"Customers have told us that they need a cost-effective network monitoring solution for remote office applications with low port counts," notes Richard Rauch, President and CEO of APCON. "We responded with this new, more affordable switch that solves the problem for them."

The Remote Location Challenge

Many data center managers face the challenge of factoring remote locations into their overall monitoring effort. While these sites typically have fewer ports, they face the same security and up-time challenges as the core network. In addition, these sites are often geographically distributed—including branch locations, satellite offices or lights-out facilities.

Data center managers are not able to purchase enough network monitoring devices to dedicate a set to these small and remote locations. Yet the need for comprehensive monitoring remains unchanged. The challenge is compounded when a variety of 1G and 10G network segments are represented in several remote data centers and all segments must be monitored. The price of a single 10G analyzer can exceed $100,000.

The IntellaFlex-LE Solution

The IntellaFlex-LE data aggregation switch is designed specifically for applications requiring low port densities distributed across multiple locations. IntellaFlex-LE provides twelve 1G and two 10G ports, for a total of 14 aggregatable ports in a specially designed single-slot 1RU chassis. Redundant power supplies ensure maximum uptime in minimally staffed or lights-out locations.

As with all APCON packet aggregator solutions, IntellaFlex-LE allows data from multiple sources to be aggregated, load balanced and directed to data mining and forensic devices instantly and remotely using a secure web interface.

Rate conversion from aggregated 1G and 10G inputs to 1G outputs combined with comprehensive data filtering enables data centers to effectively monitor all network segments using existing 1G devices without data loss.

APCON Industry-Leading Management Software Solutions

Another benefit of this system is that it uses the same web-based graphical software tools as APCON's larger switches. This makes IntellaFlex-LE a completely integrated solution.

APCON's innovative TITAN EnterPoint™ multi-switch management software allows managers to maintain and batch-upgrade an entire inventory of APCON switches from a single screen at any location . This software also enables network analysts to manage connectivity between data sources and network monitoring equipment more efficiently—helping make the standard of "five-nines" network uptime more attainable. The software automatically determines the source-to-destination pathways and routing requirements, and can seamlessly manage port interconnections spanning multiple switches and locations.

APCON will present the new IntellaFlex-LE solution at Cisco Live UK, Jan 31 ^st to Feb 3 ^rd , 2012.

"IntellaStore breaks new ground for APCON. Our customers asked for data capture and analysis capability on our entry-level 1RU switch, and we're pleased to address that need for them," says Richard Rauch, President and CEO of APCON.

The Case for Onboard Data Capture and Embedded Analysis

Smaller installations have the same needs for network security monitoring as their larger data center counterparts, yet often lack the budget for a comprehensive set of monitoring tools. The challenge is compounded when a variety of 1G and 10G network segments are represented and all segments must be monitored. The price of a single 10G analyzer can exceed $100,000.

Budget-conscious network managers have adopted the popular open-source network traffic analyzer Wireshark as a low-cost solution. Using Wireshark, network analysts can replay, analyze, and export network data captures as needed.

The IntellaStore Solution

APCON's IntellaStore 1RU packet aggregation switch with data capture and analysis allows network managers to isolate portions of network traffic and store the data directly on the switch. This system stores captured packets from a single source or multiple aggregated links, optimized with advanced software features such as rate conversion from 10G to 1G, packet filtering, and port tagging.

IntellaStore provides twelve 1G and two 10G ports, for a total of 14 aggregatable ports in a specially designed single-slot 1RU chassis. Redundant power supplies ensure maximum uptime in minimally staffed or lights-out locations. To facilitate data storage, IntellaStore offers a pair of 160GB hard disks and APCON has placed a copy of Wireshark directly into the IntellaStore switch firmware.

Wireshark is integrated into the IntellaStore graphical switch management tool, WebX. Simply click the Wireshark button on the software interface for complete access to the analyzer.

APCON will present the new IntellaStore solution at Cisco Live UK, Jan 31^st to Feb 3^rd, 2012.

APCON will be on site throughout the four-day event, participating in the expo's educational and technical networking mission. With a booth on the show's main floor, APCON's presence at Cisco Live! will reflect its leadership status in the data center networking community.

"Our customers trust us to meet their challenges—and they're not shy about letting us know that they expect top quality products to support their enterprise data centers. We're excited about our new products for 2012, and we're looking forward to kicking off the year at Cisco Live ," says Richard Rauch, President and CEO of APCON.

New Products for 2012

APCON will present two new products at Cisco Live! Europe, as well as a number of updates to the existing APCON product family.

The new products to be presented include a compact packet aggregation switch optimized for small and remote locations, and a second compact packet aggregation switch that includes on-board disk storage providing the ability to capture, store, export and replay network data for analysis.

