Force10 Networks C300 Resilient Switch Named Networking Product Of The Year By Techworld

SAN JOSE, Calif., June 17, 2008 – Force10 Networks®, the pioneer in building and securing reliable networks, today announced that Techworld named the C300 resilient switch the Networking Product of the Year based on its unique scalability, reliability and network control features. Selected by an independent panel of judges comprised of industry thought leaders and the Techworld editorial board, the award recognizes innovations that have positively impacted the IT industry as well as the daily roles of IT professionals.

“In the past, IT managers had to compromise on performance or price when choosing networking equipment for their enterprise LAN or midsized data center,” said Stephen Garrison, vice president of marketing at Force10 Networks. “Now, with the C300, they get the reliability, scalability and network control they need to build a fully flexible, always-on network at a lower total cost of ownership.”

The Force10 C300 incorporates the patented technology that was developed to ensure predictable performance in large enterprise-class data centers. The passive copper backplane of the C300 features patented design techniques that eliminate it as a single point of failure.

Additionally, the passive nature of the backplane reduces system-level power consumption. With a non-blocking switch fabric, the C300 delivers scalable performance regardless of traffic conditions.

The Force10 C300 provides further reliability and network control through FTOS. The modular architecture of FTOS isolates faults in a single process, preventing the fault from impacting other processes. Inline serviceability features provide greater network transparency while an industry standard command line interface allows customers to leverage existing knowledge and tools. The Force10 C300 supports 384 line-rate Gigabit Ethernet ports with full 15.4W power and 64 line-rate 10 Gigabit Ethernet ports. With an advanced power provisioning system, the C300 automatically provisions required power to attached devices and allows customers to prioritize ports to ensure continued operation during a failure. For more information on the C-Series family of switches, visit http://force10networks.com/products/cseries.asp.

Since its launch in May 2007, the Force10 C300 has been deployed in a variety of networking environments, including the online dating site, eHarmony. To read more about user satisfaction, please visit http://force10networks.com/company/customer_profiles/.