March 14, 2005 - (HOSTSEARCH.COM) - Foundry Networks, today announced additions to its NetIron service provider product portfolio. The NetIron IM 640 is a carrier-class provider edge and core router that delivers broadband IP, Ethernet and MPLS services at one-tenth the cost of alternative platforms. The NetIron 2404 is a modular, high-density aggregation router for the customer edge, providing aggregation and distribution of advanced Layer 2 and Layer 3 VPN services for multiple subscribers.
“Ethernet, VPNs and converged IP network services are the growth services of the future. Service providers must ready their networks to deliver these services or risk losing this profitable business to alternative providers,” said Bobby Johnson, Foundry’s Chairman and CEO. “Our announcements today dramatically change the status quo. Our NetIron multi-service routers present an edge-to-core solution that is a fraction of the cost of current solutions and will help to accelerate the deployment of this vital infrastructure.”
Service providers have generally relied on high-priced equipment from their traditional router vendors to build their multi-service MPLS networks. List prices for these platforms can start at $500,000 and exceed $5,000,000 for fully configured systems. One of the primary contributors to these prices is the cost of the high capacity ports on these systems. For example, for one vendor’s router, a single OC-192c/STM-64 port costs $275,000, a 10-Gigabit Ethernet port costs $180,000 and a 1-Gigabit Ethernet port costs $18,000. The pricing for the NetIron IMR 640 is significantly less. For the NetIron IMR 640, an OC-192c/STM-64 compatible port (implemented using the 10-Gigabit Ethernet WAN PHY) is priced at $24,000, a 10-Gigabit Ethernet (10-GbE) port is priced at $8,750 and a 1-Gigabit Ethernet (1-GbE) port is priced at $875. This is a 90% to 95% reduction in pricing that is expected to dramatically change the business model for network operators and will help spur faster and broader deployment of multi-service MPLS networks.
“In building the NetIron IMR 640, we have leveraged nearly ten years of expertise in developing and marketing Ethernet, IP and MPLS switches and routers,” said Dr. Ivy Hsu, vice president and general manager of Foundry’s Service Provider Business Unit. “The NetIron IMR 640 combines the cost advantages of Ethernet, the scale, density and wire-speed performance of Foundry’s Terathon? technology and the service richness of MPLS to deliver the industry’s highest density and best price-performance Internet and Metro router available.”