Unique Packet Aggregation and Filtering Switch Solution

APCON will display the newest features of its unique IntellaFlex™ line of packet aggregation switches. With a selection of 1RU, 2RU, 4RU, and 8RU chassis, and a variety of blades providing up to 288 configurable ports, APCON switches are the choice for maximum network visibility. Data filtering, port tagging, and load balancing complement APCON's state-of-the-art packet aggregation on IntellaFlex .

Industry-Leading Multi-Switch Management Solution

APCON will also demonstrate the latest upgrades to its innovative TITAN EnterPoint™ multi-switch management solution. This application allows managers to maintain and batch-upgrade an entire inventory of APCON switches from a single screen at any location, including the two new switches being added to the APCON product family . This software also enables network analysts to manage connectivity between data sources and network monitoring equipment more efficiently—helping make the standard of "five-nines" network uptime more attainable. The software automatically determines the source-to-destination pathways and routing requirements, and can seamlessly manage port interconnections spanning multiple switches and locations.

APCON's suite of cutting-edge products deliver key monitoring efficiencies for Global Fortune 500 data centers worldwide by promoting higher uptime and simpler management of business-critical enterprise networks.

In booth #527, APCON is featuring the following new products:

• New 18-port 10G aggregation and filtering blade – APCON has expanded its family of IntellaFlex™ Packet Aggregator blades with a new offering – a high-density 10G blade that offers 18 user-settable ports of 1G/10G. The new, single-chassis maximum port count with this blade is 144 ports of 10G in 8U when installed in the eight-blade chassis, and 72 ports of 10G in 4U when installed in the four-blade chassis.
  
  This new blade is not only ideal for space-constrained, high density data center monitoring applications, but also supports features such as port tagging and flow-aware load balancing.
  
  
• New diagram-based user interface with load balancing – APCON has continually delivered intuitive, leading-edge user interfaces, and the addition of a diagramming capability to its embedded switch interface WebX extends this reputation. This new functionality being showcased at Interop offers users the ability to make connections on a visual, Visio-style drawing canvas.
  
  This software now also includes load balancing – a feature that evenly distributes a stream of network traffic to a group of destination ports to prevent traffic loss and make more efficient use of monitoring devices. An additional key feature is port tagging, which offers a quick reference field for determining the source of troubled network traffic.
  
  
• TITAN EnterPoint™ – this innovative multi-switch management software platform allows users to maintain an entire inventory of APCON switches from a central location. This software also enables IT staff to manage connectivity between data sources and network analysis equipment more efficiently – helping make the standard of "five-nines" network uptime more attainable. The software automatically determines the source-to-destination pathways and routing requirements, and can seamlessly manage port interconnections spanning multiple switches and locations.
  

Also on view in APCON's booth during Interop is the complete IntellaPatch^® Series 3000 family, the most flexible and scalable switching solution available today – providing up to 288 ports in a single chassis. When populated with IntellaFlex Packet Aggregator blades, this solution offers 256 ports of 1G or 96 ports of 10G aggregation connectivity in 8RU.

Chief among the new features is a drawing capability that allows users to build and view device connections as intuitive, Visio-like diagrams. Additionally, users have the option to save, store, recall and share these diagram connections, which speed the process of troubleshooting network issues and promote higher uptime in mission-critical enterprise production networks.

"This latest version of APCON's switch interface reflects, in large part, the input and ideas we have received from our customers," said Richard Rauch, APCON's president and CEO. "We are now hearing from the field that our new drag-n-drop GUI and other added features make the APCON IntellaPatch hands-down, the easiest switch to set up and manage."

Other new functionality included in the WebX software release includes:

• Global View – a new screen that offers a dashboard of switch connections, and allows users to store and organize diagrams
• Shared Source Ports – this high-demand feature allows a source port to be involved in multiple aggregated connections simultaneously, and is easily accomplished through the drag-n-drop diagramming capability
• Port Tagging – labeling of ingress traffic that makes it easy to determine the source of that traffic when viewed from an analyzer
• IPv6 Management – LAN management with support for SNMP, TACACS+, RADIUS, SSH, Telnet and APCON's CLI

New Hardware Support – Including High-Density 10G Blades

Also included in APCON's most recent software release is support for several new blades. These blades are compatible with IntellaPatch^® Series 3000 chassis and include:

• ACI-3010-E18-5: User-settable 18-port 1G/10 Gigabit Fiber Ethernet blade
• ACI-3010-E36-3: 36-port 10 Gigabit Fiber Ethernet blade
• ACI-3010-I18-3: 18-port SONET OC-192/SDH STM-64 blade
• ACI-3010-I36-3: 36-port SONET OC-192/SDH STM-64 blade

The IntellaPatch^® Series 3000 represents the most flexible and scalable switching solution available today – providing up to 288 ports in a single chassis. When populated with IntellaFlex™ Packet Aggregator blades, this solution offers a market leading or 144 ports of 10G or 256 ports of 1G aggregation connectivity in 8RU.

