8/1/2006 -- Extreme Networks last week announced new 24- and 48-port enterprise switches as well as four new Gigabit Ethernet modules for its BlackDiamond 8800 modular switches. Extreme's new Summit X450 switches also come with optional dual-port 10 Gigabit uplinks, advanced IPV6 routing, voice-class availability and security featuring hardware-based sFlow sampling and policy- based security functions. The new BlackDiamond 8800 modules, on the other hand, support Gigabit aggregation, PoE and policy-based encryption.

Analysts say Extreme's product refresh comes not a moment too soon. "The new models of the Summit X450 increase the flexibility of a product line that had suffered from a dearth of diverse offerings. The additional port modules Extreme is making available for the BlackDiamond 8800 increases port diversity and gives customers flexible options when selecting port modules," notes Steven Schuchart, a senior analyst for enterprise infrastructure with Current Analysis.

Extreme plans to market two versions of its Summit switches, the X450a and the X450e. It bills the former as data center-ready offerings, while the latter it says are destined for the network edge. Schuchart likes this approach, which he says should help simplify buying decisions for many customers. "Extreme is doing a good job of not only increasing the port diversity of the X450 and BlackDiamond 8800 product lines, but it is allowing customers to choose the product they need based on the duty it will serve. By separating the products with the 'a' and 'e' designations, Extreme is saving customers money by giving them the option to deploy the right hardware for the situation and not overbuying," he comments.

In at least one respect -- namely, stackability -- Extreme's new switches don't, er, stack up quite as well as the competition, Schuchart notes: "The Extreme X450 line of switches does not support a dedicated stacking mechanism like most top-end products in the fixed configuration switching market. While the new X450 models do support 10 Gigabit Ethernet uplinks, the lack of dedicated stacking ports will hurt the products in the marketplace."

And while Extreme's new BlackDiamond 8800 modules do address some of that platform's competitive shortcomings, they may not go far enough, Schuchart argues. "Extreme needs to continue to come out with more port module options for the BlackDiamond 8800 product line. While the port diversity of the product line has been getting better steadily, competitors such as Cisco with its Catalyst 4500 still have the advantage in port diversity," he comments.

Cisco, for its part, should take the fight directly to Extreme, he concludes: "Cisco needs to show that its Catalyst 4500 switch can compete on port diversity and that the performance offered by the Extreme BlackDiamon 8800 is unnecessary in most installations." -Stephen Swoyer