BNT 1/10Gb Uplink Ethernet Switch Module for IBM BladeCenter

The IBM BladeCenter 1/10Gb Uplink Ethernet Switch Module is a switch option that enables administrators to offer full Layer 2 and 3 switching and routing capability with combined 1 Gb and 10 Gb uplinks in a BladeCenter chassis. Such consolidation simplifies the data center infrastructure and helps reduce the number of discrete devices, management consoles, and management systems. In addition, the next-generation switch module hardware can support IPv6 Layer 3 frame forwarding protocols by using a future firmware upgrade.

This Ethernet Switch Module delivers port flexibility, efficient traffic management, increased uplink bandwidth, and strong Ethernet switching price/performance. Figure 1 shows the switch module.

The switch module's six 1 Gb RJ45 links can be seamlessly deployed in existing Gigabit networks, while its three 10 Gb small form-factor pluggable plus (SFP+) ports provide an easy migration path to 10 Gb networks. The switch also support all nine uplinks being active at the same time, which can also allow for a simply migration without downtime. All nine uplink ports provide line-rate performance with zero packet drop.

VMready allows the switch to dynamically configure itself to coexist with all leading virtual machine providers such as VMware, Microsoft, Citrix Xen, and Red Hat KVM.