http://www.currentanalysis.com/ Analysis Reports provided by Current Analysis, Inc. en-us All materials Copyright 1997-2010 Current Analysis, Inc. Reproduction or distribution prohibited without express written consent. Fri, 30 Jul 2010 07:41:51 GMT http://www.currentanalysis.com/COMPETE/FrontEnd/Report.aspx?rid=42092&rss Cisco’s Catalyst 4500-E family of mid-range modular switches remains a strong competitor due to the on-going investment in the product. Its performance, capacity and port diversity keep the 4500-E visible and viable. Schuchart, Steve - 2010-07-20T00:00:00-04:00 http://www.currentanalysis.com/COMPETE/FrontEnd/Report.aspx?rid=42334&rss The Catalyst 6500 still the leader in high capacity switches, offering investment protection, port diversity and service modules for all needs. It’s no longer the performance king, but remains the platform of choice for many. Schuchart, Steve - 2010-07-20T00:00:00-04:00 http://www.currentanalysis.com/COMPETE/FrontEnd/Report.aspx?rid=42086&rss The Enterasys S-Series is competitive in the mid-range modular and small-medium data center market with good density, flexible chassis options and Enterasys’ strong policy management capabilities. Schuchart, Steve - 2010-07-20T00:00:00-04:00 http://www.currentanalysis.com/COMPETE/FrontEnd/Report.aspx?rid=42335&rss The Enterasys S-Series is competitive in the data center market with good performance, density and policy features and an efficient design, but lacks oversubscribed 10GbE ports. Schuchart, Steve - 2010-07-20T00:00:00-04:00 http://www.currentanalysis.com/COMPETE/FrontEnd/Report.aspx?rid=42283&rss The Extreme BlackDiamond 8800 Series with 8500/8800 modules is a strong contender for the small data center or wiring closet with good density, investment protection and software features. Schuchart, Steve - 2010-07-20T00:00:00-04:00 http://www.currentanalysis.com/COMPETE/FrontEnd/Report.aspx?rid=42336&rss The Extreme BlackDiamond 8800 Series with 8900 modules is designed for large data center environment for Gigabit and 10 Gigabit Ethernet, good software features and IPv6 support. Schuchart, Steve - 2010-07-20T00:00:00-04:00 http://www.currentanalysis.com/COMPETE/FrontEnd/Report.aspx?rid=54114&rss Cisco Systems launched new networking advances, including software and a 10 Gbps line card for its Nexus 7000 switch that jump out ahead of the emerging IETF TRILL standard to enable more scalable, flat networks and beating rivals to the punch. Musich, Paula 2010-07-02T00:00:00-04:00 http://www.currentanalysis.com/COMPETE/FrontEnd/Report.aspx?rid=42424&rss The Alcatel-Lucent OmniSwitch 6850 family of stackable fixed switches remains a competitive offering with PoE, 10G uplinks, strong security and software upgrade features that provide good investment protection. Schuchart, Steve - 2010-06-15T00:00:00-04:00 http://www.currentanalysis.com/COMPETE/FrontEnd/Report.aspx?rid=53883&rss Avaya’s Ethernet Routing Switch 5000 series is a competitive product family with a mix of models and additional software features that compete nicely with other models in the marketplace. Schuchart, Steve 2010-06-15T00:00:00-04:00 http://www.currentanalysis.com/COMPETE/FrontEnd/Report.aspx?rid=53884&rss The Brocade FastIron CX Series offers good port density, good port diversity, 10GbE uplinks, advanced Layer 3 protocols and PoE+, but it is difficult to differentiate products in the fixed configuration switching market. Schuchart, Steve 2010-06-15T00:00:00-04:00 http://www.currentanalysis.com/COMPETE/FrontEnd/Report.aspx?rid=42112&rss Cisco’s new Catalyst 3750-X supports PoE+ and the innovative ability to share power across four members of a stack called StackPower and when combined with the product line’s abundant software features makes it very threatening to competitors. Schuchart, Steve - 2010-06-15T00:00:00-04:00 