Cisco this week unveiled an updated line of Ethernet switches for industrial environments, such as manufacturing floors.

Avaya has unveiled low-end Ethernet switches for small and medium-sized enterprises and remote branches that include features usually found in higher-end enterprise-class switches.

We assessed the Arista DCS-7508 with tests of performance and power consumption. The performance tests used the Spirent TestCenter test instrument to measure layer-2 and layer-3 unicast throughput and latency; layer-2 and layer-3 multicast throughput and latency; OSPF equal cost multipath (ECMP); N+1 fabric failover; buffering capacity; OSPF routing capacity; and multi-chassis link aggregation (MLAG). All tests used version 4.8.4 of Arista's EOS software and Version 3.95 of Spirent TestCenter software.

Packing 384 10G Ethernet ports into an 11-rack-unit form factor is only the beginning for Arista Networks' DCS-7508 data center core switch.

Alcatel-Lucent this week will unveil a new Ethernet switch for enterprise campus networks that is designed to extend voice, data and video convergence to the wiring closet and access tier.

HP's Ethernet switch revenue dropped 5% in the fourth quarter vs. the fourth quarter of 2010, while market leader Cisco gained 3.3%, according to the latest IDC research.

HP this week said it is taking its first leap into OpenFlow-enabled network equipment, supporting the standard on 16 of its Ethernet switch products as it attempts to gain a foothold in a market likely to receive significant attention from competitors.

Cisco this week unveiled significant extensions to both of its major switching lines with the addition of 40/100G Ethernet capabilities.