SwitchBlade is the registered name of a family of layer 2 and layer 3 chassis switches developed by Allied Telesis. Current models include the SwitchBlade x908 GEN2 modular switch and the SwitchBlade x8100 layer 3 chassis switches. The first model was the SwitchBlade 4000 layer 3 core chassis, which ran the earlier AlliedWare operating system.
The SwitchBlade x908 GEN2 was introduced in 2017 and is the latest evolution of the original SwitchBlade x908 design. It features a stackable advanced layer 3 3RU chassis switch with 2.6 Terabit/s of switching capacity. It has eight switch modulebays like its predecessor although in the GEN2 they are mounted vertically to assist with cooling and cable management. The GEN2 also supports Allied Telesis' Virtual Chassis Stacking technology, but this has been enhanced to enable up to 4 SwitchBlade x908 GEN2 chassis' to be stacked over long-distances using any port-speed. Each chassis includes redundant system power supply bays.
The SwitchBlade x8100 series was launched in 2012 is an advanced layer 3 chassis switch with 1.92Tbit/s of switching capacity when two SBx81CFC960 control cards are installed. It is available in two chassis sizes, 6-slot and 12-slot. The 12-slot chassis has 10 line card slots and 2 controller card slots. The 6-slot chassis has 4 line card slots, 1 controller card slot, and one additional slot that can accommodate either a line card or controller card. It also features four hotswappable PSU bays, supporting load sharing and redundancy for both system and POE power. It is among the most power-efficient switches in its class.
Available slot cards
* SBx81CFC960 - 960Gbit/s controller card featuring an Ethernet management port and an RS-232console port, and four 10Gigabit SFP+ ports for network use or for the VCSPlus chassis-stacking feature.
* SBx81CFC400 - 400Gbit/s controller card featuring an Ethernet management port and an RS-232 console port
The SwitchBlade x908 was launched in 2008 and has been superseded by the SwitchBlade x908 Generation 2 model. The original x908 was a stackable advanced layer 3 3RU chassis switch with 640Gbit/s of switching capacity. It featured eight switch module bays allowing the user to install a large variety of port types to suit their needs. It supported Allied Telesis' Virtual Chassis Stacking technology, allowing two SwitchBlade x908 chassis' to be connected via a high-bandwidth link to support unified management as if they were a single switch. Each chassis included redundant system power supply bays.
