Technoglitch
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Dell's new C9010 Network Director is a modular switch that can centrally manage up to 4,000 virtual ports; the switch supports 10GbE and 40GbE now, and will be able to support 100GbE in the future. With the C9010, customers can manage multiple switches through a single point of control, so if an upgrade is needed, the nodes can be upgraded centrally through the network director rather than having to go to each node individually.
"You can think of it as a single switch from a management standpoint, but it's really managing [a number of] switches," Burns said.
While the C9010 can work with existing N-series nodes, its capabilities around simplicity and scalability will expand when paired with the new C1048 Rapid Access Nodes, according to company officials. The new nodes will offer enhanced power-over-Ethernet (PoE) and greater throughput, and the C1048P can be deployed either stand-alone or as part of a stack, and can easily be added to the infrastructure as needed.
Both the C9010 Network Director and C1048 access nodes will be available in October.
It also adds to Dell's Open Networking initiative, in which the vendor offers branded switches that can run third-party software, such as Linux-based network operating systems from Cumulus Networks and Pluribus Networks, Midokura's network virtualization software and Big Switch Networks' software-defined networking (SDN) platform. They also can run Dell's own networking OS.
Dell introduced the Open Networking strategy in early 2014 to push back at the trend fueled by SDN and network-functions virtualization (NFV) toward using low-cost commodity white-box and bare-metal switches in the data center, and to offer customers greater flexibility in the software they can run on Dell equipment. Through the initiative, Dell can offer switches that are less expensive and more open than traditional networking hardware. They're more expensive than white boxes, but offer support and services from a tier-one vendor that systems from original-design manufacturers can't provide.
Dell Expands Networking Portfolio for Campus, Data Center
"You can think of it as a single switch from a management standpoint, but it's really managing [a number of] switches," Burns said.
While the C9010 can work with existing N-series nodes, its capabilities around simplicity and scalability will expand when paired with the new C1048 Rapid Access Nodes, according to company officials. The new nodes will offer enhanced power-over-Ethernet (PoE) and greater throughput, and the C1048P can be deployed either stand-alone or as part of a stack, and can easily be added to the infrastructure as needed.
Both the C9010 Network Director and C1048 access nodes will be available in October.
It also adds to Dell's Open Networking initiative, in which the vendor offers branded switches that can run third-party software, such as Linux-based network operating systems from Cumulus Networks and Pluribus Networks, Midokura's network virtualization software and Big Switch Networks' software-defined networking (SDN) platform. They also can run Dell's own networking OS.
Dell introduced the Open Networking strategy in early 2014 to push back at the trend fueled by SDN and network-functions virtualization (NFV) toward using low-cost commodity white-box and bare-metal switches in the data center, and to offer customers greater flexibility in the software they can run on Dell equipment. Through the initiative, Dell can offer switches that are less expensive and more open than traditional networking hardware. They're more expensive than white boxes, but offer support and services from a tier-one vendor that systems from original-design manufacturers can't provide.
Dell Expands Networking Portfolio for Campus, Data Center
