Force10 Networks Expands Carbon Credit Program to Include Its Newly Offered Top-of-Rack Switches

SAN JOSE, Calif., March 15, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Force10 Networks, Inc., a global technology leader, today announced the expansion of its carbon credit program to include those customers purchasing selected models of its S-Series™ 10/40 Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) top-of-rack (ToR) access switches. This program expansion will enable Force10 customers who buy ExaScale® virtualized core switch/routers and now the S4810™ top-of-rack switch—the industry's only core-to-edge 40 GbE solution--to receive carbon credits, which offset greenhouse gas emissions associated with the energy consumption of these solutions. Carbon credits are provided through TerraPass, a leading third-party provider.

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As part of the Force10 Carbon-Balanced Switch/Router Initiative, for every unit of the S4810 sold, Force10 will retire carbon credits to balance the greenhouse gas emissions resulting from the S4810's electricity consumption for the life of the switch or up to five years, whichever occurs first. TerraPass then uses those offsets to help fund clean energy and carbon reduction projects throughout the U.S., including wind power, farm power, and landfill gas capture to create verified offsets for the carbon emissions generated by the ToR switches.

Ongoing Green Commitment

The inclusion of the S4810 represents both an extension of the Force10 Carbon-Balanced Switch/Router Initiative announced in November, 2010, as well as the latest step the company has taken to effect positive environmental change while simultaneously working toward lowering operating expenses for its customers.

"With budgets static and businesses more reliant on network performance than ever before, IT staffs require a complete switching solution," said Arpit Joshipura, chief marketing officer, Force10 Networks. "By incorporating the popular S4810 into our carbon credit program, users can reap the benefits of the lower power/cooling costs in addition to enjoying a switching solution that is part of the industry's only end-to-end 40 GbE product line that delivers extremely low latency with unmatched reliability."

S4810 Also Delivers Industry-Leading Latency in its Class

In addition to providing a more energy-efficient ToR solution, the Force10 S4810 switch recently demonstrated 5% to 70% lower latency than comparable switches in a 10 GbE configuration based on a network performance and power test. The independent benchmarking study was conducted by independent industry analyst, Nick Lippis of The Lippis Group, and Ixia, a leader in converged IP network test solutions. The tests on the S4810 and competitive switches were for RFC-based latency, performance and power consumption measurements in Layer 2 and Layer 3 configurations. Click here to view The Lippis Report test results.

The Force10 S4810 top-of-rack access switch starts at $25,000 and is available today. For more information on the S4810 and the Force10 Networks' Carbon-Neutral Switch/Router Initiative, please click Eco-Efficiency/TerraPass.

About Force10 Networks

Force10 Networks is a global technology leader that data center, service provider and enterprise customers rely on when the network is their business. The company's high performance Ethernet switching and routing solutions virtualize and automate Ethernet networks to deliver new and distinct economic advantages by increasing network availability, agility and efficiency while reducing power and cooling costs. Force10 provides 24x7 service and support capabilities to its global customer base in more than 60 countries worldwide. For more information on Force10 Networks, please visit www.force10networks.com.

About TerraPass

Launched in 2004, TerraPass works with developers of greenhouse gas reduction projects to bring to market renewable energy and independently-verified carbon offsets. TerraPass manages a portfolio of more than 20 emissions reduction projects across the United States, primarily focused on waste-to-energy. With projects registered under the Climate Action Reserve and the Voluntary Carbon Standard, the company is an award-winning provider of carbon offsets and serves both voluntary and compliance buyers. For more information, visit www.terrapass.com or call +1 415-692-3411.

Force10 Networks, the Force10 Networks logo, Force10, E-Series, Traverse, TraverseEdge, JumpStart, HyperLink, SwitchLink and SmartScripts are registered trademarks and ExaScale, S-Series, S4810, TeraScale, and FTOS are trademarks of Force10 Networks, Inc. All other company names are trademarks of their respective holders.

SOURCE Force10 Networks, Inc.