Compex Introduces the First Layer-3 Switch With Single ASIC Switching/Routing Engine.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

CeBIT 2000

ANAHEIM, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 24, 2000

Compex Inc. announced the first Layer-3 switch to fully integrate the switching/routing engine into one ASIC.

The latest addition to Compex's Enterprise Solution portfolio, the StellarSwitch SGX8216 comes with 16 10/100 Mbps auto-sensing ports, 2 Gigabit Ethernet ports supporting 1000Base-SX or 100Base-LX connections, and a modular slot supporting an optional WAN port for T1/E1 connections. The StellarSwitch SGX8216 will be introduced at CeBIT, February 24 to March 1 at Compex's booth, Hall 11, Booth D25.

The StellarSwitch SGX8216 offers a high-performance, easy-to-use, reliable and integrated Layer-3 switching solution at a cost-effective price. This is accomplished by placing the routing and switching operations into the single ASIC circuitry. The StellarSwitch SGX8216 high-end Layer-3 switch combines the performance and features required by today's corporate network and the requirement for new applications such as Voice over IP, fax and video.

The StellarSwitch SGX8216 separates the repetitious execution of the routing operation, performing them in the ASIC hardware, while handling the routing protocols through software. This allows the StellarSwitch SGX8216 to implement Wire-Speed Layer-3 Forwarding. The StellarSwitch SGX8216 supports a massive 32K Layer 2 and 32K Layer 3 addresses or Maximum Length Prefix Matches.

Combining the Wire-Speed Forwarding, large address space, 4.2-Gbps backplane capacity and a large buffer size of 32 MB, the StellarSwitch SGX8216 is suitable for demanding applications such as deployment as an enterprise collapsed backbone.

The StellarSwitch SGX8216 supports IEEE 802.1p Quality of Service (QoS) policy. This feature allows the StellarSwitch SGX8216 to prioritize the delay-sensitive traffic (such as video and sound stream) in the presence of lower priority traffic. It also supports IEEE 802.1q tagged VLAN. This allows segmentation of a large network from a single broadcast domain into multiple broadcast domains, thus supporting more users on the network and higher bandwidth on each broadcast domain.

The StellarSwitch SGX8216 supports IP Group Membership Protocol (IGMP) for IP Multicast and three types of protocols for exchanging routing information -- Routing Information Protocol (RIP), Routing Information Protocol Ver.2 (RIPv2) and Open Shortest Path First (OSPF).

With the heavy deployment of Internet-based applications in the past five years, every corporation or enterprise is now demanding the management of network devices over the global Internet. The StellarSwitch SGX8216 makes this possible with its embedded HTTP server. MIS managers can manage this high-end product from anywhere with just an Internet browser. The StellarSwitch SGX8216 supports SNMP management. The MIBs supported include MIBII, Bridge MIB, Ethernet MIB and RMON. The StellarSwitch SGX8216 also comes with a console management interface supported over a TELNET session.

Pricing & Availability

The StellarSwitch SGX8216 lists for $4,990 (US) and will be available by April 2000 through Compex's network of worldwide distributors and resellers.