Extreme Networks Extreme intros M-LAG Direct Attach architecture

Network infrastructure provider Extreme Networks Inc. announced that it has launched a new M-LAG Direct Attach architecture that addresses high-performance switching for virtualized environments.

The architecture integrated Extreme's Direct Attach Virtual Machine (VM) switching with Multi-System Link Aggregation (M-LAG).

"Integrating the M-LAG Direct Attach architecture with Extreme Networks’ data centre portfolio serves as an important evolution of our 'Four Pillar' data centre strategy for migrating networks from physical to virtual to cloud," said Shehzad Merchant, senior director of strategy for Extreme Networks.

With data centre solutions such as BlackDiamond and Summit switches running ExtremeXOS operating system, Extreme Networks claims that it can double the performance when compared to the traditional 'Spanning Tree' architectures and provide a cost-effective solution over pre-standard TRILL implementations, which would require a rip-and-replace of the existing network. 

"For the majority of virtualized data centre architectures, the M-LAG Direct Attach architecture eliminates the drawbacks of spanning tree while providing the benefits of TRILL (Transparent Interconnect of Lots of Links) without having complete disruption to the network and enormous capital expense," he added.

With the release of ExtremeXOS version 12.5, Extreme Networks enables software-loadable support for direct attach architecture, network-level support of Virtual Ethernet Port Aggregator (VEPA), and M-LAG across its portfolio of high-performance BlackDiamond modular switches and Summit fixed stackable switches.