8/13/2007 -- Even as Cisco Systems Inc. sits atop the enterprise switching heap, competitors continue to nip at its heels.

Consider networking giant Foundry, which last week introduced its BigIron RX-32 high-capacity switch-router, a capacity behemoth with an ecological bent that Foundry plans to pitch to enterprise buyers.

The BigIron RX-32 ships with what Foundry claims is the largest non-blocking port count capacity on the market today: It can support 1,536-gigabit Ethernet, or 128 10-gigabit Ethernet ports per chassis.

Analysts like what they see in Foundry's newest BigIron deliverable.

"With this product, Foundry has reclaimed the high-performance and capacity crown from upstart Force10 Networks and made a lot of its competitors' flagship products look underpowered," said Steven Schuchart, a principal analyst for enterprise network systems with consultancy Current Analysis. "Foundry will be able to use the RX-32's capacity and port count as a lure to bring in customers that may very well end up buying a smaller product in the BigIron RX line. Foundry has also taken a tack that competitors should sit up and notice in terms of the BigIron RX-32's power and cooling consumption footprint. Companies are beginning to run into power and cooling problems in the data center and Foundry makes some convincing arguments in that regard."

In particular, said Schuchart, the BigIron RX-32 should give Foundry a leg up against rival Cisco. The reason, he explained, is that bigger sometimes really is better.

"[A]s the current crown holder for the largest Ethernet switch in terms of non blocking capacity, [the BigIron RX-32] gives Foundry Networks an advantage, particularly in comparison with Cisco Systems and Force 10 Networks, which both compete heavily for the high capacity Ethernet switching market. Having the biggest switch on the market carries market weight," he said.

The RX-32 should do much to bolster Foundry's position in the burgeoning 10-gigabit Ethernet stakes, Schuchart predicted.

"Foundry is bringing this product out at the beginning of what should be a nice upswing in enterprise needs for 10-gigabit Ethernet ports," he said. "This upswing is predicated on the use of blade servers as computing clusters, the need to back up and restore at a CDP level, and the changes in the market that indicate a slow shift towards Ethernet and IP storage in the datacenter. Foundry is well-positioned with the BigIron RX-32 to take advantage of 10-gigabit Ethernet in the largest datacenters."

In at least one respect, however, the RX-32's size might hurt it. "[It's] going to be a somewhat slow seller simply because so few enterprises can justify buying the capacity of the BigIron RX-32, even with the growth of 10-gigabit Ethernet. It isn't an insurmountable obstacle for Foundry, but it certainly represents a challenge. Competitors are going to characterize the BigIron RX-32 as oversized for today's market," Schuchart said.

Elsewhere, he concluded, the RX-32s could also be a target for competitors.

"Competitors such as Cisco will dismiss Foundry's BigIron RX-32 as an extravagance. Foundry will need to make special sales efforts to show customers not only the investment protection of such a large switch, but also emphasize the power and cooling advantages of the system," he said. --Stephen Swoyer