Allied Telesis AT-X900-24XT Product Information

Switches

PRODUCT INFORMATION

x900 Series

Advanced Gigabit Layer 3+ Expandable Switches

The Allied Telesis x900 Series of Layer 3+ switches feature

high speed 60Gbps expansion bays, providing a level of port
flexibility and application versatility unmatched by any other 1RU
Gigabit Ethernet switch on the market.

Flexible

Allied Telesis x900 Series switches
utilize a sophisticated, highly modular
design, allowing the network to grow in
response to demand. A comprehensive
range of hot-swappable copper and fiber
expansion modules (XEMs) is available,
from 10/100/1000 Mbps to 10 Gigab it
Ethernet (10GbE). Dual redundant Power
Supply Units (PSUs) on x900-24X models
are also hot-swappable, adding to the

impressive list of high-availability features.

10GbE XEMs provide high speed, high

capacity fiber or copper uplinks of
20Gbps to the network core. The new
XEM-24T increases port density without
consuming additional rack-space.

Reliable

Hot-swappable XEMs, redundant hot­swappable PSUs and replaceable fans
ensure no network interruptions during
maintenance or reconfiguration.

The x900-24X Series operate with one
PSU, and installing a second PSU
provides ultimate redundancy. Dual

internal PSUs eliminate the need for an
external Redundant Power Supply (RPS),
thus saving valuable rack space. Built-in
redundancy guarantees the continued
delivery of essential services. The x900
Series switches also feature front-to-back
cooling, making them an ideal choice for
data center applications.

Powerful Network Management

Meeting the increased management
requirements of modern converged
networks, Allied Telesis Management
Framework (AMF) automates many
everyday tasks including configuration
management. The complete network
can be managed as a single virtual
device with powerful centralized
management features. Growing the
network can be accomplished with
plug-and-play simplicity, and network
node recovery is fully zero-touch.

Resilient

High availability features such as
VCStack
EPSRing
Rings) ensure traffic flow continues even
during unscheduled outages.

VCStack provides excellent resiliency by
creating a single “virtual chassis” from
two x900 Series physical devices with
XEM-STK modules, providing dedicated
high speed stacking links. VCStack
creates a highly available system where
network resources are spread out across
stacked units, reducing the impact
should one of the stacked units fail.
Switch ports on different units can be
aggregated for excellent high availability.
VCStack delivers a resilient solution at a
fraction of the cost of a full chassis-based
system, and allows management of the
stack as a single network node, greatly
simplifying management tasks.

™

(Virtual Chassis Stacking) and

™

(Ethernet Protection Switched

EPSRing and 10 Gigabit Ethernet allow
several switches to form a high speed
protected ring, capable of recovery within
as little as 50ms. This feature is perfect
when the network design demands high
performance and high availability.

MEF Certified

The Allied Telesis x900

Series has been certified
by the Metro Ethernet
Forum (MEF) Certification
program, which tests
products for conformance
to the strict requirements of Carrier
Ethernet. Specifically, the x900 Series
is certified for compliance to MEF 9
and MEF 14 Ethernet Services tests.

New Features

ۼۼ Allied Telesis Management Framework

(AMF)

ۼۼ AT-X E M-24T

+

ۼۼ BGP4

for IPv6

alliedtelesis.com

NETWORK SMARTER

x900 Series | Advanced Gigabit Layer 3+ Expandable Switches

Key Features

Allied Telesis Management Framework
(AMF)

ۼۼ Allied Telesis Management Framework (AMF)

is a sophisticated suite of management tools
that provide a simplified approach to network
management. Common tasks are automated or
made so simple that the every-day running of a
network can be achieved without the need for
highly-trained, and expensive, network engineers.
Powerful features like centralized management,
auto-backup, auto-upgrade, auto-provisioning and
auto-recovery enable plug-and-play networking
and zero-touch management.

VCStack (Virtual Chassis Stacking)

ۼۼ Create a VCStack of two units with 60Gbps of

stacking bandwidth to each unit. VCStack provides
a highly available system where network resources
are spread out across stacked units, reducing the
impact if one of the units fails. Aggregating switch
ports on different units across the stack provides
excellent network resiliency.

Virtual Routing and Forwarding (VRF
Lite)

ۼۼ VRF Lite provides Layer 3 net work virtualization by

dividing a single switch into multiple independent
virtual routing domains. With independent routing
domains, IP addresses can overlap without causing
conflict, allowing multiple customers to have
their own secure virtual network within the same
physical infrastructure.

Scalable

ۼۼ Our high speed XEMs provide both copper and fiber

connectivity, delivering the ultimate in flexibility.
XEM options are:

ۼۼAT-XEM-1XP: 1 x 10GbE (XFP) port
ۼۼAT-XEM-2XP: 2 x 10GbE (XFP) ports
ۼۼAT-XEM-2XS: 2 x 10GbE (SFP+) ports
ۼۼAT-XEM-2X T: 2 x 10GbE (RJ-45) ports
ۼۼAT-XEM-12S: 12 x 100/1000X SFP ports
ۼۼAT-XEM-12T: 12 x 10/100/1000T (RJ-45) ports
ۼۼAT-XEM-12Sv2: 12 x 1000X SFP ports*
ۼۼAT-XE M-12Tv2: 12 x 10/100/1000T (RJ-45) ports*
ۼۼAT-XE M-24T: 24 x 10/100/1000T (RJ Point 5)

ports**

All XEMs provide non-blocking performance. XEMs
are ideal for aggregating gigabit to the desktop, or
for gigabit uplinks from Fast Ethernet switches.

