Foundry Networks, Inc. - Networking Equipment -  Category Directory

(408) 586-1700

2100 Gold Street
P.O. Box 649100
San Jose, CA 95164

www.foundrynetworks.com
 

Sales

$400 million

Business Description 
Foundry Networks, founded in 1996, is a leading provider of next-generation networking products. We provide a comprehensive, end-to-end suite of high-performance Ethernet Layer 2 and Layer 3 switches, Metro routers and Internet traffic management products for enterprises, educational institutions, government agencies, web-hosting companies, application service providers (ASPs), electronic banking and finance service providers, and Internet service providers (ISPs). We design, develop, manufacture and market solutions to meet the needs of high-performance network infrastructures for Layer 2-7 switching and routing and for local area networks (LANs), metropolitan area networks (MANs), wide area networks (WANs), and the web. Foundry’s combined product breadth allows us to offer global end-to-end solutions within and throughout a customer’s networking infrastructure regardless of the geographically dispersed nature of the entire organization. Our products can be found from the wiring closets connecting the desktops together within the enterprise to the mission critical LAN backbone and data center. We provide robust and high performance routing solutions from the Internet core to the edge of the Internet service access network and its network of web and application servers. Our Metro routers deliver the capabilities and performance needed to provide efficient and reliable core routing services to Internet data centers around the world. Our Layer 2 and Layer 3 switches provide the intelligence, speed and cost effectiveness required to support the increasing use of bandwidth-intensive and Internet-based applications. Our high performance Internet traffic management systems with network intelligence capabilities allow enterprises and service providers to build highly available network infrastructures that direct traffic flow efficiently based on client location, application type, and administrative policies, while allowing service providers to offer their customers differentiated services.

Our networking products have been deployed in key enterprise markets that include automotive, energy, retail, healthcare, banking, trading, insurance, aerospace, government agencies, technology, motion pictures, video and animation, transportation, E-commerce, and universities. Our service provider markets include Metro service providers, Internet service providers, web hosting and Internet data centers, application service providers, and Internet exchanges. For enterprises, Foundry provides a complete end-to-end solution with Foundry’s FastIron®, FastIron Edge®, BigIron®, ServerIron®, and EdgeIron™ product lines. Our enterprise portfolio of products meets the needs for wiring closet, data center, and campus solutions coupled with Foundry’s network management and security. For service providers, Foundry offers our high-performance BigIron switches, NetIron® Metro routers, and ServerIron web switches. Our switching and routing products can be managed with our IronView® Network Manager products. Foundry’s products support a wide array of interfaces such as 10/100 Ethernet, 1 Gigabit Ethernet (copper and fiber), 10 Gigabit Ethernet, Packet over SONET and ATM so that our customers can leverage their existing infrastructures. We sell our products through a direct sales force, resellers, and OEM partners. By providing high levels of performance and intelligence capabilities at competitive price points, we provide comprehensive solutions to address the rapidly growing enterprise and service provider markets.
 

Products

We provide a comprehensive line of networking devices designed to meet the price, performance, reliability, and feature requirements of enterprises and service providers. During 2002 and the first quarter of 2003, Foundry launched many new products to expand and deepen the breadth of our product offerings. These new products address our customers’ networking needs for mid-range network edge products, superior port-density, Gigabit over copper, 10 Gigabit Ethernet, and real-time traffic monitoring. These networking needs are driven by our customers’ business needs for ease of network management, options and alternatives for accommodating growing network traffic, and continued growth in business-to-business communications. These products include Foundry’s:

• FastIron 400/800/1500 JetCore-Based Chassis System - 4, 8, 15-slot modular chassis system that includes JetScope™, a total network monitoring and accounting solution

• 2-Port 10 Gigabit Ethernet Module - a further expansion of Foundry’s commitment to 10 Gigabit Ethernet

• EdgeIron 2402CF and 4802CF - competitively priced Layer 2 wiring closet switch

• 24-Port 100BaseFX Modules for Foundry’s FastIron, BigIron, and NetIron - provides superior fiber port density in small form factor

