- Compact, high-performance, 24-port and 48-port 10/100 and 10/100/1000 Mbps base models and Power over Ethernet (PoE) models for unified communication (UC) infrastructures
- Dynamic IronWare Layer 3 routing optional features such as OSPF and RIP, in addition to advanced Layer 2 Ethernet switching and high-availability features such as VSRP, VRRP, MRP
- Advanced Quality of Service (QoS) to support eight priority queues with strict and weighted scheduling
- Open, standards-based network access control features multi-host 802.1X access control, multi-device MAC authentication, and policy-controlled MAC-based VLANs
- IronShield 360° intrusion protection against network- and host-based attacks
- Concurrent port mirroring and sFlow packet sampling enable network-wide traffic monitoring for traffic accounting, intrusion detection, 802.1X identity monitoring, link utilization, and fault isolation
The Brocade FastIron Workgroup Switch (WS) Series is a complete line of one rack unit (1RU) enterprise-class Layer 2/ Layer 3 switches. The FastIron WS Series extends the Brocade broad edge-to-core networking portfolio with a value line of intelligent edge switches designed for small and medium businesses (SMB), branch offices, and distributed enterprises with changing business needs, without compromising performance and reliability. The FastIron WS switches are available in 24- and 48-port 10/100 or 10/100/1000 Mbps models, with or without IEEE 802.3af Power over Ethernet (PoE), for enterprise edge networking, security, and unified communication (UC) needs.
Featuring standards-based PoE, the FastIron WS delivers the scalability, quality of service assurance, resilience, and VoIP-readiness needed to implement a high-value converged solution at the network edge. Combining Fast Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet, PoE, and intelligent fault detection with a feature rich, secure, highly reliability solution, the FastIron WS Series offers maximum productivity and investment protection. This cost-effective, high-performance compact solution enables the deployment of new applications such as IP telephony, wireless access, WebTV, video surveillance, building management systems, triple play - voice, video and data, and remote video kiosks.
The FastIron WS Series can also be deployed in metro area networks connecting branch offices with 1GbE uplinks. In this environment, important features include Brocade Metro Ring Protocol for building resilient ring-based topologies, VLAN stacking, and multicast capabilities such as IGMP v1/v2/v3 and MLD v1/v2 snooping for controlling multicast traffic in high- bandwidth content distribution applications.
The FastIron WS Series supports hardware-based embedded sFlow for real-time traffic visibility and analysis, network protection, and manageability to the end-users' PCs. sFlow enabled at the edge takes full advantage of the intelligent edge switch capabilities providing dynamic control by correlating data collected from sFlow and applying ACL, Rate limiting, and QoS at the edge, not at the core. This analysis mitigates security threats at the edge. sFlow dynamic real-time traffic analysis is available to the network administrator using Brocade IronView Network Manager (INM) or any network management tool that supports sFlow (RFC 3176).
For environments with INM, Brocade IronShield 360° closed loop security solution and advanced traffic policy features are available to ensure the smooth operation and security of the entire network.
The Brocade IronWare software suite underpins all Brocade switches and routers, enabling a consistent, manageable framework that reduces the time and resources required to utilize the Brocade solutions. When complemented with other FastIron products such as SuperX Series and stackable GS and LS Series, the WS Series allows network administrators to deploy feature rich and scalable end-to-end enterprise edge services while minimizing the total cost of ownership (TCO) and maximizing return on investment (ROI) for a complete convergence-ready solution.