The Foundry Networks Inc. BigIron RX-series family of high-performance Layer 2/3 Ethernet switches has received technical acceptance from the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) division of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and is now approved on the RUS Technical Standards Committee "A" (Telecommunications) "List of Materials".

Through the USDA, RUS provides financial assistance and technical expertise and guidance to rural utilities, thus enabling them to deliver next generation telecommunication services and technology advances to rural communities throughout the US. Created to assist with initiatives in rural communities in the United States, RUS provides financing through loans and grants for construction, procurement, and enhancements to the networks of Independent Operating Companies (IOCs) and Rural Local Exchange Carriers (RLECs). By receiving RUS certification, Foundry's entire family of BigIron RX-series switches can be deployed by telecommunications systems of RUS borrowers. This will allow Family Farms and farming communities to gain access to real-time, critical information improving productivity and competitiveness.

By having access to the BigIron RX-series through this program, Rural America will benefit from the same technology powering the core of the Internet at the largest Internet Exchange Points around the world. They will be able to get real-time weather conditions and commodity markets financial information utilizing the line rate multicast and Unicast forwarding in the BigIron RX-series.

This program helps make it economically feasible for all Americans to have equal access to the power of the Internet.

"Achieving RUS Certification allows Foundry to help independent service providers to deliver profitable broadband services across rural markets," said Ken Cheng, vice president and general manager for the High End and Service Provider Systems Business Unit at Foundry. "The IOCs and RLECs will be able to take full advantage of the performance, reliability and scalability of the BigIron RX series of Layer 2/3 switches to exploit opportunities in emerging service markets and advanced data services."

The BigIron RX-series family includes three chassis models, each supporting redundant management, redundant switch fabric and redundant power supply components. The BigIron RX-4 is a compact four rack unit (RU) high switch. It supports four half-slot port modules and has a switching capacity of 384 gigabits per second (Gbps). The BigIron RX-8 is seven rack units in height, supports eight half-slot port modules and has a switching capacity of 768 Gbps. The BigIron RX-16 is 14 rack units in height supports, 16 half-slot port modules and has a switching capacity of 1.536 terabits per second. With its low profile design, the BigIron RX-16 switch can be stacked three high in a single seven-foot rack providing for as many as 192 wire-speed 10-GE ports. High performance environments including Internet exchanges and High Performance Computing. ENS