http://www.currentanalysis.com/COMPETE/FrontEnd/Report.aspx?rid=42190&rss The Enterasys C5 is threatening to competitors because of its strong port diversity, 10GbE support, PoE+ support, competitive pricing, and the focus on security that Enterasys brings to all of its switching products. Schuchart, Steve - 2010-06-15T00:00:00-04:00 http://www.currentanalysis.com/COMPETE/FrontEnd/Report.aspx?rid=42191&rss Extreme’s Summit X450e/X450a series provides a competitive aggregation and small core switch due to good performance and reasonable port diversity. With PoE capabilities, the X450e can support handsets, access points, and other PoE devices. Schuchart, Steve - 2010-06-15T00:00:00-04:00 http://www.currentanalysis.com/COMPETE/FrontEnd/Report.aspx?rid=42341&rss The HP E550G series of stackable switches brings considerable port diversity and density, respectable performance, and the same consistent OS as the rest of HP’s 3Com-heritage products, giving the product good value, although it still lacks PoE+. Schuchart, Steve - 2010-06-15T00:00:00-04:00 http://www.currentanalysis.com/COMPETE/FrontEnd/Report.aspx?rid=53885&rss Juniper’s EX4200 line of fixed configuration switches threatens competitors with a higher stack count, a higher total port count, and the features that the majority of enterprise customers are seeking in a switch today. Schuchart, Steve 2010-06-15T00:00:00-04:00 http://www.currentanalysis.com/COMPETE/FrontEnd/Report.aspx?rid=53854&rss Brocade Communications laid out its vision for simplifying and automating virtualized data center networks with its Brocade One architecture, following a similar path taken much earlier by rival Cisco and more recently by Juniper Networks. Musich, Paula - Schuchart, Steve 2010-06-11T00:00:00-04:00 http://www.currentanalysis.com/COMPETE/FrontEnd/Report.aspx?rid=53640&rss A cross-section of leading communications solutions developers formed UCIF to foster interoperability of multivendor solutions and drive UC adoption. The Forum has merits but needs to mature and prove itself before any praise is awarded. Arnold, Robert 2010-05-21T00:00:00-04:00 http://www.currentanalysis.com/COMPETE/FrontEnd/Report.aspx?rid=53630&rss As anticipated, the Motorola Enterprise Mobility Solutions and Networks spinoff aims to bring product and market synergies into even tighter alignment. Execution and horizontal expansion are key to growth. Arnold, Robert 2010-05-20T00:00:00-04:00 http://www.currentanalysis.com/COMPETE/FrontEnd/Report.aspx?rid=53596&rss Juniper’s data center transformation announcement demonstrates data center vision and continuing execution, but is essentially not unique from the direction of its top rivals in the space. Schuchart, Steve 2010-05-18T00:00:00-04:00 http://www.currentanalysis.com/COMPETE/FrontEnd/Report.aspx?rid=53536&rss Aruba Networks, in its acquisition of Azalea Networks, positioned itself well in an adjacent market segment it did not address and acquired key technology and engineering talent that promise advantages outside of that industrial WLAN mesh arena. Musich, Paula 2010-05-12T00:00:00-04:00 http://www.currentanalysis.com/COMPETE/FrontEnd/Report.aspx?rid=53299&rss Cisco has introduced an ASIC-based spectrum analysis capability in its new 3500 Series access point. The new offering bakes wireless interference detection and mitigation directly into the Cisco WLAN infrastructure. Braunberg, Andrew 2010-04-29T00:00:00-04:00 http://www.currentanalysis.com/COMPETE/FrontEnd/Report.aspx?rid=53273&rss Brocade jumped on the application delivery virtualization bandwagon at Spring Interop with a new automation tool that helps operators maximize resources and meet service level agreements using its ADX application delivery controllers. Musich, Paula 2010-04-29T00:00:00-04:00 http://www.currentanalysis.com/COMPETE/FrontEnd/Report.aspx?rid=53255&rss