Communications: Mil-Grade Ethernet Switch Offers 20 Ports With Secure Management

The SwitchBox is a ready-to-deploy military-grade network system. It delivers a 20-port Gigabit Ethernet switch housed in a fully ruggedized single-slot chassis. The system offers fast, reliable, and deterministic forwarding (switching and routing) of control and data packets with up to 20 wire-speed 10/100/1000-Mbit/s interfaces. Also included are fully integrated layer 2 switching, layer 3 routing, quality-of-service support, IP multicast, security, and network management. And, it provides out-of-band debug using a separate 10/100 Ethernet port. Available with support for the VxWorks operating environment, it can be remotely configured, monitored, and upgraded through a secure set of interfaces. At just 12 by 8.25 by 3 in., the low-profile SwitchBox provides a flexible multilayer switching system solution for space-constrained land, air, and sea vehicles and other field systems. The chassis is natural-convection cooled and designed for use in ­40°C to 71°C operating ambient environments. The system is rated to withstand 0.15-g²/Hz vibration and 40-g shock (per Mil-Std-810E). Pricing starts at $22,700.