SANTA CLARA, USA: Extreme Networks Inc. announced an addition to its BlackDiamond 8800 switching family, an Ethernet network platform for connectivity from network edge to core and data centre.

The trend for value-based enterprise networking at the edge is driven by organizations that are aiming for high performance and secure networks that can be cost-effectively deployed today, while keeping an eye to the future. Extreme Networks BlackDiamond 8500-series wiring closet modules offer a comprehensive and high-value solution addressing customers' needs for cost-effective, yet feature-rich converged switching capabilities with natural upgrade paths for scalability and growth on demand.

Mike Taylor, chief technology officer, SPS, a national integrator, said: "We partner with Extreme Networks because they have a complete approach with the BlackDiamond 8800 family that is fully upgradeable, without changing the chassis, with choices from fast Ethernet, to dense Gigabit to 10 Gigabit Ethernet and for integrated PoE. Extreme also provides the consistency of a uniform operating system, ExtremeXOS, across all switches to simplify deployment, driving more value at every level."

Organizations require an end-to-end network with advanced automation features to discover and provision network edge devices, resiliency to handle fiber outages with minimal impact to users and security to identify and mitigate threats. The BlackDiamond 8800 addresses all of these requirements with a comprehensive family of module choices on a single chassis, and a uniform operating system, ExtremeXOS. The result is a total modular solution to tackle the most flexible network deployments.

The BlackDiamond 8500-series modules will be available this quarter. The Management Switch Module (MSM), the BlackDiamond 8500-MSM24, has a US list price of $4,995. The 24 port Gigabit fiber module, the BlackDiamond 8500-G24X-e, has a US list price of $6,995. The 48 port Gigabit Base-T module, the BlackDiamond 8500-G48T-e, has a US list price of $3,995.