At Interop, Avaya launched several new enterprise networking products to kickoff its efforts to compete with dominant data networking vendors, but it is at the beginning of a long and difficult journey to gain recognition as a viable alternative. Musich, Paula 2010-04-28T00:00:00-04:00 http://www.currentanalysis.com/COMPETE/FrontEnd/Report.aspx?rid=53221&rss Extreme has announced the upcoming release of two products that expand the company’s ability to compete in virtualized data centers. Braunberg, Andrew 2010-04-22T00:00:00-04:00 http://www.currentanalysis.com/COMPETE/FrontEnd/Report.aspx?rid=53200&rss High performance switching startup Arista Networks launched its first modular 10 Gbps Ethernet switch, claiming a number of advances that could make it the technology leader for high performance computing (HPC) switching. Schuchart, Steve - Musich, Paula 2010-04-21T00:00:00-04:00 http://www.currentanalysis.com/COMPETE/FrontEnd/Report.aspx?rid=53191&rss Force10 has set a stake in the ground regarding its 40GbE switch and router strategy. The company is positioning 40GbE as a much more economical way (compared to 100GbE) to upgrade from 10GbE. Braunberg, Andrew 2010-04-20T00:00:00-04:00 http://www.currentanalysis.com/COMPETE/FrontEnd/Report.aspx?rid=53173&rss Extreme Networks has been putting strong effort into its product lines as well as automation around ExtremeXOS, but it will face a highly competitive market. Schuchart, Steve 2010-04-19T00:00:00-04:00 http://www.currentanalysis.com/COMPETE/FrontEnd/Report.aspx?rid=53140&rss Aruba Networks has been expanding itself beyond the traditional WLAN business into remote access and multi-vendor device management while maintaining a strong competitive posture in the WLAN market. Schuchart, Steve 2010-04-16T00:00:00-04:00 http://www.currentanalysis.com/COMPETE/FrontEnd/Report.aspx?rid=53143&rss Enterasys continues its integration with Siemens, as well as maintaining a solid rate of new product releases, but it still lacks good visibility in the enterprise. Schuchart, Steve 2010-04-16T00:00:00-04:00 http://www.currentanalysis.com/COMPETE/FrontEnd/Report.aspx?rid=53150&rss Motorola is increasing the tempo of its enterprise operations in preparation for next year’s split, but it still lacks significant visibility amongst enterprises for its WLAN product lines. Schuchart, Steve 2010-04-16T00:00:00-04:00 http://www.currentanalysis.com/COMPETE/FrontEnd/Report.aspx?rid=53082&rss Cisco Systems threatens all competitors in the data center and networking markets with strong products, forward-thinking strategies, and very feature-complete product lines. Schuchart, Steve 2010-04-09T00:00:00-04:00 http://www.currentanalysis.com/COMPETE/FrontEnd/Report.aspx?rid=53074&rss Cisco has made a host of announcements around its Data Center 3.0 initiative, most importantly new server offerings that exploit Intel’s Xeon 7500 series family of chips. Braunberg, Andrew 2010-04-08T00:00:00-04:00 http://www.currentanalysis.com/COMPETE/FrontEnd/Report.aspx?rid=53080&rss Riverbed and McAfee have teamed up to deliver next-generation firewall functionality in a virtual form factor that piggybacks on Riverbed Steelhead WAN optimization appliances. The aim is to help reduce branch office networking costs. Musich, Paula 2010-04-08T00:00:00-04:00 http://www.currentanalysis.com/COMPETE/FrontEnd/Report.aspx?rid=53059&rss Hewlett-Packard is one of the largest IT vendors, competing in servers, storage, networking, and a broad range of services that make it one of the strongest competitors in the market today. Schuchart, Steve 2010-04-06T00:00:00-04:00 http://www.currentanalysis.com/COMPETE/FrontEnd/Report.aspx?rid=52929&rss Alcatel-Lucent has the tools, technology and most of the strategy it needs, but it still lacks a comprehensive data center