Extreme Networks announces general availability of BlackDiamond X8 modular switch for data centers

SANTA CLARA, USA: Extreme Networks Inc. has announced general availability of the BlackDiamond X8 modular Ethernet switch, featuring the latest ExtremeXOS 15.1 release, enabling Cloud scale networks with the highest density, ultra-low latency and high energy efficiency.

Extreme Networks Open Fabric architecture for the data center is a breakthrough solution that enables interoperable data center fabrics and leverages the ExtremeXOS operating system to support Software Defined Networking (SDN) and OpenFlow which helps reduce operational complexity associated with provisioning and device configuration.

The BlackDiamond X8 expands Extreme Networks cloud and data center switch while delivering the lowest latency (2.3 us), highest density (768 10 gigabit Ethernet ports in a third of a rack) and lowest power (5.6 watts per port) in independent tests conducted by the Lippis Report in October 2011. The BlackDiamond X8 has also been lab-tested by ten customers globally, including Elisa Links of Finland, Microsoft and the Wellcome Sanger Trust of Cambridge, UK.

"Cloud infrastructure is driving a massive wave of data center consolidation," said Jon Oltsik, principal analyst for the Enterprise Strategy Group. "With its BlackDiamond X8, Extreme Networks is well-positioned to support this consolidation through an open fabric and switching architecture. The BlackDiamond X8 switch can deliver low latency, high density and strong power-efficiency for the data center."

"Extreme Networks Open Fabric architecture solution allows customers to build the highest density networks and manage the largest data centers on an open platform," said Shehzad Merchant, vice president of technology at Extreme Networks. "The BlackDiamond X8 was purpose-built to help reduce the complexity of virtualized networks and deliver scalability for the cloud and has already delivered record breaking performance results in the 2011 Lippis Report."