SANTA CLARA, Calif., Feb. 22, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Extreme Networks today announced general availability of the BlackDiamond® X8 modular Ethernet  switch, featuring the latest ExtremeXOS® 15.1 release, enabling Cloud scale networks with the highest density, ultra-low latency and high energy efficiency.  

Extreme Networks Open Fabric architecture for the data center is a breakthrough solution that enables interoperable data center fabrics and leverages the ExtremeXOS operating system to support Software Defined Networking (SDN) and OpenFlow which helps reduce operational complexity associated with provisioning and device configuration.

The BlackDiamond X8 expands Extreme Networks cloud and data center switch while delivering the lowest latency (2.3 us), highest density (768 10 gigabit Ethernet ports in a third of a rack) and lowest power (5.6 watts per port) in independent tests conducted by the Lippis Report in October 2011. The BlackDiamond X8 has also been lab-tested by ten customers globally, including Elisa Links of Finland, Microsoft and the Wellcome Sanger Trust of Cambridge, UK.   

"Cloud infrastructure is driving a massive wave of data center consolidation," said Jon Oltsik, principal analyst for the Enterprise Strategy Group. "With its BlackDiamond X8, Extreme Networks is well-positioned to support this consolidation through an open fabric and switching architecture. The BlackDiamond X8 switch can deliver low latency, high density and strong power-efficiency for the data center."

"Extreme Networks Open Fabric architecture solution allows customers to build the highest density networks and manage the largest data centers on an open platform," said Shehzad Merchant, vice president of technology at Extreme Networks. "The BlackDiamond X8 was purpose-built to help reduce the complexity of virtualized networks and deliver scalability for the cloud and has already delivered record breaking performance results in the 2011 Lippis Report."

New Hardware to Support Cloud Data Centers

The BlackDiamond X8 can support 192 40-GbE ports at wire speed or 768, 10-GbE ports at wire speed. For enterprises that want to mobilize their application workloads and Virtual Machines (VMs) in the data center, the BlackDiamond X8 provides unmatched 1.28 Tbps bandwidth per slot or 20+ Tbps capacity per switch.  A single rack of three BlackDiamond X8s can replace from to 2 to 18 racks of other network switches, lowering power costs up to 50 percent by reducing the number of devices and freeing up valuable space for more server and storage racks inside the data center. 

The BlackDiamond X8 also includes storage convergence technologies such as Data Center Bridging (DCB) to enable LAN-SAN convergence for iSCSI, NFS, CIFS as well as FCoE with supported FSB capability. Power and cooling features include intelligent power management for unused ports, front-to-back cooling and variable fan speed, allowing greater power efficiency. Designed for high availability, the BlackDiamond X8 includes 1+1 Management; and N+1 Fabric,  power and fan;  N+N Power Grid; and multi-chassis clustering using M-LAG.

The BlackDiamond X8 is powered by time-tested, modular ExtremeXOS® operating system with resilient and intelligent virtualization features, The BlackDiamond X8 has the ability to switch up to 128,000 virtual machines(VMs) at wire speed, and automatically migrate Virtual Port Profiles (VPPs) with XNV&#8482 (ExtremeXOS® Network Virtualization). Automated configuration and provisioning further contribute to simplicity of deployment and operation.

About Extreme Networks

Extreme Networks is a market leader in high performance Ethernet switching for cloud, data center and mobile networks.  Based in Santa Clara, CA, Extreme Networks has more than 6,000 customers in more than 50 countries. 

Extreme Networks, the Extreme Networks logo, ExtremeXOS and BlackDiamond are registered trademarks of Extreme Networks, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. All other names are the property of their respective owners.  Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters set forth in this press release, including without limitation statements as to features, performance, benefits, and integration of the products are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date. Because such statements deal with future events, they are subject to risks and uncertainties, including network design and actual results of use of the product in different environments. We undertake no obligation to update the forward-looking information in this release. Other important factors which could cause actual results to differ materially are contained in the Company's 10-Qs and 10-Ks which are on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (http://www.sec.gov).