3U VPX 10/40 Gigabit Ethernet switch handles up to 8 ports

Following the company’s announcement of the first 3U VPX single board computer – the SBC367D – to feature 40 Gigabit Ethernet backplane connectivity, Abaco Systems today announced the NETernity™ SWE440 3U VPX 10/40 Gigabit Ethernet switch.

The SWE440 provides an Ethernet-based system interconnect that allows single board computers, digital signal processors, graphics cards, sensor I/O cards and others to pass data at multi-Gigabit speeds, enabling the creation of true HPEC (high performance embedded computing) solutions in the 3U VPX form factor. Customers will deploy SWE440-enabled systems for next-generation situational awareness and surveillance, electronic warfare and radar/sonar or any application requiring low latency, high-speed data transfers.

By using advanced system-on-chip (SoC) technology, the SWE440 consumes minimal power – 40 watts or less. It also offers a wide range of data plane and control plane port configuration choices to match customers’ preferred OpenVPX implementation. The SWE440 supports up to eight 40 Gigabit Ethernet ports or up to 32 10 Gigabit Ethernet ports – or combinations of the two.

The new switch benefits from Abaco’s OpenWare™ switch management software. Developed by Abaco’s Networking Innovation Center, Openware is based on open industry standards and provides customers with significant flexibility for customization, together with extensive security features including denial of service attack prevention, user password mechanisms with multiple levels of security and military level authorization schemes including 802.1X and sanitization. It also provides a broad range of network protocol support for Layer 2 and Layer 3 functionality, including Layer 3 forwarding which provides dynamic routing with standard routing protocols – essential for customers with complex networks.

Optional front panel ports on the SWE440 enables its use in lab environments to aid customers during their qualification phase, simplifying and minimizing the transition from development to deployment while reducing cost.

“Our customers face a challenge to deploy very high-performance computing in platforms with limited space and power,” said Mrinal Iyengar, Vice President, Product Management at Abaco Systems. “The SWE440 will enable such deployments, allowing Abaco to deliver ‘big iron’ compute performance in the compact 3U form factor. The combination of very high throughput with minimal latency, flexible management software, and advanced security uniquely position the SWE440 to provide connectivity for advanced rugged systems.”

The SWE440, which provides a straightforward upgrade path for current 3U VPX switches such as Abaco’s GBX410, is available in five air-cooled and rugged conduction-cooled versions.