ZyXEL ES-3124F Layer 2+ Managed Fast Ethernet Switch

Overview:

What happens if you need something a little more advanced thas a layer 2 switch, but don’t need the routing features of a layer 3 switch?  You turn to ZyXEL’s 3000 Series of L2+ switches!  L2+ switches give you all the features you’ve come to love about L2 switches (QoS, security, VLAN’s) and add in L3 and L4 ACL lists.  This makes them perfect for networks that handle data as well as voice or video traffic as it allows you to apply security and QoS rules based on IP address, port, or protocol used by traffic passing through the switch.  In addition these switches can be managed by web or command line interfaces, SNMP traps allow for easy monitoring, and iStacking allows you to virtually stack switches on the same network for easier management.

The Metro Switch 3000 Series is specially designed for service providers to deliver profitable Ethernet services. With the high-performance hardware platform, service providers can easily extend network topologies while enabling robust security, QoS and management functions to help customers fulfilling differentiated needs for Metro Ethernet services.

• 24 100BASE-X SFP Open Slots provide flexiblity in fiber technology
• 4 GbE SFP Slots for fast uplinks to the rest of your network
• Backup Power System (BPS) support to minimizes network downtime
• Policy-based QoS optimizes multi-service quality
• Minimizes Channel Surfing Disturbance with Fast Leave
• Limited lifetime warranty

Features & Benefits:

• 16K MAC address table
• Policy-based QoS optimizes multi-service quality
• IGMP snooping v1, v2, v3, MVR
• Multilayer-aware (L2/L3/L4) ACL for security protection
• High redundancy and resilient architecture with RSTP, port trunking

Easy ETTx Deployments
ZyXEL's ES-3124F is a series of carrier-class L2+ managed access switches. With robust performance in network resiliency, QoS, IP multicasting and security, the ES-3124F is the ideal solution for cable, utilities or municipality operators and service providers to adopt in Active Ethernet ETTx deployments.

ES-3124F supports 4 GbE SFP slots for establishing fiber rings to offer better network resiliency, while ES-3124F has 24 100BASE-X SFP open slots for superior fiber aggregation capability. ES-3124F can be combined with ES-2108-F to form an end-to-end fiber access solution. All above models support the latest single fiber transceiver (BX type) for better system flexibility and easier fiber installation.

Robust and High-Availability System Design
As an alternative power source, BPS prevents the system from total blackouts caused by internal AC power supply failures, and IEEE802.3ad Link aggregation also reduces network downtime by providing more packet paths and performs bandwidth aggregation on critical paths. The 4G uplink not only provides superb bandwidth, but also forms a high-resiliency ring topology, which greatly improve network uptime and stability.

Secured Service-Level IP TV & VoIP Operations
The ES-3124F comes with proven QoS and VLAN functions to ensure smooth operation. For instance, QoS features like multi-layer (L2/L3/L4) ACL, eight priority queues, DSCP and WFQ scheduling algorithm all maximize bandwidth usage and improve network service quality, while MVR and IGMP snooping enables effective IP TV multicasting. In addition, Fast Leave eradicates streaming quality disturbance when users surf between different channels, and bandwidth control with granularity of 64kbps brings better bandwidth administration to network operators.

Standardized Services Empowered by Service-Aware VLAN
With 256 static VLAN entries, the ES-3124F sufficiently satisfies the growing need for video, VoIP and access identification functionalities required by converged networks to deliver multiple services. Furthermore, The 4K PVID offers the best flexibility for VLAN configuration, while the L2VPN service is made possible by the VLAN stacking (Q-in-Q) feature.

Strengthened Service Management and Control
The ES-3124F supports the 802.3ah operation, administration and maintenance (OAM) standard to facilitate device management and ZyXEL NetAtlas Enterprise EMS software for central management In addition, command-line interface (CLI) and text configuration are also offered for the staff to manage the network more conveniently and effectively.

Meeting industry standards
The Metro Ethernet Forum (MEF) is a global industry alliance comprised of more than 145 active members representing Carrier Ethernet industry groups. The forum develops technical specifications and implementation agreements to promote interoperability and deployment of Carrier Ethernet services worldwide. The Metro Switch 3000 Series is aligned with carrier-class standards for Ethernet Private Line (EPL), Ethernet Virtual Private Line (EVPL) and Ethernet LAN (E-LAN) of Metro Ethernet Forum (MEF), and the Series has been certified as MEF-9 and MEF-14 compliant.

Advanced QoS for significant services
Consistent service quality and reliable connecting ability in a converged network is the key for service providers to win customers and build loyalty; therefore the ability to control traffic flow and set traffic policy becomes more critical than ever. The Metro Switch 3000 Series offers wire-speed flow control that classifies and prioritizes the incoming packets according to the predefine QoS policies that meet requirements of service providers.

