Force10 Networks' S7000 ToR switches 'specialised for virtualised environments'

The new S7000 top-of-rack (ToR) switch by Force10 Networks has been described by one industry resource as "specialised hardware for virtual appliances".

Writing for SearchNetworking, the publication's technical editor Michael Brandenburg outlined some of the benefits of the solution, including the ability of its expansion slots to host as many as four appliance modules that can directly operate virtual appliances on the switch.

"These appliance modules feature their own 64-bit processors, local memory and storage. Force10 suggests that customers host firewalls, packet sniffers and load balancers on these switches," he noted.

Mr Brandenburg also asserted that virtualisation is a technology that has become embedded within enterprises, enabling IT staff to reduce the physical space required for network services hardware.

The S4810, S25N, S60 and S25P 10 GbE ToR switches from Force10 Networks were recently deployed by Avid Technology to deliver optimal throughput as a result of the removal of queuing delays, the vendor recently reported.

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