Nortel Unveils Two New BayStack Switches

Nortel

Nortel's BayStack 470-48T, slated for availability in June, is a stackable switch with 48 10/100 ports plus two GBIC slots. The new switch line also includes integrated stack connectors, allowing users to stack the switches without using up a Gigabit port.

The new switch also features Layer 3 through 4 packet classification, allowing for quality of service and traffic prioritization, said Todd McDole, director of products for the Baystack intelligent edge group at Nortel. The QoS feature adds intelligence to the edge of the network without the cost of full Layer 3 or 4 functionality, McDole said.

"We're moving toward delivering QoS to the wiring closet," he said. "With Layer 2 forwarding and Layer 3 through 4 packet classification, that allows us to prioritize traffic accordingly, which is all you need at the edge of the network."

The BayStack 470-48T is expected to list for $4,495.

The BayStack 380-24T is a Layer 2 switch geared toward the emerging Gigabit Ethernet desktop market, McDole said. The switch comes with 24 10/100/1000 ports plus four mini-GBIC ports for uplinks. With PC vendors now shipping systems with 10/100/1000 network-interface cards, Nortel expects the Gigabit to the desktop market to show significant growth, McDole said. Engineering and telemedicine are two categories already adopting Gigabit to the desktop, he said.

The BayStack 380, also slated for June availability, is expected to list for $7,995.