Nortel Strengthens Data Solutions with New Ethernet Switches

Nortel* [NYSE/TSX: NT] extended its Ethernet series of data solutions today by unveiling the new Nortel Ethernet Routing Switch 5600 family to enable a more cost-effective, flexible and reliable deployment of high-capacity, high-performance networks that provide critical competitive advantage for enterprises.

"This is more than a new line of stackable switches for traditional deployments. Given the performance and resiliency they bring to the data center environment, this new line offers enterprises flexibility at a very aggressive price point," said Zeus Kerravala, senior vice president, Yankee Group**. "This bolsters Nortel’s unified communications solution portfolio, but more importantly, it demonstrates that Nortel is moving forward in designing new products that represent strong offerings and commitment to the enterprise market.”

This new line of high-end, stackable Nortel switches was designed and engineered from the ground up to be a break from the evolutionary approach to building data products to deliver real-time unified communications with market-leading performance and features. The five switches in the new ERS 5600 series offer up to 18 times the stacking performance, up to twice the capacity, and up to seven-times the resiliency of the stackable switches from the primary competition, at a fraction of the expense.

”Nortel’s solution provides the base for unified communications and simplifies our network infrastructure, providing industry-leading functionality and performance combined with excellent throughput, reliability and affordability,” said Allen Frost, network architect, Novell**. “It also requires less equipment and that translates to savings in terms of capital and operational costs. The ERS 5600 switches proved to be simple to deploy, and we anticipate significant productivity enhancements as well as ongoing cost savings with this data networking solution.”

“Enterprises recognize the power of unified communications – the challenge is how to get there from here,” said Joel Hackney, president, Enterprise Solutions, Nortel. “Step one is deploying a powerful, high-performance data network, because without it, the infrastructure won’t support video and real-time apps critical to unified communications. The new family of Nortel Ethernet switches we are introducing today are designed to not only deliver that performance needed to today, but to accommodate the evolving needs and capacity unified communications will require in the future. This confirms Nortel’s commitment to the needs of the enterprise market as we continue to develop and deliver solutions designed to increase competitiveness and decrease operating costs.”

The Nortel Ethernet Routing Switch 5600 has been designed as a cost effective and reliable switch not only suitable for deployment in the data center, but advanced features also enable the switches to be used in the edge, distribution and core layers of the network. The 5600 switches are stack-compatible with the existing ERS 5500 switches, allowing a mix of port speeds and densities to meet any application while preserving existing investments. The new models are all with integrated with industry-leading 10 Gigabit uplink capacity. The 5600 also includes a model with support for up to 96 Gigabit power over Ethernet ports.

This power over Ethernet capacity in a stackable switch allows for cost-effective, high-density UC deployments – and is only available from Nortel.

Finland-based reseller, Nordic Lan&Wan**, has enjoyed significant penetration across a number of customer segments with the Nortel ERS 5000 portfolio. "We're very happy with the ERS 5000 products. The latest feature enhancements of the new 5600 models really simplify network planning and design. In particular, the flexibility and performance of the new line mitigates the risks inherent in deploying high-performance networks and provides excellent investment protection,” said Juha Pasanen, service director, Nordic Lan&Wan.

The Nortel Ethernet Routing Switch 5600 portfolio is generally available now.

Nortel data solutions are third-party proven to deliver 20 times the performance, seven times the resiliency at 50 percent of the total cost of ownership compared to the primary competition.¹

About Nortel

Nortel is a recognized leader in delivering communications capabilities that make the promise of Business Made Simple a reality for our customers. Our next-generation technologies, for both service provider and enterprise networks, support multimedia and business-critical applications. Nortel’s technologies are designed to help eliminate today's barriers to efficiency, speed and performance by simplifying networks and connecting people to the information they need, when they need it. Nortel does business in more than 150 countries around the world. For more information, visit Nortel on the Web at www.nortel.com. For the latest Nortel news, visit www.nortel.com/news.

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¹The Tolly Group Report Number 208298, July 2008, reported the results of a power consumption evaluation of six Nortel converged data network products consisting of large and medium core and wiring closet Ethernet Routing Switches (ERS), enterprise branch office routers, and IP phones compared to similar Cisco products on the basis of power consumption and heat dissipation, and five-year operational cost. See also the Tolly Group Report Number 208275, January 2008, and Info-Tech Research Group Report (January 30, 2008).