Higher port density and lower per-port Gigabit Ethernet switch prices could be just around the corner from several major network equipment vendors thanks to switch OEM company Galileo Technology.
Enterprise network users will soon see the highest density of 10/100M bit/sec ports in a 1U (1 3/4-inch stackable unit) housing with Galileo's 48-port RD-GalStack, which includes two Gigabit Ethernet uplinks. The company also announced the RD-48360, a 12-port copper-based Gigabit Ethernet switch, which has a price per Gigabit port of around $US333, far below the industry average of $US1,021 per Gigabit port, according to Cahner's In-Stat Group, a US market research firm.
The RD-GalStack could help solve a common problem for network managers: how to cram more 10/100 ports into a rack.
"Computer equipment is second to manufacturing equipment in our facility," in terms of spending and space allocation, says Joel Sanders, IT director for Doing Steel, a Springfield, Mo., engineering firm. Sanders says this fact constantly forces him to look for ways to save space while his company's network expands. Sanders says he likes the idea of fitting 48 ports into a 1U rack slot to save space.
Keeping 48 ports cool in such a small enclosure was done by integrating the device's memory into the system boards, says Barry Gray, marketing director for Galileo in San Jose. This keeps the application specific integrated circuits (ASIC) that run the switch from overheating.
"Integrating the memory reduces the chip count for the OEMs, which helps reduce the heat that is generated by these ASICs," Gray says. "That's allowed us to pack all these ports in a very small enclosure."
At a price per Gigabit Ethernet port, the RD-48360 provides copper-based Gigabit Ethernet at a fraction of the industry average cost. The research firm also reports that copper-based Gigabit Ethernet ports made up 25 percent of the nearly 500,000 modular ports shipped in the second quarter of this year.
While Gray would not give specifics, he says several major switch manufacturers will be shipping products based on the RD-GalStack and RD-48360 by the fourth quarter. Major network equipment vendors that act as OEMs for Galileo products include Cisco, Nortel Networks, Intel, Hewlett-Packard, Lucent and D-Link.
The RD-GalStack and RD-48360 are priced at $US4,000 each and will be available to OEM and end-user customers next month.