XRN Interconnect architecture: New XRN architecture offers high availability, low cost

摘要

3Com is targeting the enterprise backbone with its new Expandable Resilient Networking architecture, and our tests support 3Com's claim that its XRN interconnect technology combines high availability with excellent performance. 3Com, long a player in workgroup switching, is adding redundancy features to topend models to compete with established enterprise backbone vendors, including Cisco, Extreme Networks and Foundry Networks. By using the XRN Interconnect Kit to aggregate multiple switches as one virtual unit, 3Com says it is matching competitors' availability and performance―at a significantly lower price. For example, 3Com says two of its 4060 switches connected in an XRN stack would cost $1,061 per Gigabit Ethernet port, vs. $1,859 per port for Cisco's Catalyst 4500 and $1,914 per port for Extreme's Alpine 3800 in equivalent configurations. Furthermore, 3Com says the stackable nature of the XRN approach lets users take a pay-as-you-go approach, purchasing new capacity as needed.