Allied Telesis Inc. has announced an expansion in its range of AT-8100 Series switches, including the first in a line of stackable green access edge switches designed to optimise end-user connectivity.

The release of the AT-8100 Series demonstrates Allied Telesis’ commitment to refreshing its entire edge stackable product line to address network energy efficiency needs. Dual fixed redundant power supplies, a first for this class of product, come as standard on all but the smallest model. The result is a cost-effective yet highly reliable edge platform eliminating the need to purchase expensive and space-wasting external redundant power supplies.

“Reducing power consumption and thermal footprint was a major consideration in the development of this product line,” says Allied Telesis Australia country manager Scott Penno.

“Energy efficiency combined with access security and support for next-generation protocols such as IPv6 are critical to sustainable systems for the office, classroom, or factory floor. We are excited about the result because we have achieved significant power savings.”

The AT-8100 Series is a value access edge workhorse connecting systems requiring advanced Layer 2+ and basic Layer 3 features combined with a range of connectivity options from copper to fibre. The AT-8100 series also supports the latest security features required at the edge of the network and is designed to interoperate with industry-standard platforms such as Microsoft Network Access Protection (NAP).

The AT-8100 series includes several models including the 8100S/24 and 24C compact model which addresses the needs of businesses with limited space and is ideal for applications such as retail point-of-sales systems.

The 8100S/16F8-SC, 8100S/24F-LC, and 8100S/24F-BiDi are well-suited for industrial and manufacturing environments where optic fibre is used because of its resistance to Electro-Magnetic Interference (EMI) or any other environment where fibre is used extensively.

The Power over Ethernet (PoE) versions, including the 8100S/24POE and 8100S/48POE switches, support the 802.3at standard and deliver up to 30 watts of power per port. PoE capability is ideal for applications such as video surveillance, where advanced cameras require additional power for pan-and-tilt motion or to heat moving parts when used outside in cold climates.

The 8100S/16F8-SC also enable mixed-media applications by cost-effectively connecting local copper devices over fibre at distances of up to two kilometres, positioning it as ideal for an industrial control or video surveillance network where remote cameras may be located beyond the reach of copper cabling.

While a number of models in the 8100 Series have been available for a period of time, the full range of 8100 Series switches including the mixed media 8100S/16F8-SC and all fibre 8100S/24F are now available and complement the existing POE and non-POE models.