Flexible Bandwidth management
The FastIron Superx/Sx switches support a
rich set of bandwidth management features,
allowing granular control of bandwidth
utilization. On ingress, extended ACls can be
used in combination with traffic policies to
control bandwidth by user, by application, and
by VlAN. On egress, outbound rate limiting
can control bandwidth per port and per priority
queue. These features allow the network
operator fine-grained control of bandwidth
utilization based on a wide range of application
and user criteria.
Complete Solution for multicast
and Broadcast Video
The use of video applications in the
workplace requires support for scalable
multicast services from the edge to the
core. IGmp and pIm snooping improves
bandwidth utilization in layer 2 networks
by restricting multicast flows to only those
switch ports that have multicast receivers.
In layer 3 networks, support for IGmp (v1,
v2, and v3), IGmp proxy, pIm-Sm, pIm-SSm,
and pIm-Dm multicast routing optimizes
traffic routing and network utilization for
multicast applications.
Advanced Full Layer 2/Layer 3 Wire-
Speed IP Routing Solution
Advanced IronWare supports a full
complement of unicast and multicast
routing protocols, enabling users to build
fully featured layer 2/layer 3 networks.
Supported routing protocols include
RIpv1/v2, OSpF, pIm-Sm/Dm, BGp, and
Equal Cost multi-path (ECmp) for improved
network performance. m2, m3, and
m4 management modules can support
routing table capacity of up to 1,000,000
BGp routes and 20 BGp peers. FastIron
Superx/Sx switches can be upgraded with
Advanced IronWare routing software (a
layer 3 upgrade).
To achieve wire-speed layer 3 performance,
the FastIron Superx/Sx switches support
Brocade Direct Routing (BDR), in which
the forwarding information base (FIB) is
maintained in local memory on the line
modules. The hardware forwarding tables are
dynamically populated by system management
with as many as 256,000 routes.
Comprehensive Security Suite
Security is a concern for today’s network
managers, and the FastIron Superx/Sx
switches support a powerful set of network
management solutions to help protect the
switch. multilevel access security on the
console and a secure Web management
interface prevent unauthorized users
from accessing or changing the switch
configuration. Using Terminal Access
Controller Access Control Systems (TACACS/
) and RADIuS authentication,
network managers can enable considerable
centralized control and restrict unauthorized
users from altering network configurations.
The FastIron Superx/Sx family includes
Secure Shell (SSHv2), Secure Copy,
and SNmpv3 to restrict and encrypt
communications to the management
interface and system, thereby ensuring
highly secure network management access.
For an added level of protection, network
managers can use ACls to control which
ports and interfaces have TElNET, Web,
and/or SNmp access.
Controlling network access is a top priority
for network operators. FastIron Superx/Sx
switches support a flexible suite of access
control capabilities in the IronShield product.
IronShield’s network access control features
include multi-host IEEE 802.1x and mAC
authentication schemes. upon successful
user or device authentication, the FastIron
Superx/Sx switch will apply the appropriate
access policy for the user. The access policy
may define the assigned VLAN, QoS, and
ACL to be applied to the user’s traffic. The
network administrator can also specify
an action in case the mAC or 802.1x
authentication times out. Because of its
standards-based design, this solution can
be augmented with access control software
and external appliances for enhanced access
control operation. For example, an external
NAC appliance and/or software can be used
in combination with the FastIron Superx/
SX, providing host posture verification and
remediation. This design allows customers
the flexibility to build best-of-breed solutions
for their access control infrastructure and not
be locked into a single offering.
Once the user is permitted access to the
network, protecting the user’s identity
and controlling where the user connects
becomes a priority. To prevent “user identity
theft” (spoofing), the FastIron SuperX/SX
switches support DHCp snooping, Dynamic
ARp inspection, and Ip source guard.
These three features work together to deny
spoofing attempts and to defeat man-in-
the-middle attacks. To control where users
connect, the FastIron Superx/Sx switches
support private VlANs, quarantine VlANs,
policy-based routing, and extended ACls,
all of which can be used to control a user’s
access to the network.
In addition, FastIron Superx/Sx switches
feature embedded sFlow packet sampling,
which provides system-wide traffic
monitoring for accounting, troubleshooting,
and intrusion detection. using the Brocade
IronView
®
Network management (INm)