Addressing data center managers' demands for uptime and reliability, the IntellaPatch Series 3000 switching family offers a robust enterprise-class architecture. A key feature of this design is its fault-tolerant controller cards with automatic failover. Series 3000 chassis are also modular, offering hot-swappable power supplies and field-replaceable fans, as well as a host of advanced diagnostic features.

With the amount of Internet traffic projected to continue its explosive growth, APCON expects that its own growth will continue to buck industry trends.

"According to Cisco Systems, global data networks will be delivering 80.5 exabytes per month - the data equivalent of every movie that's ever been made being sent every 5 minutes," said Richard Rauch, APCON's president and CEO. "With APCON products being used throughout data centers of many Fortune 500 companies, chances are very good that technology developed and manufactured right here in Portland is playing a critical role in ensuring that you're online financial transactions, voice data and other Internet-delivered information are being delivered without a glitch."

APCON's line of IntellaFlex network switches are used to help companies monitor the health and security of the data running through their networks every second. The software side of the company's switching technology makes it possible for users to easily monitor and analyze selected components of the data being sent.

"While many consider APCON to be a hardware company, our team of software engineers continue to push the envelope in interface and reporting technology," said Rauch. "In reality we are in neither the hardware nor the software business. We are a solutions company."

Hiring In Portland

Last year, industry analysts determined that 2010 would be the "worst year ever" for information technology sales, yet APCON predicted its revenues would increase by 50 percent. By year end, that prediction fell by the wayside as APCON saw revenues double in size.

With the increasing rise in network data and new APCON product introductions on the horizon for 2011, the Portland technology company is again predicting another 50 percent increase in annual revenue. APCON recently opened a second facility near Dallas, Texas and is looking to hire more than thirty of the best and brightest industry professionals for both its Portland and Dallas locations.

LAS VEGAS, July 11, 2011 – APCON, Inc. is displaying its latest packet aggregation switching solutions in booth #971 this week at the Cisco Live conference, which is the industry's premier education and training event for IT, networking and communications professionals.

APCON's suite of cutting-edge products deliver key monitoring efficiencies for Global Fortune 500 data centers worldwide by promoting higher uptime and simpler management of business-critical enterprise networks.

"APCON's products offer a comprehensive strategy that meets the needs of today's enterprise IT environment," said Richard Rauch, company founder and CEO. "We offer the most flexible solution and allow the enterprise to keep pace with the changing needs of its customers."

In booth #971, APCON is featuring the following new product:

• New 18-port 10G aggregation and filtering blade – APCON has expanded its family of IntellaFlex Packet Aggregator blades with a new offering – a high-density 10G blade that offers 18 user-settable ports of 1G/10G. The new, single-chassis maximum port count with this blade is 144 ports of 10G in 8U when installed in the eight-blade chassis, and 72 ports of 10G in 4U when installed in the four-blade chassis – providing market-leading 10G port density in a compact frame.

  This new blade is not only ideal for space-constrained, high density data center monitoring applications, but also supports features such as port tagging and flow-based load balancing.

• New diagram-based user interface – APCON has continually delivered intuitive, leading-edge user interfaces, and the addition of a diagramming capability to its embedded switch interface WebX extends this reputation. This new functionality being showcased at Cisco Live offers users the ability to make connections on a visual, Visio-style drawing canvas. An additional feature being introduced in this software version is port tagging, which offers a quick reference field for determining the source of troubled network traffic.

• TITAN EnterPoint ™ – This innovative multi-switch management software platform allows users to maintain an entire inventory of APCON switches from a central location. This software also enables IT staff to manage connectivity between Layer2-3 data sources and network analysis equipment more efficiently – helping make the standard of "five-nines" network uptime more attainable.

Also on view in APCON's booth during Cisco Live is the complete IntellaPatch ^® Series 3000 family, the most flexible and scalable switching solution available today – providing up to 288 ports in a single chassis. When populated with IntellaFlex™ Packet Aggregator blades, this solution offers a market leading 144 ports of 10G or 256 ports of 1G aggregation connectivity in 8U.

Addressing data center managers' demands for uptime and reliability, the IntellaPatch Series 3000 switching family offers a robust enterprise-class architecture. A key feature of this design is its fault-tolerant controller cards with automatic failover. Series 3000 chassis are also modular, offering hot-swappable power supplies and field-replaceable fans, as well as a host of advanced diagnostic features.

