Re: [foxboro] (No Date: Tue, 20 Feb 2007 12:49:52 -0500

Ron,

Here is an excerpt from our MESH Q&A.  I hope this help explain the 
differences.

Regards,

Garry Cusick

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Can customers use Ethernet switches from other suppliers for use in the I/A 
Series Mesh network?



Only Enterasys Ethernet switches have been qualified for use in the I/A 
Series system.  Other switches may or may not work and may not meet the 
performance specifications required for a secure, reliable high performance 
Mesh network.



Why won't other switches provide the same performance?



While the Enterasys equipment is off the shelf hardware,  the firmware used 
in the switches has been optimized to meet the stringent performance 
specifications for the Mesh network. For example, the Rapid Spanning Tree 
Protocol algorithm that manages traffic paths has been optimized to meet the 
requirement for network recovery on failure of a root switch in less than 
one second.  This level of performance is much better than is typically 
achievable with other vendor's hardware and RSTP implementation.





Can customers purchase the Enterasys switches from third parties with the 
correct certified firmware to work with I/A Series?



Although Enterasys switches qualified for use with I/A Series Systems can 
also be purchased from third parties, they will not necessarily be furnished 
with the version that has been qualified.   Switches supplied to Invensys by 
Enterasys are supplied pre-configured and with the correct version of 
firmware



How could they get the correct firmware?



They would need to contact Enterasys and either purchase replacement 
firmware for each switch on a one time charge basis or purchase a support 
contract which would cover the cost of replacement firmware.



Is the firmware provided by Enterasys for the Mesh Network switches 
exclusive to IPS Foxboro supplied switches?



Changes to the firmware made by Enterasys for use in I/A Series systems are 
included in the code base of the firmware that Enterasys provides to others.

Enterasys periodically make changes to firmware for other customers and 
purposes; future versions of the firmware which have not been qualified by 
IPS may or may not be compatible with I/A Series systems.



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Ron Schafer" <rschafer@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <foxboro@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Tuesday, February 20, 2007 11:32 AM
Subject: [foxboro]


> Last week I asked about the Enterasys switches and a lot of good
> feedback. I spoke with sales at both companies and get different
> answers? Enterasys says that the switches are the same ones they sell
> (including firmware) and Foxboro says that their switches are POTS
> (Proprietary Off The Shelf) switches that Enterasys cant sell us. If so
> what firmware revision are the Foxboro switches? (A2 series 24 port
> fiber switches) Does anyone have these in use (Foxboro's) and have there
> been any problems? I guess the price markup makes us wonder if its
> really worth the investment.
>
>
> At my current level of understanding I wouldn't feel comfortable using
> other switches and I know if I did and had problems it would be
> difficult to get knowledgeable help from Foxboro. (Tom V)
>
>
>
> This is a very good point and even with the Enterasys switches (From
> Enterasys) I was told they come with a lifetime warranty and
> manufacturer technical support so if there was a problem, I would be
> leaning to calling them first anyway! After all, They are the ones who
> make them.
>
>
>
> Ron Schafer
>
>
>
>
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