Farallon has announced that they are now shipping a new gigabit ethernet switch, the Fast Starlet Gig Switch/4SX. The new switch is ideal for today's high bandwidth networks. According to Farallon:
With 4 1000Base-SX Fiber Gigabit ports, Farallon's Fast Starlet Gig Switch/4SX is ideal for creating a high-speed 1000Mbps network backbone.
"The connections between switches is one of the most common points of congestion on a network," states Ken Haase, VP Marketing for Farallon Communications, Inc. "When combined with our Fast Starlet Switch 10/100/100, the Fast Starlet Gig Switch/4SX allows users to eliminate inter-switch congestion and still benefit from the easy-install of a plug-and-play solution.
Farallons family of Gigabit solutions also includes a Gigabit PCI card for high-end Mac OS or Windows servers, and the Fast Starlet Switch 10/100/1000 with 16 10/100 auto-negotiating switched ports and 2 1000Base-SX Fiber Gigabit ports for connecting simultaneously to a Gigabit-equipped file server and a Gigabit backbone.
Farallon Fast Starlet Gig Switch/4SX Features:
4 1000Base-SX Fiber Optic SC Gigabit ports for 1000Mbps connectivity
Store-and-forward switching architecture forwards data with minimum delay
IEEE 802.3z compliant for full protocol compatibility
Stores up to 32,000 unique MAC addresses
Forwards packets at a blazing 1,488,000 packets per second
Provides a maximum aggregate bandwidth of 4000Mbps
Full-duplex support on every port for optimal network performance
Built-in universal power supply for worldwide use
Diagnostic LEDs for easy at-a-glance monitoring
Rack-mount kit included, free technical support & 3 year warranty
The Fast Starlet Gig Switch/4SX is available for US$1799. You can find more information at the Farallon web site.
The Mac Observer Spin: Gigabit Ethernet is likely to become as ubiquitous as 10 Mbit Ethernet is today at some point, though it is always possible another technology or paradigm will unseat Ethernet altogether.
