Alcatel-Lucent aims 10GbE OmniSwitch at the enterprise

Alcatel-Lucent has unveiled a 10 Gigabit Ethernet enterprise switch that it claims will set a new standard for the delivery of services on networks by improving port density and reducing power consumption.

The OmniSwitch 10K Modular LAN Chassis (PDF) is the first product in the firm's Application Fluent Network strategy which aims to ensure that enterprise networks can deliver high-quality and real-time applications smoothly.

Alcatel-Lucent explained that the OmniSwitch 10K can boost performance on core networks by up to four times for non-blocking switch capacity by offering up to 5.12Tbit/s of wire rate switching capacity. This capacity is broken down into 256 10GbE switches.

Peter Tebbutt, head of enterprise pre-sales for northern Europe at Alcatel-Lucent, claimed that the scalability of the ports will appeal to businesses.

"It's been built to be able to host 40 gigabits and 100 gigabits of data in the future, meaning that organisations don't have to rip and replace infrastructure but can instead evolve as they go forward," he said.

"The OmniSwitch 10K is a real statement of intent as we look to expand and ramp up our portfolio, and we don't believe any other company on the market can compete with this offering."

Johan Ragmo, region north business development manager for Alcatel-Lucent's enterprise division, added that the size of the rack will offer numerous benefits.

"You can fit three units into one chassis while maintaining the right airflow for cooling, so organisations can lower costs in datacentres by reducing the space they need and so reduce service contracts," he said.

"It can also be installed at the core of the network or used as an access switch, and has the same functionality throughout to help meet customer requirements."

Alcatel-Lucent was unable to give any specific cost for the OmniSwitch 10K, explaining that it will be based on each customer's specifications.

The company did say that the maximum price is $500,000 (£316,000), claiming that this is three times cheaper than some rivals in this space.

The OmniSwitch 10K is available from today.