infoTECH Feature

June 14, 2012

Networks Continue to Rely on Apcon Packet Aggregation, Filtering Switches

Apcon is an Oregon-based company that for decades has been quietly providing packet aggregation and filtering switches which are needed to ensure proper network monitoring and security.

The company’s products are used in over 50 countries, and many of their customers are listed on the Fortune 500. They are also used by original equipment manufacturers, government agencies, military forces, telecommunication and service providers, medical companies, and financial services firms.

“For us it is all about adding blades,” Dave Hubbard, western regional sales manager at Apcon, told TMC (News - Alert) CEO Rich Tehrani, during a recent interview at INTEROP 2012 in Las Vegas.

The new blades provide enhanced capacity and functionality – allowing blades to do more things, he explains.

Speed is also vital. “For this industry, time is of the essence,” Hubbard said. In this regard, the company is offering a new product for the financial services sector – an 18-port 10G Ethernet blade which provides time stamping. When used with the IntellaPatch Series 3000 network monitoring switch, the blade gives precise time by the nanosecond, according to a company press release. Even a millisecond delay can negatively affect financial trades. The challenge is particularly important for remote traders, who need low levels of latency. Also, the time stamping blade provides 18 ingress ports. Each of the ports can stamp incoming packets by nanoseconds – then lets them go through a switch and pass to monitoring tools. Apcon says it has the highest time stamping port density available. “You know precisely when things occur,” Hubbard said.

There are other benefits from company products – such as improved efficiency and lower costs. Apcon points out that it’s switching, aggregation and filtering can lead to a reduction in monitoring equipment costs by 50 percent for each data center – on average.

Apcon, too, has been seeing a lot of growth, according to TMCnet. It comes from increased demand with higher use of mobile, video and data content. There is also increasing Internet traffic and more demand for data filtering and aggregation technology. That has led to more demand for high-density 10G network monitoring switches, the company says in a press release. The company, for instance, recently launched a new 36 port configurable 1/10G Ethernet blade for use with the IntellaPatch Series 3000 network monitoring switch.

As the company looks to the future, there will be new options in the storage and packet analysis sector. Also, 100 gig offerings may be available, as well.




Edited by Brooke Neuman
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