• ServerIron 100 Series - mid-range ServerIron products with advanced features including Gigabit over copper

• EdgeIron 24G - competitively priced Gigabit over copper, Layer 2 mid-range switch

• FastIron 3208RGC - full featured Layer 2/3 modular system, equipped with 32 Gigabit copper 100/1000 auto-sensing ports, 8 mini-GBIC gigabit Ethernet ports, redundant-ready management module, and an expansion slot that can be used for 10 Gigabit Ethernet or other modules

• FastIron Edge Switch 2402, 4802, and 9604 - a new family of Layer 2, fixed configuration switches, purpose-built to provide superior port-density and upgradeable to full multi-protocol Layer 3 stackable products

• EdgeIron 10GC2F - competitively priced mid-range Gigabit Ethernet aggregation switch, specifically designed to address the fast-growing Gigabit over copper switch market.

Our product suite can be classified by the solutions each product line offers.

FastIron Enterprise Switches

Foundry’s FastIron family of Layer 2/3 switches offers the widest range of choice for wiring closet and data center applications. The FastIron product family provides excellent port functionality, capacity, and value for enterprise networks. With interchangeable management interface modules, the FastIron family provides superior investment protection, while offering seamless growth, scalability, and performance. With a simple software upgrade, the FastIron switches can provide full Layer 3 capabilities including built-in support for IP,

IPX, AppleTalk, routing information protocol (RIP), and open shortest path first (OSPF). The FastIron family is designed for reliable wiring closet deployments, with support for 4,096 virtual local area networks (VLAN), hot-swappable interface modules and power supplies, and rapid spanning tree (RST) protocol for sub-second convergence.

The product line includes Layer 3 upgradeable 24-, 48-, and 96-port workgroup switches (including built-in Gigabit over copper and mini-GBIC interfaces). These can provide up to 672 10/100 and 8 ports of Gigabit Ethernet simultaneously. A host of new interface modules are available that can scale up to 232 ports of Gigabit Ethernet in a single chassis.

The Foundry FastIron families include:

• FastIron Layer 2/3 Enterprise Modular Switches (4, 8, & 15-slot chassis)

• FastIron 4802

• FastIron Edge Switch 2402/4802/9604 10/100 Switches with Gigabit Ethernet Uplink

• FastIron 3208RGC Gig-over-Copper

• FastIron Edge Switch 12G

• FastIron Edge 2402POE and 4802POE switches with Power over Ethernet

BigIron Layer 3 Backbone Switches

Foundry’s BigIron Layer 3 switches offer 10/100, Gigabit Ethernet and 10 Gigabit Ethernet for leading Layer 2 scalability for Metro, and Layer 3 scalability for ISPs and large enterprise LAN backbones. BigIron switches are powered by Foundry’s feature-rich IronWare operating systems that include extensive security, multicast, and multi-protocol feature sets. With carrier-class redundancy, fine-grain bandwidth management, and wire-speed network monitoring and accounting features, the BigIron is the product of choice for demanding service provider and enterprise environments.

Our BigIron switches allow Metro service providers to build cost-effective Layer 2 and Layer 3 Metro networks based on long-haul Ethernet. This delivers high performance transparent LAN services (TLS) and Internet connectivity to enterprise customers. BigIron switches scale the enterprise LAN backbone connections to allow high performance Gigabit over copper to the server and desktop. With long haul Gigabit Ethernet and mini-GBIC based optics flexibility, BigIron is an ideal choice for connecting enterprise campuses together with high-performance Ethernet to improve employee communications and collaboration.

