Bay gets its priorities right

Bay Networks used Networld+Interop to announce a strategy based around the prioritisation of data according to application source, writes Dominique Deckmyn.

The technology, known as application intelligence, will distinguish between data streams in switches from different applications. Bay claimed this development will be introduced without a penalty in complexity, performance or price.

A basic network switch operates at Layer 2 of the network. To be able to prioritise SAP R/3 users above Web surfers, for instance, the switch must have access to the higher network layers. Bay intends to extend application intelligence to the edge of the network, rather than just the backbone.

Bay also promised that it will ?all but eliminate? the price difference between Ethernet and ATM solutions, and between Level 2 switch and Level 2/Level 3 switches.

The company also launched its first application intelligence product ? a routing switch with 12 10/100 autosensing ports and one Gigabit Ethernet port ? at the show.