5/1/2007 -- Cisco rival Extreme Networks last week announced a new line of fix configuration switches, dubbed the Summit X250 series.

Starting at just under $2,000 for a 24-port device (and $2,995 for a 48-port model), Extreme's Summit X250 switches promise rapid and secure deployment capabilities and an affordable pricing structure. What they deliver, analysts say, is a little of both.

Take Tere' Bracco, a senior research director with Current Analysis, who notes that even though Extreme's Summit X250 line is affordable and does boast enhanced security and deployment features, it nevertheless "falls short of a true single-image core-to-edge solution that would achieve the goal that Extreme calls 'preserving design equity."

All the same, Bracco said, the X250 is an important deliverable for Extreme, which is struggling to compete against Cisco, Nortel and other enterprise switching competitors.

"The X250 series-based solution is the company's competitive volley in the current round of enterprise switch wars," Bracco pointed out. "While Extreme's solution is not groundbreaking, it outlines the strategic direction and tactical proof points that characterize the current competitive landscape for switching, such as a common platform, single image, centralized management and integrated application support. Competitors will have to craft both products and messages to respond."

It's likely that Cisco, for example, will be hard-pressed to match Extreme on the pricing front. On the other hand, Cisco's Catalyst switches are more than a match for Extreme's new X250 line in terms of comparative features and functionality (the dreaded "check box" face-off). As a result, Bracco said, the networking giant would do well to emphasize the value that its Catalyst switching products bring to the table.

"Currently, Extreme's primary advantage over comparable Cisco switches is price," he said. "Therefore, Cisco should emphasize its service-oriented networking support to justify its price premium."

Given Cisco's traditional dominance of the enterprise switching space, this shouldn't be a very tall order.

Nortel Networks, on the other hand, is vulnerable in the feature and function department, where it enjoys parity with Extreme (with features such as IPv6 and PoE support) only in its Gigabit switches. The industry is moving inexorably toward Gigabit, of course, and Nortel has probably hedged its bets in the right direction, but for customers who don't yet need a Gigabit pipe, Notel's strategy might prove to be cost-prohibitive, Bracco said.

Hewlett-Packard Co.'s ProCurve line is most vulnerable -- on paper at least -- because its edge switches do not offer a comparable feature set.

"ProCurve should focus on the very low end of the market, while simultaneously preparing and announcing a product roadmap that includes edge switches with a competitive feature set," Bracco said.

The Universal Port is available as a component of ExtremeXOS 12.0. The Universal Port Manager is an enhancement available as a part of the advanced software upgrade to EPICenter. --Stephen Swoyer