• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Glimmerglass System 300E Layer 1 Fiber Switch Enables High-Performance Enterprise Applications

Posted on: Tuesday, 28 October 2003, 06:00 CST

HAYWARD, Calif., Oct. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Glimmerglass, a pioneer of next-generation transparent connectivity solutions, today announced the Glimmerglass System 300E Layer 1 Fiber switch that is ideally suited for business continuity applications and high-performance scientific, government, Internet and enterprise data networks. The System 300E was designed for environments that demand reliable, resilient, affordable and high-performance Ethernet and SAN communications.

The System 300E delivers guaranteed, non-blocking, deterministic switched fiber connections. Because the System 300E supports any data format, it can make multi-vendor, multi-protocol and multi-data rate networks more resilient and agile by detecting network outages or cut fibers and then automatically establishing connections around faulty links. Compared with Ethernet switches or IP routers, protecting a network at layer 1 enables IT managers to more easily and affordably ensure that business-critical networks continue to operate.

"IT managers have never enjoyed the benefits of true transparent connectivity," said Mark Housley, president and CEO of Glimmerglass. "Our System 300E lets them complement their Ethernet, IP and Fibre Channel investments to build and manage a variety of high bandwidth network applications never before imagined."

"The Glimmerglass System 300E is ideal for helping us scale our Internet traffic switching capacity because it lets us gracefully migrate our network design from a multi-site ring topology to a more efficient redundant hierarchy," said Henk Steenman, Chief Technical Officer of AMS-IX B.V., the firm that operates Amsterdam's Internet peering exchange. "The Glimmerglass System 300E allows us to easily reconfigure fiber connections remotely, enabling us to integrate new 10-Gigabit Ethernet equipment that we can instantly disconnect from live traffic for maintenance purposes."

The Glimmerglass System 300E is ideal for those seeking affordable, dedicated, high bandwidth connections between computing elements such as grid-computing clusters, remote local area networks and large data storage facilities. Delivering transparent connections, the System 300E supports communications of every data format over single-mode fiber, from 10 Mb/s to Gigabit Ethernet, 10 Gb/s Ethernet, and even SONET/SDH up to OC-768 (40 Gb/s). The System 300E also supports multimode fiber at data-rates up to 1.25 Gbps to deliver protection and management of FDDI, ATM, ESCON and Fibre Channel.

About the Glimmerglass System 300E

The System 300E Layer 1 Fiber Switch supports 850nm, 1310nm and 1550nm fiber communications. Built to perform reliably over years of service, the System 300E can be ordered in configurations of 32x32 (input fibers x output fibers), 64x64, 80x80 or a 40x40 port option that can be upgraded over time in 8x8 port increments. All tabletop and rack-mountable versions of the System 300E establish strictly non-blocking transparent media connections compatible with any present and future data formats.

The System 300E is currently available globally through Glimmerglass and its distribution partners. Company representatives tailor proposals that may include optional system configurations and features appropriate for customers' specific application requirements. The suggested retail price for the System 300E starts at $70,000.

About the Glimmerglass System 300 Family of Products

In companion releases today, the company announced two other members of the System 300 product family: the System 300V Fiber Routing Switcher designed for managing video over fiber and the System 300T Fiber Connection Server designed to revolutionize test and measurement applications. The companion products include:

-- System 300V for Managing Video on Fiber: This Fiber Routing

Switcher establishes zero-latency simulcast connections over any

distance.

-- System 300T for Test & Measurement: This Fiber Connection Server

allows engineers to rewire networks in milliseconds, share expensive

test equipment, measure network performance and automatically

execute network tests.

At the core of each System 300 is Glimmerglass' Brilliance(TM) micro-photonics technology, comprised of Brilliant Connections(TM), a very low loss, highly scalable, fully transparent switching architecture; and Brilliant Controls(TM), an intelligent, fast, reliable, and patented control technology.

About Glimmerglass

Glimmerglass develops and manufactures the smallest, highest performing, and most reliable transparent connectivity solutions that manage light at the physical fiber, waveband, and individual wavelength levels. Glimmerglass delivers transparent connectivity technologies to the defense, intelligence, super-computing, test & measurement, Internet infrastructure, enterprise, video production, cable and telecommunications industries. Founded by a team of micro-photonics veterans in 2000, and headquartered in Hayward, California, Glimmerglass is funded by top venture capital firms including Mobius Venture Capital, Onset Ventures, CDP Capital-Technology Ventures, Applied Materials Ventures, Ashford Capital Management, Inc. and Anthem Venture Partners. For more information about Glimmerglass solutions, visit http://www.glimmerglass.com/, send email to info@glimmerglass.com, or call +1 510-780-1800.

NOTE: Glimmerglass, Brilliance, Brilliant Connections and Brilliant Controls are trademarks of Glimmerglass Networks, Inc. All other trademarks and service marks are the property of their respective holders.

CONTACT: Heidi Groshelle of Trainer Communications, +1-415-563-1893, or heidi@trainercomm.com, for Glimmerglass.

More News in this Category