The ZX4600 with OpenArchitect is an extensible managed switch for embedded high-availability Ethernet in CarrierClass(tm) telecommunications systems using the CompactPCI chassis. The 6U switch blade provides Layer 2 switching and Layer 3 IP routing, at line-rate, plus Layer 4-7 packet classification and filtering. The switch's fully integrated OpenArchitect management software environment provides comprehensive IP routing services "out-of-the-box" plus the capability to add new or custom routing, control and management policies. The switch also eases and enhances remote system manageability by incorporating the Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) standard. The ZX4600 with OpenArchitect combines the performance of a silicon-based switching fabric with flexibility of software-managed routing policies.

With eight fiber-optic ports, the ZX4600's prime mission is to terminate and concentrate nearly any number of Gigabt Ethernet data sources. Multiple ZX4600s may be chained together to create larger switch fabrics, with capacity limited only by the number of slots that are available. Additonally, the ZX4600 supports link aggregation with load-balancing for Multi-GigE uplink capacity.

Using the ZX4600 eliminates the need for separate, rack mount switches, saving rack space and enabling better cable managment, while at the same time providing Carrier Class features such as Hot-Swap.

HA Suite, a Service Continuity and High Availability upgrade for the ZX4600 enables fast transparent IP failovers for continuous network availability and auto-configuration to complement hot swap for minimal Mean Time to Repair (MTTR).

A ZX4600 may be hosted in any PICMG 2.16 slot, and will not interfere with any PCI bus signals on J1/J2, or H.110 signals on J4. No RPIO pins are required.

The versatile OpenArchitect control plane software allows fully managed and redundant networks of ZX4600s and other Gigabit Ethernet switch devices to be configured. Any desired routing protocols may be installed, giving the network architect a wide range of configuration options to choose from.

The hardware platform -- a 6U CompactPCI switch blade -- provides a complete Gigabit Ethernet switching subsystem that performs all switching on silicon with line-rate throughput of up to 12 million packets-per-second. All eight Gigabit Ethernet ports are routed to the front panel through Fiber LC type connectors making the ZX4600 ideal for concentrating Gigabit Ethernet uplinks. An embedded Motorola MPC8245 PowerPC microprocessor @ 250Mhz with 64MB of SDRAM provides the environment for OpenArchitect Switch Management to operate independantly of the host systems OS.

The ZX4600 was designed with High Availability in mind providing full support for the PICMG 2.1 HotSwap specification which ensures there is no electrical operation side effects when inserting or extracting the ZX4600 from a PICMG 2.1 compliant system.

The OpenArchitect software component – open source Linux, IP protocol stack, control applications and the OA Engine – runs on an embedded Motorola MPC8245 PowerPC microprocessor. OpenArchitect provides extensive managed IP routing protocols and other open standards for switch management. Examples include network services; Virtual Redundant Router Protocol; Routing Information Protocol; Open Shortest Path First; Border Gateway Protocol; IP Multicast, Quality of Service and Class of Service; access control lists; and management via Simple Network Management Protocol MIBs , Common Open Policy Services and web.

The OA Engine is the bridge between the software environment and high performance switch fabric. The engine transparently moves routing policies established by software to the switch fabric's forwarding table. This bridge enables line rate packet switching, executed on a silicon switch fabric chip, that is managed by open source routing protocols -- a quick time-to-market, feature-rich protocol set.