In terms of classification, the Differentiated Services Code Point (DSCP) field and the 802.1p class of service (CoS) field are identified to assess the priority of incoming packets. Classification and reclassification can be based on criteria as specific as rules based on IP, MAC addresses, VLAN ID or TCP/UDP port number. For bandwidth management, the Metro Switch 3000 Series provides 8 priority queues per port for different types of traffics, allowing service providers to set rule-based rate limitations that take full advantage of constrained network resources and guarantee the best performance.

Enhanced security for protection among customers
Avoiding subscribers affecting each other on a shared network or shared device is a major concern for service providers. The Metro Switch 3000 Series offers a complete set of security features to protect user data while administrating the traffics. The intrusion lock function detects the “plugged” and “unplugged” status change of Ethernet cables, and the switch would deactivate a specific port automatically if needed, and the 802.1x authentication can secure the network from unauthorized users. Port security provides the ability to deny unauthorized users from accessing the network.

Moreover, the 802.1x feature cooperating with RADIUS is useful to prevent unauthorized access based on username and password (or other credentials) and acts as powerful access control for converged networks with mixed wired and wireless access.

The Metro Switch 3000 Series provides a multilayer (L2/L3/L4) ACL suite of sophisticated policy-based control mechanisms that enables service providers to deploy easily based on actual network environment needs via a Web GUI or command line interface to prevent abnormal or illegal access. The policies can be defined to deny packets based on source and destination MAC addresses, IP addresses or TCP/UDP ports.

Resilient and redundant design
A quick recovery and round-the-clock network is vital for service providers to establish a robust network. The Metro Switch 3000 Series provides comprehensive features to make sure network is well operated. The IEEE 802.3ad Link Aggregation feature reduces network downtime by providing redundant paths and bandwidth aggregation to critical connections, while IEEE 802.1w Rapid Spanning Tree Protocol (RSTP) and IEEE 802.1s Multiple Spanning Tree Protocol (MSTP) allow immediate recovery from failed connections by sending packets via the backup link. Furthermore, since the Metro Switch 3000 Series supports backup power system, the power is supplied to the switch in case of an unexpected outage.

Intelligent fan control algorithm for power saving
Fans play an important role in energy consumption since it’s the key to heat dissipation. The Metro Switch 3000 features auto temperature detection and appropriate fan speeds with the Intelligent Fan Control algorithm based on complex mathematics and physics formulas. When the ambient temperature is low, the switch would decrease fan speed to prevent unnecessary power waste from excessive cooling.

Specifications:

Metro Switch 3000 Series Comparison:

	Aggregation Switches		Access Switches
Feature/Model:	MGS-3712	MGS-3712F	MES-3728	ES-3124F
Port Density
10/100Base-T, Fixed	-	-	24	-
10/100/1000Based-T, Fixed	8	-	-	-
Dual Personality Ports (Fixed RJ-45 4 4 2 2 1000Base-T or SFP Open Slots)	4	4	2	2
Open SFP Slot (GbE)	-	8	2	2
Open SFP Slot (FE)	-	-	-	24
Performance
Switch Fabric Speed, Gbps	24	24	12.8	12.8
Forwarding Rate	17.8	17.8	9.6	9.6
Packet Buffer, Bytes	1M	1M	1M	32M (External)
MAC Address Table	16k	16k	16k	16k
Power Requirement—Input Power
AC, DC Dual Power Supply	Yes	Yes	Yes	-
AC Power	100 - 240 V AC, 50/60 Hz	100 - 240 V AC, 50/60 Hz	100 - 240 V AC, 50/60 Hz	100 - 240 V AC, 50/60 Hz
DC Power	-48 to -60 V D	-48 to -60 V D	-48 to -60 V D	-48 to -60 V D
Environmental Specification
Operating Temperature	0°C to 65°C	0°C to 65°C	0°C to 65°C	0°C to 45°C
Storage Temperature	-25°C to 70°C	-25°C to 70°C	-25°C to 70°C	-25°C to 70°C
Operating Humidity	-10% to 99% (non-condensing)	-10% to 99% (non-condensing)	-10% to 99% (non-condensing)	-10% to 90% (non-condensing)
Physical Feature
Dimensions, (W) x (D) x (H) mm	438 x 225 x 44.5	438 x 225 x 44.5	438 x 225 x 44.5	438 x 270 x 44.5
Weight, kg	3.4	3.4	3.4	4.2
Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF), hours	320,302	220,339	307,007	216,298

 

Documentation:

Download the ZyXEL Switch 3000 Series Data Sheet (PDF).