery platform for real-time applications and services such as video, VoIP and desktop virtualisation.

"Delivering a consistent user experience to all users, no matter where they are in the corporation, puts new demands on the network to enable a seamless experience," he stated.

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Two of the xStack SAN Storage devices have received VMware Ready status, meaning they have passed extensive VMware-specified tests to ensure that they make best use of VMware technology, and are "ready for deployment in customer environments".

The DSN-3200-10 and DSN-5210-10 are suitable for businesses of all sizes and provide cost-effective solutions for organisations looking for robust and expandable storage.

D-Link's chief technology officer, AJ Wang, said: "Server consolidation provides a triad of benefits through flexibility, scaling and redundancy.

"Our VMware Ready xStack Storage SAN arrays can form a solid foundation for customers by providing a fast, reliable and cost-effective solution that can scale with their future needs."

D-Link recently introduced piece of network equipment for homes and small businesses that can display photos as well as providing network attached storage.

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The DIR-685 is an 802.11n router that delivers high-speed wireless LAN connection. A four-port switch also allows multiple devices to be connected at once.

Furthermore, the device has a slot for a 500GB hard drive that can then be used as network attached storage for all users.

A 1.6 million colour 3.2 inch screen also makes it ideal as a picture display, solving the problem of having to conceal a router.

USB ports on the device also means other accessories such as printers can be attacked as well as 3G adapters which could ensure access to data from remote locations.

In its description of the products, the company says that it "meshes style with technology to offer a simple yet sleek design, ideal for home use".

D-Link recently resolved a problem that had affected some of its other network equipment.

A bug was discovered that could have meant other users could gain super-user privileges on its routers, although an upgrade has now ended that risk.

News provided by Comms Express, number one for network supplies on the net.]]> http://www.comms-express.com/news/switches/new-d-link-router-displays-photos-d-link-19641291/ 2010-02-26 18:13:40
The award was given after the magazine, in association with Penn State University, asked retailers to rate their partners.

Among the key praise given to D-Link were its product features, product reliability, innovation and support.

One US reseller said: "Link seems to be continuously updating its product line to keep ahead of the crowd."

Another also praised the company for having superior technical support to its competitors.

D-Link manufactures a range of networking equipment for businesses of all sizes, as well as consumers, including routers, switches and adapters.

The company recently released a chassis-based switch, designed for large campus locations, that features flexible modular architecture and industry standard compliance.

The DES-7200 was successfully tested in a school in Kent where it improved network access for staff and pupils.

News provided by Comms Express, number one for networking equipment on the net.]]> http://www.comms-express.com/news/switches/d-link-awarded-for-vendor-relationships-d-link-19627160/ 2010-02-19 17:42:50
A bug was recently discovered that meant devices could be offered a shadow connection, potentially resulting in other users gaining super-user privileges and changing the router settings, according to the Register.

The updates have been issued for the DIR-635, DIR-655 and DIR-855 routers, as well as a number of other models that have been discontinued.

It has been stressed that for the loophole to be exploited a password would still be needed, so the router should not necessarily be compromised.

D-Link provides designs, develops and manufactures a range networking equipment suitable for anything from homes and small businesses to enterprise environments.

It has a particular focus on green products, while the company also seeks to lead the way in Wireless N, which it sees as the future of wireless networking.

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The four new modules are ethernet-based and can support up to 1000 MAC addresses. They also feature priority queuing, while support for the GUI-based iView exists, meaning the status of the switch can be easily viewed.

Offering flexibility in deployment over up to 80 km, all the modules have built-in flow control, and are available in a number of fibre or copper configurations.

Raul Martinez, product marketing manager at IMC Networks, said: "With integrated fibre ports, the iMcV-Switch is ideal for a variety of applications such as VoIP, video or data transmission over Ethernet."

The switches can be installed as part of the company's iMediaChassis and expanded to create as many ports as are needed. The copper switch module, the TX5, has five ports.

IMC is a leading manufacturer of media converters and fibre to the premises solutions, offering low-cost products for enterprise, government and service providers.

New provided by Comms Express, number one for switches on the net.]]> http://www.comms-express.com/news/switches/imc-announce-new-products-switches-19595919/ 2010-02-03 17:08:06
According to Network World, the MSC120 will have 120Gbps per slot. It will support between 12 and 24 slots with a combined throughput of over 2 terabytes.

The product was mentioned in Oppenheimer & Co. analyst Ittai Kidron's latest bulletin, in which he also mentioned that problems with the AISC design meant that the product will be delayed until 2011

However, Kidron does not believe that the delay will have any financial impact on the company and does not expect it to lose any business.

Cisco recently said it expects to post a second quarter sales increase, its first in over a year. It has attributed this partly to more customers upgrading their networks as they feel more confident about the economy.

The company also announced last month that it would partner with VMware and NetApp to establish an architecture to ensure security in the growing area of cloud computing.

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The BlackDiamond 8900-xl modules and Summit X480 stackable switches allow them to customise their data centres to the required architecture and topography, built on Layer 2 and 3 designs.

Performing essential roles in maintaining networks within and between data centres, the products have the intelligence, flexibility and performance needed to cope with large amounts of data.

The company says that, with many businesses outsourcing infrastructure, hosting companies and enterprises need to scale their data centres to provide support for large numbers of users and virtual machines.

Jon Oltsik, principal network analyst for the Enterprise Strategy Group, said: "As managed hosting and cloud environments continue to grow rapidly, both Layer 2 and Layer 3 scalability becomes a major issue in the network."

In December the company outlined its vision for a cloud-based future for businesses, built around the four pillars for data centre construction: efficiency, physicality, scalability and automation/customisation.

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