Nortel adds layers to its stackable switch line

NETWORK WORLD NEWSLETTER: NETWORK PRODUCT TEST RESULTS
06/21/05

Dear security.world@gmail.com,

In this issue:

* Nortel's BayStack 5520 stackable switch
* Links related to Network Product Test Results
* Featured reader resource
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Today's focus:

Nortel adds layers to its stackable switch line

By John Bass

Nortel's BayStack 5520 stackable switch offers better
performance, increased link aggregation capacity, new Layer 3
forwarding and a 25% price drop compared with its predecessor
(see here). However, this line of switches still has no routing
protocol support and some management quirks that could detract
from its overall usefulness.

A single 5520 has 48 copper 10/100/1000M bit/sec ports and four
small form-factor pluggable ports. The backplane supports up to
eight switches in a stack with 40G bit/sec throughput into and
out of each switch. The performance of both a single switch and
a three-switch stack was acceptable, but not exceptional. (See
How we did it: <http://www.networkworld.com/nlprodrev2733> )

There was line rate performance at Layer 2 with a single switch
with all packet sizes. But performance degraded somewhat as the
packet size increased with Layer 3 switching. Here we saw line
rate throughput for 64- to 512-byte packets, but throughput
decreased to 82% of line rate as the packet size increased to
1,518 bytes.

Latency values for a single switch ranged from about 10 microsec
in the best case (with 64-byte packets) to 200 microsec (with
1,518-byte packets) when the switch was near full capacity. This
is most likely because of the increased overhead of the internal
chipset that chops packets into smaller units and then switches
them across the backplane.

With three switches, we pumped as much as 130G bit/sec (64-byte
packets) and as little as 72G bit/sec (1,518-byte packets)
through the stack in a full mesh configuration. Layer 3
forwarding performance decreased as the packet size increased,
as well. This amount of stack bandwidth should be adequate for
most enterprise network applications with the exception of a
highly utilized core network. Latency measurements for the stack
were similar to the single switch test results.

To read more about Nortel's BayStack 5520 stackable switch,
please go to:
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlprodrev2734>
_______________________________________________________________
To contact:

Bass is a senior technical staff member at North Carolina State
University's Centennial Networking Labs (CNL) in Raleigh. CNL
tests network equipment and network-attached devices for
interoperability and performance. Bass is co-author of Building
Cisco Multilayer Switched Networks, and designs and leads the
execution of the test suites. He can be reached at
john_bass@ncsu.edu. Chintan Desai and Nader Shinouda of CNL
assisted with the testing.

Bass is also a member of the Network
World Lab Alliance, a cooperative of the premier reviewers in
the network industry, each bringing to bear years of practical
experience on every review. For more Lab Alliance information,
including what it takes to become a member, go to
www.networkworld.com/alliance.
_______________________________________________________________
This newsletter is sponsored by Good Technology
Network World Executive Guide: Wireless Security. New Standards
make it easier than ever

As wireless LAN technology reaches the mainstream of enterprise
IT, security continues to be the top barrier to adoption. In
this report, we detail the possible approaches to wireless LAN
security and talk to experts who provide analysis and
recommendations on which ones to use. Register today and get a
free copy of Network World's Wireless Security Executive Guide.
http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=107068
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