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Alcatel's OmniSwitch 6850s to Provide Gigabit PoE Capabilities

As users continue to embrace high-bandwidth and real-time applications such as video to the desktop, multimedia enterprise applications and voice-over-IP over LANs and wireless LANs, enterprises are becoming more dependent on fast network response which is driving the need for Gigabit Ethernet networks. To meet this demand, Alcatel has introduced the Alcatel OmniSwitch 6850 family of stackable 10/100/1000 and 10/100/1000PoE workgroup switches, which are 10 Gigabit capable workgroup switches. The OmniSwitch 6850s are the first Alcatel switches to provide Gigabit power-over-Ethernet (PoE) capabilities, as well as offer port diversity, full Alcatel Operating System (AOS) support, gigabit to the desktop, and 10 Gigabit uplinks.

“The OmniSwitch 6850 and 6850L are products that provide the competitive features necessary to be a winner in the enterprise market and they are being offered at very competitive prices,” Steven Schuchart, senior analyst - enterprise infrastructure at Current Analysis. “The switch family offers great port diversity allowing it to address multiple enterprise requirements. These switches are ideal for use in metro networks because they are extremely reliable and robust.”

The Alcatel OmniSwitch 6850s and 6850Ls provide capabilities for future use such as advanced security for the edge, support for user mobility and dual IPv4/IPv6 capability, says Alcatel. “Although the OmniSwitch 6850s stand less than two inches tall, the switching capacity rivals conventional chassis solutions that we were considering before,” said Donna J. VanHousen, Senior Director, Information Services & Technology of ViaHealth.

The switches are available in 24-port and 48-port versions, with AC and DC power with standard and high-power PoE, and with or without 10-Gigabit uplinks. Eight of them can be stacked together for a total capacity of 384 Gigabit ports and 16 10-Gigabit ports. The OmniSwitch 6850 is available immediately from Alcatel resellers while the OmniSwitch 6850L will be available in summer 2006. Prices start at USD 3,995 list for the OmniSwitch 6850-24 model.


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