The Foundry BigIron family includes:

• BigIron 4000 - 4-slot modular switch

• BigIron 8000 - 8-slot modular switch

• BigIron 15000 - 15-slot modular switch

EdgeIron Layer 2 Switches

Foundry’s EdgeIron family of 10/100 and 10/100/1000 Layer 2 switches delivers interface flexibility, wire-speed performance, superior port density, and a complete standard Layer 2 feature set to address the mid-range needs of enterprises. Only 1 rack unit in height, the EdgeIron switches are an excellent choice for wiring closet, small backbone, server farm, and desktop applications in high-performance local area networks. The EdgeIron family features an auto-sensing 100-240V AC power supply, making it simple to deploy in a variety of environments. The AC power supply is optimized for low power consumption. EdgeIron switches have built-in temperature sensors to monitor cooling and alert network operators when the temperature exceeds user-specified levels.

The Foundry EdgeIron family includes:

• EdgeIron 2402CF and 4802CF - 24 and 48 ports of 10/100, plus 2-ports of Gigabit Ethernet that can be copper or fiber

• EdgeIron 24G - 24 ports of Gigabit Ethernet over Copper

NetIron Metro Routers

Foundry’s NetIron Metro routers allow Metro and Internet service providers to generate incremental revenue and lower costs with new services based on scalable, packet-switched IP networks. Our NetIron routers offer Internet-strength scalability, network equipment building systems’ (NEBS) Level 3 carrier-class reliability, and industry leading port density in compact, high-performance modular systems. Our NetIron routers, equipped with MetroLink™ interface modules, provide a wide range of media connectivity options, including Packet over SONET/SDH, ATM, 10/100 Mbps Ethernet, long-reach Gigabit Ethernet (up to 150km), and 10 Gigabit Ethernet.

With Foundry’s IronShield™ security including wire-speed extended access control lists (ACL), ASIC-based bandwidth provisioning, and JetScope for scalable network accounting and monitoring, NetIron routers make it easy to build, manage, and provision IP networks. NetIron routers are an ideal platform for building and extending Layer 2 Metro networks using multi-protocol label switching (MPLS), Draft-Martini, and virtual private LAN switching (VPLS) for point-to-point and multi-point secure virtual private networks (VPN).

With 232 Gigabit Ethernet or 14 10 Gigabit Ethernet ports in a compact 15-slot chassis delivering up to 480 Gbps of non-blocking total switching capacity, NetIron routers empower service providers to harness the power of IP networks for new revenue generating services.

The Foundry NetIron family includes:

• NetIron 400 - 4-slot Metro router

• NetIron 800 - 8-slot Metro router

• NetIron 1500 - 15-slot Metro router

• NetIron 4802 - a 48-port 10/100 Ethernet and 2 ports of Gigabit Ethernet- Layer 3 Switch with support for IPv6

ServerIron Layer 4-7 Traffic Management Switches

Foundry’s ServerIron family of Layer 4-7 web switches is an industry leader in load balancing servers, firewalls, caches, and data centers with high-performance Layer 4 through Layer 7 switching with integrated Layer 2/3 functionalities. Our modular ServerIron products have been the market leader for the past three years. ServerIron switches enable network managers to control and manage today’s growing application, transaction, and e-commerce traffic flows. ServerIron switches improve the availability, scalability, and manageability of servers and firewalls, with IronShield security against multiple forms of denial of service attacks. TrafficWorks IronWare, Foundry’s comprehensive Layer 4-7 traffic management software suite, powers ServerIron switches.

Our ServerIron switches deliver Internet traffic management functions including local and global server load balancing, firewall load balancing, transparent cache switching, application redirection, packet filtering and prioritization, and support for content-based switching such as cookie-, URL-, and SSL Session ID-based switching. ServerIron provides the foundation for high-service availability, disaster recovery, location and server transparency, and backbone cost control.

