Radware launches switching device for office Internet connections
By MATT HAMBLEN
SEPTEMBER 15, 2003

Radware Ltd. will announce today a branch-office device to provide multihoming flexibility so data can be switched reliably and securely between two or more Internet connections at low cost.

The LinkProof Branch device is the fourth in a family of multihoming devices from Radware, which has its U.S. headquarters in Mahway, N.J. The low-end device will provide users with eight 100Mbit ports to enable connections to more than one WAN link, said Radware CEO Roy Zisapel. Multihoming means the hardware can switch between channels such as a Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) and a cable connection in a branch office, he said.

The Illumen Group Inc., a Radware reseller in Denver, has installed the LinkProof Branch in an Internet-based business in Golden, Colo., which is running its operations via cable modems and DSL, said Illumen President Enrique Krajmalnik. The LinkProof Branch device has been used for two months to provide fail-over capability and manage bandwidth over the two links, he said.

Originally, they were paying for a second circuit that wasn't used except as a backup that had to be manually switched on when needed, he said. This device makes that second link effective in an affordable way.

One of the features of the LinkProof family is that data can be switched reliably even if multiple connections have different Virtual Private Network connections, Zisapel said.

Max Flisi, an analyst at Framingham, Mass.-based IDC, said the device makes sense for branch offices and small and midsize businesses that want to make use of the bandwidth offered by unused backup links. He said the market is probably small for branch-office multihoming, noting that IDC hasn't yet calculated that market's size. Competitors for multihoming devices include F5 Networks Inc. in Seattle and Nortel Networks Ltd. in Brampton, Ontario, he said.

The LinkProof Branch lists at $4,250 and is available now. Radware estimates that a typical branch or small office could save $8,000 per year by replacing a single T1 connection with two DSL connections and using LinkProof Branch to manage bandwidth between the two.


CW