Foundry adds PB, PBB to the edge

“Foundry is positioning PBB as an architecture, whereas [Alcatel-Lucent] is positioning PBB merely as a frame format that has utility over an MPLS architecture network,” said Mark Seery, vice president of switching and routing at Ovum. “For those operators that want a cost-effective solution optimized for PBB, the Foundry product may look like a better option. For operators that want an MPLS-solution that solves Ethernet scaling problems by integrating PBB, [Alcatel-Lucent’s] may look like a better solution.”

“[Alcatel-Lucent’s] 7450 ESS-1/7750 SR-1 supports native PBB without MPLS but is not positioned that way,” Seery said. “They are positioned as working better from a management perspective if PBB is transported over MPLS. The Foundry product, on the other hand, is positioned as supporting a range of native Ethernet switching technologies including VLAN switching, PB and PBB. The Foundry product also supports a wider range of IP routing capabilities than [Alcatel-Lucent’s] 7450 ESS (though not the 7750 SR-1). Given that the Foundry product will more often compete against the 7450 ESS, this might be an interesting distinction.”

Foundry stressed the product’s compact size as a boon to crowded data centers (according to Seery, Alcatel-Lucent’s smallest comparable products, the 7450 ESS-1 and 7750 SR-1, are slightly larger -- about one and a quarter rack units tall) and touted its front-to-back airflow (rather than side to side) to keep heat off of neighboring equipment.

As for PBB-TE, a younger, more connection-oriented version of PBB being applied to transport networks, Foundry, like Alcatel, is taking a wait-and-see attitude. “We have the capabilities to do that; we’re still looking at how the market evolves,” Rajagopal said. “So far we’ve had a lot of customers asking us for PBB. Rarely have customers asked us for PBB-TE.”

Beta units of the 2000s began shipping to some customers last week, and the product line should be generally available in the fourth quarter, when Foundry hopes to close its acquisition by Brocade Communications Systems. Pricing for the smaller of the two models will start at just under $8500.