BlackDiamond X8 is fastest tested, most energy-efficient core switch for data centres and Internet exchanges
Extreme Networks today announced that the London Internet Exchange (LINX), one of the world’s leading exchange points for Internet traffic, has become one of the first organisations to purchase the BlackDiamond® X8 switch to help meet growing network data traffic.
In preparation for the 2012 Olympic Games in London this summer, LINX needed to select highly capable Ethernet to fortify its exchange point in order to handle the onslaught of Internet traffic. LINX is one of the world’s largest Internet Exchange Points (IXP) having maintained a global reputation for quality, performance and technical excellence while driving development of the Internet infrastructure. It runs dual local area networks (LANs) from different vendors to give full resiliency. After upgrading one network towards the end of 2011, LINX was looking for a similar solution on its other LAN.
Extreme Networks answered the call with the BlackDiamond X8 switch, the flagship product of its cloud and data centre portfolio that delivers scalability with 20 terabits of capacity in a one third rack, the lowest latency (2.3 us), highest port density (768 10 Gigabit Ethernet ports) and lowest power (5.6 watts per 10 GE port) of any switch according to the December 2011 Lippis Test Report.
LINX is deploying multiple BlackDiamond X8 switches to handle Internet peering traffic that increases month after month. The IXP is expected to carry many millions of Terabits during the Olympics in August and expects this to continue into the future.
Derek Cobb, LINX CTO commented, "We are upgrading with Extreme Networks BlackDiamond X8 because the product is a new performance leader in data centre switching. When we decided to upgrade our exchange, we wanted a best-of-breed product with the ability to reliably scale, and that was consistent with our position as being a world leader in deploying such technologies. We are excited to be making this deployment.”
"We are proud to extend our more than decade long relationship with LINX as they deploy the BlackDiamond X8," said Shehzad Merchant, Vice President of Technology for Extreme Networks. "Their choice reflects increasing market recognition for Extreme Networks and underscores the value of best-of-breed switching for Internet exchanges and data centres."