strategy and name recognition in North America. Schuchart, Steve 2010-03-24T00:00:00-04:00 http://www.currentanalysis.com/COMPETE/FrontEnd/Report.aspx?rid=52916&rss Force10’s new Virtualization Framework gives customers the ability to automate network tasks, particularly those that involve virtualized server environments, showing Force10’s ability to adapt itself quickly to new market requirements. Schuchart, Steve 2010-03-23T00:00:00-04:00 http://www.currentanalysis.com/COMPETE/FrontEnd/Report.aspx?rid=52882&rss Cisco is starting to fulfill the promise of its “Borderless Networks” message with a total refresh of its fixed configuration switching line, providing new professional services, flexible pricing, and an enhance warranty. Schuchart, Steve 2010-03-19T00:00:00-04:00 http://www.currentanalysis.com/COMPETE/FrontEnd/Report.aspx?rid=52708&rss Fortinet has announced the FortiAP, an enterprise WLAN solution that runs with some models of the FortiGate product as the controller. Schuchart, Steve 2010-03-04T00:00:00-05:00 http://www.currentanalysis.com/COMPETE/FrontEnd/Report.aspx?rid=52696&rss Force10 Networks has released a 40-port 10 Gigabit Ethernet card for the ExaScale platform that brings 10 Gigabit Ethernet density to a new level. Schuchart, Steve 2010-03-03T00:00:00-05:00 http://www.currentanalysis.com/COMPETE/FrontEnd/Report.aspx?rid=52664&rss 3Com’s new H3C S9500E gives it a strong mid-market, 10 Gigabit Ethernet-capable modular switch, and 3Com’s overall data center story is improving. Schuchart, Steve 2010-02-25T00:00:00-05:00 http://www.currentanalysis.com/COMPETE/FrontEnd/Report.aspx?rid=52627&rss Cisco has finally severed the last real tie it had to Hewlett-Packard by declining to renew its reseller agreement, but in reality the relationship died when Cisco began selling servers. Schuchart, Steve 2010-02-19T00:00:00-05:00 http://www.currentanalysis.com/COMPETE/FrontEnd/Report.aspx?rid=52634&rss Brocade and McAfee partnered up in a multi-faceted, multi-year alliance to present to customers a common front for connectivity and network security that works together to improve risk management and reduce point product overload. Musich, Paula 2010-02-19T00:00:00-05:00 http://www.currentanalysis.com/COMPETE/FrontEnd/Report.aspx?rid=52564&rss Continuing its data center blitz, Cisco has announced enhancements to its WAAS and ACE product lines, introduced new line cards for the Catalyst 6500 and Nexus product lines and most importantly debuted Overlay Transport Virtualization. Schuchart, Steve 2010-02-12T00:00:00-05:00 http://www.currentanalysis.com/COMPETE/FrontEnd/Report.aspx?rid=52562&rss Brocade offers networking customers a full line of products including Ethernet and Fibre Channel, and it is actively working to integrate itself into the overall virtualized data center environment. Schuchart, Steve 2010-02-11T00:00:00-05:00 http://www.currentanalysis.com/COMPETE/FrontEnd/Report.aspx?rid=52546&rss In Version 7 of its HiPath WLAN software, Enterasys lowered operational costs and streamlined management of its WLAN family through new automation, consolidated IT security, and improved performance for mixed-mode 802.11 a/b/g/n networks. Musich, Paula 2010-02-10T00:00:00-05:00 http://www.currentanalysis.com/COMPETE/FrontEnd/Report.aspx?rid=52469&rss Extreme announced new line cards for the BlackDiamond 8800 series and the new Summit X480 to solve the Layer 3 and Layer 4 address space issue promulgated by highly virtualized networks in large enterprise and service provider data centers. Schuchart, Steve 2010-01-28T00:00:00-05:00 http://www.currentanalysis.com/COMPETE/FrontEnd/Report.aspx?rid=52384&rss The results are in for the first full year of operations for SEN, the JV formed between The Gores Group and Siemens AG, with company officials touting progress in key areas