Application Scenarios

High Performance 10/100/1000 Wiring Closet and Desktop Connectivity
High density 10/100 Mbps Ethernet, non-blocking Gigabit Ethernet riser connectivity and a resilient architecture, make FastIron II and FastIron II Plus ideal wiring closet solutions. Enterprises can deploy up to 168 auto-sensing, auto negotiating 10/100 Mbps ports to workstations and servers. Two to 8 Gigabit Ethernet links provide high-speed riser connectivity to Gigabit Ethernet switches or routers located in the core of the network.

A FastIron II GC switch provides Gigabit Ethernet copper connectivity to power workstations and servers that support very high bandwidth applications.

High Performance, High Density Edge Routing
When upgraded with Foundry's award-winning IronWare routing services, FastIron II switches can be deployed as a high density distributed Layer 3 edge switch. Multi-protocol support ensures that FastIron II switches can be seamlessly deployed in existing environments. The hardware-based routing functionality provides up to 100 times the performance at a fraction of the cost.

Gigabit Copper for Power Desktops and Servers
Organizations that require high bandwidth to power desktops and servers can deploy FastIron II GC and FastIron II Plus GC in wiring closets and server farms. FastIron II Gigabit Copper switches provide industry standard 1000 Mbps connectivity over existing Category 5 cabling. This simplifies installation and protects users' networking investment by eliminating the need to rewire the existing infrastructure.