Foundry Networks has launched two new chassis switches: the eight-slot SX-800 FastIron and 16-slot SX-1600.

The SX-800 has 192 Class 3 Power over Ethernet (PoE) ports at 15 watts per port, plus redundant power supplies. The SX-1600 offers twice this capability with 384 ports.

Foundry said these high PoE port densities could appeal to companies rolling out voice over IP (VoIP) and wireless systems, and those consolidating analogue surveillance systems onto IP.

Foundry’s director of product management, Val Oliva, said the switches’ flexibility meant they could be used for many types of deployment, including use in core networks as aggregation switches or in datacentres and high-density wiring closets. “VoIP and Wi-Fi launched PoE, but the next mass-market for PoE will be security or video surveillance,” predicted Oliva. “A growing number of enterprise customers who use analogue systems for video security surveillance want to consolidate this onto IP using PoE technology.”

The currently ratified PoE standard is IEEE 802.3af, but work has started on an enhanced standard, known as PoE Plus or IEEE 802.3at, which should increase the power supplied over LAN cables sufficiently to run laptops.

The SX switches support dynamic voice virtual LAN configurations, and the sFlow network traffic and security reporting protocol. The FastIron SX-1600 offers options to support thirty-six 10 Gigabit Ethernet connections. The kit can support IP telephony systems including those from Avaya, Cisco, Mitel, and Nortel IP, as well as Cisco’s legacy pre-802.3af IP phones.

The new chassis switches are available now, priced at £10,800 + VAT for the FastIron SX-800 and £16,850 + VAT for the SX-1600.