aimed at creating efficiencies and improving profitability. Arnold, Robert 2010-01-15T00:00:00-05:00 http://www.currentanalysis.com/COMPETE/FrontEnd/Report.aspx?rid=52197&rss Arista Networks took aim at HPC and cloud computing users with a 1/10G Ethernet switch designed for a new generation of high-performance applications. The switch combines advanced congestion management with integrated Citrix load balancing. Musich, Paula 2009-12-03T00:00:00-05:00 http://www.currentanalysis.com/COMPETE/FrontEnd/Report.aspx?rid=51941&rss Hewlett-Packard’s acquisition of 3Com shores up holes in HP’s networking product lines, gives it new products in security, and provides a large R&D organization dedicated to networking and security. Schuchart, Steve 2009-11-12T00:00:00-05:00 http://www.currentanalysis.com/COMPETE/FrontEnd/Report.aspx?rid=51860&rss Juniper is creating considerable momentum and stirring the market up with new products and technology, as well as, most importantly, a vision for its customers. Schuchart, Steve 2009-11-02T00:00:00-05:00 http://www.currentanalysis.com/COMPETE/FrontEnd/Report.aspx?rid=51773&rss The ISR G2 is a full portfolio refresh of Cisco’s modular edge router product line and brings significant new performance and features to the table that will be a challenge for competitors to match. Schuchart, Steve 2009-10-21T00:00:00-04:00 http://www.currentanalysis.com/COMPETE/FrontEnd/Report.aspx?rid=51778&rss Extreme has announced an OEM relationship with Motorola. Extreme needed a new WLAN partner, and Motorola offers a family of market-leading products. Braunberg, Andrew 2009-10-21T00:00:00-04:00 http://www.currentanalysis.com/COMPETE/FrontEnd/Report.aspx?rid=51758&rss Enterasys’ new S-Series is a significant capacity upgrade for high end customers as well as having models and features appropriate for the small data center and wiring closet market. Schuchart, Steve 2009-10-20T00:00:00-04:00 http://www.currentanalysis.com/COMPETE/FrontEnd/Report.aspx?rid=51692&rss The new BlackDiamond 8500 modules for the BlackDiamond 8800 chassis gives customers a low-cost upgradable, modular wiring closet switch that compares well to other competitive offerings. Schuchart, Steve 2009-10-09T00:00:00-04:00 http://www.currentanalysis.com/COMPETE/FrontEnd/Report.aspx?rid=51562&rss HP took a direct shot across the bow at Cisco’s data center networking dominance with its first blade switches for the HP BladeSystem chassis. The new 6120 series switches compete directly with Cisco’s 3000 series switches for that chassis. Musich, Paula 2009-09-18T00:00:00-04:00 http://www.currentanalysis.com/COMPETE/FrontEnd/Report.aspx?rid=51533&rss Enterasys’s trade-in program for customers of the failed ConSentry Networks will generate goodwill and new customers for the company. Schuchart, Steve 2009-09-16T00:00:00-04:00 http://www.currentanalysis.com/COMPETE/FrontEnd/Report.aspx?rid=51525&rss Acquiring Nortel’s enterprise group would help Avaya win a long running battle against one of its traditional rivals. However, it does little to help it win the larger war, in which Cisco and Microsoft will be its primary foes. Riggs, Brian 2009-09-15T00:00:00-04:00 http://www.currentanalysis.com/COMPETE/FrontEnd/Report.aspx?rid=51382&rss Cisco beefs up the ASR 9000 with a new 10 GigE line card giving it industry-leading density in an edge platform plus adds two Tier 1 service providers, Cogent and Telstra. Cisco can now tout five Tier 1 providers deploying its new edge platform. Hunt, Glen 2009-08-26T00:00:00-04:00 http://www.currentanalysis.com/COMPETE/FrontEnd/Report.aspx?rid=51288&rss Fluke has entered into an agreement to purchase AirMagnet in a move that will bring significant customers and expertise in WLAN to Fluke and give AirMagnet’s investors a graceful exit. Schuchart, Steve 2009-08-14T00:00:00-04:00