SANTA CLARA, Calif. and PARIS, Dec. 17, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Foundry Networks(r), Inc. (Nasdaq:FDRY), a performance and total solutions leader for end-to-end switching and routing, today announced Le Figaro, France's leading daily newspaper founded in 1866, selected Foundry's(tm) FastIron(r) family of Power over Ethernet (PoE) ready Layer 2/3 switches to transmit data, digital video, and Voice over IP (VoIP) throughout its corporate and publishing network.
Groupe Figaro is a major leader in French journalism and today publishes 12 publications, including Le Figaro, France's leading daily paper and a set of Web sites among the most dynamic dedicated to news, including www.lefigaro.fr. In mid-2005, Le Figaro decided to relocate its operations in a move to centralize all the newspaper's services (editing, production, advertising and administration). However, this also required an update of its Ethernet network infrastructure and Le Figaro therefore called upon Foundry Networks.
Before its move, Le Figaro was operating its own fiber-optic network with more than 1,500 PCs and 250 switches scattered between seven sites. In late 2004, Le Figaro began to regroup its different sites to a central one located on boulevard Haussmann in Paris. Foundry, whose solutions were already in use in Le Figaro, was consulted again.
Foundry took account of a complex set of user requirements to best meet Le Figaro's expectations. In addition to great tolerance for any connection breaks and very high service continuity, the Ethernet network also had to carry and route television data flows broadcast over multicast IP. The network also needed to deploy VoIP companywide, as the business was planning to partially deploy this service at all its sites. Also, since the editorial office remains open until one in the morning during the week and on Sundays, Foundry also installed a high-availability solution for interconnection links, active network equipment and production servers.
"We are happy with our network equipment. Foundry's technology has allowed us to homogenize our network, reducing the risk of breakdowns and making system administration simpler," said Mr. Hernandez, IS director for Le Figaro.
In anticipation of future growth in network traffic, coupled with more diverse data sources and the arrival of new application flows, Foundry and Le Figaro's DSI decided to install a 10 gigabit Ethernet (10GbE) backbone network, consolidating GbE and 100 Mbps data inputs.
"Foundry Networks is very pleased to have been selected by Le Figaro, an undisputed leader in French journalism, for its extensive network installation," said Bob Schiff, vice president and general manager for Foundry Networks' Enterprise Business Unit. "We have built a high-performance, scalable and cost-effective networking solution for Le Figaro, which needs the reliability and power of high performance networking without the hefty price tag of specialized systems. As Le Figaro continues to inform the French public with breaking news, we are confident that Foundry's networking equipment will scale to meet the demands of its extensive publishing requirements and high journalism standards."
Foundry fitted the Le Figaro network with FastIron switches and the core of this new Ethernet network is made up of four FastIron SX 800 switches used to manage the multicasting of digital video stemming from telebroadcasting channels. The FastIron SX 800s are locally connected by 10GbE multicode fibers to 48-port 10/100/1000 Mbit/s switches. The production servers use 100 Mbit/s or GbE connectivity. Some of these switches have a federating function via GbE multimode fibers while other 24-port switches are used to serve PCs. Three VLANs were set up by stage to separate the different data traffic flows passing through the network for VoIP, data and video.
Foundry Networks equipment and installation deployed:
- FastIron SX 800
- FastIron Edge X 448 and Edge X 424
- FastIron Edge 2402 PoE
- Entry-level 24-port switches (except for employees who need
access to television resources) -- PC 100 megabit switch / 10GbE
ring
- Three networks with three technical areas per floor (six floors)
and two router switches at each end.
About Foundry Networks
Foundry Networks, Inc. (Nasdaq:FDRY) is a leading provider of high-performance enterprise and service provider switching, routing, security and Web traffic management solutions, including Layer 2/3 LAN switches, Layer 3 Backbone switches, Layer 4-7 application switches, wireless LAN and access points, metro and core routers. Foundry's customers include the world's premier ISPs, metro service providers, and enterprises, including e-commerce sites, universities, entertainment, health and wellness, government, financial and manufacturing companies. For more information about the company and its products, call 1.888.TURBOLAN or visit www.foundrynet.com.
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