11/7/2005 -- If you hadn’t heard of Force10 Networks prior to last week, you’ve almost certainly heard of it now. Just a week ago, Force10 announced that it had increased the 10-Gigabit Ethernet density of its TeraScale E-Series to 224 ports per system. That’s a 400 percent increase over its initial offering.

But Force10 didn’t stop with high density.

The company set an aggressive per port price of $3,600 and threw in a new port module that supports Ethernet aggregation for 10-Gigabit Ethernet ports in lieu of multiple 1-Gigabit Ethernet interfaces.

The announcement should compel Force10’s competitors, including Cisco Systems Inc., to adjust their own pricing downward. It also once again casts (comparatively tiny) Force10 in a leadership position in a fiercely contested market segment. "[I]t shows continued leadership in driving [Gigabit Ethernet] and 10 [Gigabit Ethernet] density and cost metrics with its TeraScale E-series products," writes Glen Hunt, a senior analyst for carrier infrastructure with consultancy Current Analysis.

It’s not a first for Force10, either, notes Hunt: In April, that company increased its Gigabit Ethernet densities with a 90-port interface module, for example. But last week’s announcement was even more aggressive, Hunt says. "Force10’s high density 10 [Gigabit Ethernet] interface announcement moves the capacity bar from 64 10 [Gigabit Ethernet] ports per chassis, which was set by Foundry’s new RX-16 platform," he explains. "With the new 16-port interface module, up to 224 ports per chassis can be supported."

Force10’s pricing, too, is best-in-industry. "At $3,600 per 10 [Gigabit Ethernet] port, the announcement also sets a new price metric for this technology. The combination of the cost per port and the density per chassis enables service providers and data center operators to build out a 10 [Gigabit Ethernet] aggregation model that accounts for future traffic growth effectively, without relying on multiple [Gigabit Ethernet] links."

Force10’s announcement ratchets up the pressure on competitors Cisco, Alcatel, Foundry and Extreme, Hunt says. Not that Force10 has brought any of these vendors up short, however. Cisco, for example, has several product positives that might cancel out Force10’s higher density and cheaper pricing. "Cisco should highlight its ability to address a broad spectrum of Ethernet services with its NGN solutions that provide MEF certified carrier Ethernet services," he concludes, noting that 10of Cisco’s platforms have achieved MEF certification. In fact, Hunt suggests, Cisco should "especially" trumpet its new ME 3400, "which is optimized for business VPN services and its ability to tailor feature-set bundles to match the service providers’ deployment model." -Stephen Swoyer