* Require A lliedWare Plus so ftwa re releas e 5.4.2 - 2. 5 or later

**R equire AlliedWare P lus sof tware release 5.4 .3 - 2.5 or la ter

EPSRing (Ethernet Protection
Switched Rings)

ۼۼ EPSRing and 10GbE modules allow the x9 00

Series to form a protected ring with 50ms failover

— perfect for high performance at the core of

Enterprise or Provider Access networks.

ۼۼ SuperLoop Protection enables a link between

two EPSR nodes to be in separate EPSR domains,
improving redundancy and network fault resiliency.

Industry-leading Quality of Service
(QoS)

ۼۼ Comprehensive low-latency wire-speed QoS

provides flow-based traf fic management with full
classification, prioritization, traffic shaping and min/
max bandwidth profiles. Enjoy boosted network
performance and guaranteed delivery of business­critical Ethernet services and applications. Time­critical services like voice and video applications
take precedence over non-essential services like
file downloads, maintaining responsiveness of
Enterprise applications.

Control Plane Prioritization (CPP)

ۼۼ Ensure maximum performance and prevent

network outages with CPP. CPP prevents the
Control Plane from becoming flooded in the event
of a network storm or Denial of Service (DoS)
attack, ensuring critical network control traffic
always reaches its destination.

sFlow

ۼۼ sFlow is an industry standard technology for

monitoring high speed switched networks. It
provides complete visibility into network use,
enabling performance optimization, usage
accounting/billing, and defence against security
threats. Sampled packets sent to a collector ensure
it always has a real-time view of network traffic.

Network Access Control (NAC)

ۼۼ N AC allows unprecedented control over user

access, in order to mitigate threats to network
infrastructure. The x900 Series use 802.1x port­based authentication in partnership with standards­compliant dynamic VL AN assignment, to assess
a user’s adherence to network security policies to
be assessed, and then either grant access or offer
remediation.

Allied Telesis NAC also supports alternatives to

802.1x port-based authentication, such as web
authentication to enable guest access, and MAC
authentication for end points that do not have an

802.1x supplicant. If multiple users share a port
then multi-authentication can be used. A Guest

VLAN (also known as Default VLAN) can also be
configured to provide a catch-all for users without
an 802.1x supplicant.

Terminal Access Controller Access–

Control System Plus (TACACS+)

Authentication and Accounting

ۼۼ TACACS+ provides access control and accounting

for network users from a centralized server.
Authentication is carried out via communication
between the local switch and a TACACS+ server
to check the credentials of users seeking network
access. Accounting enables user sessions and CLI
commands to be logged to create an audit trail for
user activity.

Optical DDM

ۼۼ Most modern optical SFP/SFP+/XFP transceivers

support Digital Diagnostics Monitoring (DDM)
functions according to the specification SFF-8472.
This enables various parameters of the transceiver
to be monitored in real-time, such as optical
output power, temperature, laser bias current
and transceiver supply voltage. The x900 Series
provides easy access to this information
simplifying diagnosing problems with optical
modules and fibre connections.

Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol
(DHCPv6)

ۼۼ DHCPv6 is used to dynamically assign IPv6

addresses to hosts from a central location. Acting
as DHCPv6 client enables the switch to receive an
IPv6 address, and acting as server enables the
switch to dynamically allocate IPv6 addresses to
hosts. The DHCP v6 server and client both support
the Prefix Delegation feature which allocates a
whole IPv6 subnet to a DHCP client. The client, in
turn, can allocate addresses from this subnet to the
hosts that are connected to it.

Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol
(VRRPv3)

ۼۼ VRRPv3 is a protocol for providing device

redundancy, by connecting redundant WAN
gateway routers or server access switches in an
IPv6 network. It allows a backup router or switch
to automatically take over if the primary (master)
router or switch fails.

Find Me

ۼۼ In busy server rooms comprising of a large number

of equipment racks, it can be quite a job finding
the correct switch quickly among many similar
units. The ‘Find Me’ feature is a simple, visual
way to quickly identify the desired physical switch
for maintenance or other purposes, by causing its
LEDs to flash in a specified pattern.

2 | x900 Series

x900 Series | Advanced Gigabit Layer 3+ Expandable Switches

Key Solutions

VCStack (Virtual Chassis Stacking)

Servers

8100S

x210

10 Gigabit link
1 Gigabit link
10/100 link
Link aggregation

VCStack: Resiliency and Stability

Today’s enterprises rely on Information Technology

resources and applications to access business-critical
information, and for day-to-day work. A high-availability
infrastructure is of paramount importance, starting with
a resilient network core. The Allied Telesis expandable
x900 Series switches provide the ideal solution — without
the expense of a full chassis. With the benefits of high
availability, increased capacity and ease of management,
Virtual Chassis Stacking makes networking reliable and
simple.

Using VCStack at the core of the network allows multiple
switches to appear as a single virtual chassis. In normal
operation, this virtual chassis acts as a single switch,
simplifying management.

x900

x900

CORE

x510

EDGE

The diagram above shows link aggregation between the

core VCStack and the edge switches.

With link aggregation across ports on different virtual
chassis members, there is no perceptible disruption in the
case of a link failure, and the full bandwidth of the network
remains available. Fast Failover ensures absolutely minimal
network downtime in the event of a problem.

VCStack and link aggregation provide a solution
where network resources are spread across the virtual
chassis members, ensuring device and path resiliency.
Virtualization of the network core ensures access to
information when you need it.

NETWORK SMARTER

x900 Series | 3