GarrettCom Inc.’s new Magnum 6K32T Managed Switch makes Gigabit port accessibility more available, more flexible, and less costly with a chassis that doubles Gigabit (Gb) port capability to four Gb ports when compared to the company’s previous top-of-the-line 6K32 switch. GarrettCom sees increasing demand in Carrier Ethernet and hardened industrial applications for additional Gigabit throughput, and the new 6K32T switch offers configuration flexibility and high Gb capability, while new Gb port module pricing lowers the cost of Gb connectivity.
This highly flexible member of GarrettCom’s 6K Managed Switch Series is hardened for factories and other heavy-duty environments. User-selectable Gigabit transceiver modules, auto-negotiating 10/100/1000 Gigabit copper, and a variety of fiber cabling types and distances allow custom port-type flexibility based on application requirements. In a related move, GarrettCom reduced Gigabit port module prices by $150 each across the Magnum 6K family.
“As always, applications expand to meet – or surpass – available bandwidth and configuration choices,” said Frank Madren, GarrettCom president. “We have just completed an order for a customer in Europe that needed three Gb ports for a redundant transportation application. Passengers on new top-of-the line trains will be getting LAN and Internet services while traveling. Multiple Gb ports were needed for both bandwidth and fault tolerance. Other applications such as video surveillance and security and IEC 61850 modeling are increasingly pervasive in industry, and they eat bandwidth – driving users upscale to Gigabit backbones.”
Designed for use in telecommunications and industrial networks with segments requiring multiple Gigabit backbone interconnections among network centers, Magnum 6K32T switches provide a LAN infrastructure that can connect to communications computers, routers, industrial controllers, streaming video input devices, or other switches. Like the Magnum 6K32 switch, the 6K32T switch can support a total port count of 32 using any mix of 10/100 copper and fiber ports. Up to two of the new Gb port modules can be traded off against 4-port 10/100 modules. Gb port modules can include two Gb fixed ports or two GBIC open transceiver ports, or one Gb port with other 100Mb fiber and copper ports combinations.
Managed switch software for the new 6K32T is the Magnum MNS-6K product, which runs across the family of 6K switches. The Secure Web Manager provides a graphical user interface (GUI) and secure Web access via Secure Socket Layer (SSL).
MNS-6K software provides for a complete range of management services designed for ease of use, security and redundancy. MNS-6K supports industrial installations with features including Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMPv1) monitoring, SNMPv3 manager access authentication and password encryption for mission-critical security, Telnet and TFTP remote management, VLANs for traffic segmentation, IGMP for multicast video support, RADIUS and port security for intruder protection, and SNTP network timekeeping. All Magnum 6K switches come with self-healing LAN support including STP and RSTP, and GarrettCom’s standards-based S-Ring technology for high-speed fault detection and correction.
For telecommunications applications, the Magnum 6K32T switch is available with -48VDC power. Industrial users can choose 24 VDC, or 125 VDC, or worldwide AC. All models are easy to install and operate. Addresses of attached nodes are automatically learned and maintained, adapting the switching services to network changes and expansions to provide plug-and-play operation. The 6K32T switch shares the high-port-density compactness of the 6K32 switch, taking up only 1U of 19” or ETSI or 23” telco rack space.
The Magnum 6K32T switch is part of a broad family line of off-the-shelf switches. There are three rack-mount models and three smaller factory-floor and outdoor models. All share a family of modules for user configurability and all share the same MNS-6K software. GarrettCom’s 6K series of managed switches are designed for heavy duty applications and are NEBS and ETSI rated.