The Foundry ServerIron families include:

• ServerIron/XL - Fixed configuration web switch

• ServerIron 100-series - Fixed configuration web switch with Gigabit over Copper, fiber, or 10/100 ports

• ServerIron 400 - 4-slot modular switch

• ServerIron 800 - 8-slot modular switch

IronView Network Manager Software

Foundry’s IronView® Network Manager (INM) software allows today’s networks to run at maximum efficiency by allowing network managers to effectively track and perform configuration changes and software updates and to quickly identify and resolve network failures. Our IronView Network Manager empowers network managers to seamlessly control changes to complex network-wide functions such as access control lists (ACLs), virtual LANs (VLANs), software and configuration updates, and network alarm and event controls. INM dramatically simplifies network provisioning, diagnostics, and resolution, thus reducing total cost of ownership and increasing our customers’ return on investment.

Foundry’s INM also solves one the most important requirements in maintaining a network: documenting the network. Our INM comes with online static and dynamic reports used for auditing software revisions of network devices, asset inventories, and network configuration inventories of items such as MAC addresses, VLANs, and IP addresses. These reports, which can be exported to typical office applications such as spreadsheets, are updated automatically.

Foundry’s JetScope, an integral part of Foundry’s INM, includes support for sFlow (RFC 3176) to deliver hardware-based and real time network traffic monitoring and accounting. Network managers can perform real time fault and performance management, capacity planning, intrusion detection, security policy, and network traffic accounting on all ports from Layer 2 through Layer 7 without any impact to switching and routing performance.

Hardware and Software Architecture

JetCore ASIC

Foundry is a leader in achieving performance breakthroughs with application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs). In June 2001, we introduced JetCore, our third generation ASICs, which builds on our previous success with IronCore™ I and IronCore II ASIC chipsets. In 1997, IronCore I was launched as the first Layer 3 ASIC in the industry. This ASIC provided Layer 2, 3, and 4 access control lists (ACLs) and quality of service (QoS).

IronCore became the foundation for all of Foundry’s products prior to 2002. It allowed us to provide customers with consistent performance, reliability and features, as well as the ability to leverage their networking equipment investment. The IronCore chassis architecture consists of a high-speed data highway that incorporated a backplane and crosspoint switching fabric and supports up to fifteen interface modules. The crosspoint switching fabric allows all lines of communication to intersect with one another. Our implementation of the crosspoint switching fabric includes custom-designed, high speed ASICs that provide throughput of up to 480 Gigabits and 178 million packets per second. This amount of throughput allows each module connected to the switch to support simultaneous communication among all workstations connected to the switch, while all workstations connected to the switch can operate at maximum performance. These features of IronCore allow enterprises, web-based businesses, and Internet service providers to have dedicated access to the network at any time, using any application at the maximum speed.

JetCore extends Foundry’s proven expertise in ASIC design and innovation. JetCore compliments IronCore by providing bandwidth management on-demand, advanced Layer 2 and 3 features, enhanced QoS, jumbo frames, and new network management features and functions. The JetCore ASIC also integrates sFlow, an Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) draft standard for network traffic monitoring and accounting. JetCore is backward compatible to IronCore.

With Foundry’s JetCore-powered switching and routing products, we deliver leading network monitoring and traffic accounting capabilities, including accurate network traffic accounting, from Layer 2 up to Layer 7, integration with industry-leading accounting and billing applications, intrusion detection and full visibility of any network traffic, precise network policing of network traffic everywhere, and identification of network bottlenecks within a network and complete packet header decoding from Layer 2 through Layer 7.

IronWare™ and Internet IronWare Software

As previously mentioned, our products incorporate a uniform hardware architecture. Foundry is able to leverage this hardware architecture with feature and functionality innovations implemented through software.

The ability to provide these enhancements through software affords our customers considerable investment protection. Customers are often able to adopt new technology or migrate to more advanced networking by upgrading their software rather than replacing their hardware. During 2002, Foundry delivered several releases of our IronWare software to implement new industry standards and increase network availability, performance, and security. Also in 2002, Foundry delivered a new operating system release for Foundry’s ServerIron family called TrafficWorks™ IronWare. This release extended the capabilities of the ServerIron product family by enhancing the features and functions for security and high-availability.


 
 

Ticker

FDRY

SIC Code

3576 - Computer Communications Equipment

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