Extreme Networks ERS 4950GTS 50-port Switch
Stackable Chassis System

Overview:

Next-generation, high-performance, feature-rich Ethernet Switch platforms specifically optimized for the Wiring Closet demands of the mainstream Enterprise. Extreme Ethernet Routing Switch 4900 products deliver the agility to perform equally in conventional IP and Ethernet Fabric-based networking solutions.

The Ethernet Routing Switch 4900 products leverage the latest advances in network switching architecture design to maximize hardware performance and software capability. These products represent a clear evolutionary step for the Ethernet Routing Switch 4000 Series, particularly in terms of value and future-ready flexibility, and have been optimized for the Enabled Edge role.

The primary purpose of a network is to interconnect users with their applications, and the best networks do this reliably, efficiently, and with a high degree of agility. Extreme’s Fabric-Based architecture empowers companies to extend the virtualized Ethernet Fabric beyond the Data Center, to the very edge of the network, delivering powerful integration of users, applications, and devices.

The new Ethernet Routing Switch 4900 (ERS 4900) products are an important part of this strategy, integrating Fabric Connect capabilities into a form-factor that is cost-effective, flexible, and reliable. The ERS 4900 products can be deployed standalone, or configured as a Stackable Chassis system of up to eight units/400 ports, supported by up to 416Gbps of virtual backplane bandwidth.

The Extreme Stackable Chassis technology can offer the same performance, resiliency, and ease of serviceability attributes of a traditional Chassis solution, but at a lower, pay-as-you-grow price point. Notable is the ability to swapout an individual failed unit without the requirement to preor post-stage operating system software or configuration; providing equivalency to module replacement for a modular Chassis system.

The ERS 4900 products are purpose-built to support the demands of today’s dynamic Wiring Closet with high-density, full-featured Gigabit Ethernet. It alleviates infrastructure complexity and reduces operational burden with a truly scalable and strategic architecture; it is designed to deliver a high-performance Enabled Edge solution that fully optimizes investments in next-generation application software.

Leveraging both next-generation hardware and software technology provides a solution that is ready to support both today’s requirements and tomorrow’s emerging needs. The ERS 4900 products enable business to future-proof with a highly software-definable network virtualization solution.

Supporting modern Enterprise applications requires a flexible and highly reliable infrastructure, and the ERS 4900 products deliver against this challenge. These are highly strategic products, fit-for-purpose for conventional Routed IP connectivity requirements and future-ready for the evolving and emerging software-defined needs of tomorrow. Boasting equal competency for both IP- and Fabric-based networking give businesses the flexibility to satisfy all common deployment scenarios, with the added advantage of an easy transitioning between the two.

Extreme brings unique differentiation to the mainstream Wiring Closet role: with a flexible, non-blocking “Stackable Chassis” architecture. The proprietary Extreme “Flexible Advanced Stacking Technology” (FAST) protocol – implemented over dedicated Quality-of-Service aware interfaces – enables a resilient, high-performance solution that leverages a shortest path algorithm to minimizes transit hops in a multi-device configuration by providing active-active bi-directional traffic flows.

Product Overview

Broadly speaking, the Ethernet Routing Switch 4900 products provide a mix of Gigabit Ethernet ports for edge access and 10 Gigabit Ethernet ports for network uplinks. Model variants that support Power-over-Ethernet (PoE/ PoE+) are also available, and all models support optional highly available AC power (up to 2 field-replaceable Power Supplies). Two different port configurations are available: 26-port and 50-port models, and each configuration is available in either a PoE or non-PoE format. The product range includes the following models:

• ERS 4926GTS – 24 x 10/100/1000 Mbps RJ45, plus 2 x 10 Gigabit SFP+
• ERS 4926GTS-PWR+ – 24 x 10/100/1000 Mbps RJ45 with PoE/PoE+, plus 2 x 10 Gigabit SFP+
• ERS 4950GTS – 48 x 10/100/1000 Mbps RJ45, plus 2 x 10 Gigabit SFP+
• ERS 4950GTS-PWR+ – 48 x 10/100/1000 Mbps RJ45 with PoE/PoE+, plus 2 x 10 Gigabit SFP+

The product’s proven design leverages a sophisticated chipset from the Industry’s leading supplier, featuring high-performance switching and frame forwarding. The switching core is designed to deliver wire-speed capabilities, with a fully integrated ASIC architecture that facilitates hardware-assisted feature execution.

The 26-port models – ERS 4926GTS and ERS 4926GTSPWR+ – feature 24 1000BASE-T Gigabit Ethernet access ports with RJ45 interfaces; these ports also support 10/100Mbps connectivity. Two SFP+ interfaces provide for network uplink connectivity, and these ports support both Gigabit and 10 Gigabit pluggable transceivers.

The 50-port models – ERS 4950GTS and ERS 4950GTSPWR+ – feature 48 1000BASE-T Gigabit Ethernet access ports with RJ45 interfaces; these ports also support 10/100Mbps connectivity. Two SFP+ interfaces provide for network uplink connectivity, and these ports support both Gigabit and 10 Gigabit pluggable transceivers.

Importantly, all ERS 4900 models feature two dedicated Stackable Chassis interfaces mounted on the rear; one a bi-directional uplink and the other a bi-directional downlink. These QoS-aware high-speed connections enable a resilient, high-performance hardware virtualization solution, leveraging a shortest path algorithm to minimizes transit hops in a multi-device configuration and supporting activeactive bi-directional traffic flows.

The Power-over-Ethernet models – ERS 4926GTS-PWR+ and ERS 4950GTS-PWR+ – support full Standardscompliant IEEE 802.3af/802.3at PoE/PoE+ delivering up to 30W per port to power IP Phones, Wireless Access Points, networked IP CCTV Cameras, and other converged devices. Today, certain PoE devices require a surge of start-up power, over-and-above that defined by the IEEE Standards, and support for the High In-Rush mode enables these devices to function.

These PoE models require the 1,025W field-replaceable, hotswappable power supply; the non-PoE models utilize the lower-rated 250W version. The PoE power budgets for the PWR+ models are as follows:

• ERS 4926GTS-PWR+ – up to 720W of PoE power with either 1 or 2 PSUs installed
• ERS 4950GTS-PWR+ – up to 1,440W of PoE power with 2 PSUs installed, and 750W with a single PSU