"Our products represent best-in-class solutions for network monitoring management," notes Richard Rauch, President and CEO of APCON. "They can be counted on to perform reliably, enhance productivity, and consistently deliver bottom-line savings."

In booth #1375, APCON is featuring the following new product:

• New 18-port 10G aggregation and filtering blade – APCON has expanded its family of IntellaFlex ™ Packet Aggregator blades with a new offering – a high-density 10G blade that offers 18 user-settable ports of 1G/10G. The new, single-chassis maximum port count with this blade is 144 ports of 10G in 8U when installed in the eight-blade chassis, and 72 ports of 10G in 4U when installed in the four-blade chassis – providing market-leading 10G port density in a compact frame size.

  This new blade is not only ideal for space-constrained, high density data center applications, but also supports features such as port tagging and flow-based load balancing.

• New diagram-based user interface – APCON has continually delivered intuitive, leading-edge user interfaces, and the addition of a diagramming capability to its embedded switch interface WebX extends this reputation. The new feature-set being previewed at Interop offers users the ability to make connections on a visual, Visio-style drawing canvas. An additional feature being introduced in this software version is port tagging, which offers a quick reference field for determining the source of troubled network traffic.

• TITAN EnterPoint ™ – This innovative multi-switch management software platform allows users to maintain an entire inventory of APCON switches from a central location. This software also enables IT staff to manage connectivity between data sources and network analysis equipment more efficiently – helping make the standard of "five-nines" network uptime more attainable. The software automatically determines the source-to-destination pathways and routing requirements, and can seamlessly manage port interconnections spanning multiple switches and locations.

Also on view in APCON's booth during Interop is the complete IntellaPatch ^® Series 3000 family, the most flexible and scalable switching solution available today – providing up to 288 ports in a single chassis. When populated with IntellaFlex Packet Aggregator blades, this solution offers a 256 ports of 1G or 144 ports of 10G aggregation connectivity in 8RU.

Addressing data center managers' demands for uptime and reliability, the IntellaPatch Series 3000 switching family offers a robust enterprise-class architecture. A key feature of this design is its fault-tolerant controller cards with automatic failover. Series 3000 chassis are also modular, offering hot-swappable power supplies and field-replaceable fans, as well as hitless software upgrades and a host of advanced diagnostic features.

"Our products represent best-in-class solutions for network management," notes Richard Rauch, President and CEO of APCON. "They can be counted on to perform reliably, enhance productivity, and consistently deliver bottom-line savings."

In booth #WE25, APCON is featuring the following new product:

• Entry-Level Aggregation and Filtering Switch – APCON has expanded its family of IntellaFlex packet aggregation switches with a new offering – a lower-density, cost-optimized unit. This addition to the IntellaFlex family offers 12 1G and two 10G ports, for a total of 14 aggregatable ports. This entry-level switch is designed for applications requiring low port densities distributed across multiple locations.

  This new solution, which pairs a specially designed single-slot chassis with a blade offering an integrated controller, extends the scalability of the IntellaFlex family from 14 ports up to 288 ports in a single chassis. It also provides a reduced-cost solution for data center managers who need to monitor a low number of both 1G and 10G links with a fixed inventory of 1G tools.

• TITAN EnterPoint™ – this innovative multi-switch management software platform allows users to maintain an entire inventory of APCON switches from a central location. EnterPoint capabilities being demonstrated at Cisco Live include automated switch maintenance such as scheduled back-ups and batched upgrades.

  This software also enables IT staff to manage connectivity between data sources and network analysis equipment more efficiently – helping make the standard of "five-nines" network uptime more attainable. The software automatically determines the source-to-destination pathways and routing requirements, and can seamlessly manage port interconnections spanning multiple switches and locations.

Also on view in APCON's booth during Cisco Live are products from the IntellaPatch® Series 3000 line, the most flexible and scalable switching solution available today – providing up to 288 ports in a single chassis. When populated with IntellaFlex™ Packet Aggregator blades, this solution offers a market leading 256 ports of 1G or 96 ports of 10G aggregation connectivity in 8RU.

Addressing data center managers' demands for uptime and reliability, the IntellaPatch Series 3000 switching family offers a robust enterprise-class architecture. A key feature of this design is its fault-tolerant controller cards with automatic failover. Series 3000 chassis are also modular, offering hot-swappable power supplies and field-replaceable fans, as well as hitless software upgrades and a host of advanced diagnostic features.

"Our products represent best-in-class solutions for network management," notes Richard Rauch, President and CEO of APCON. "They can be counted on to perform reliably, enhance productivity, and consistently deliver bottom-line savings."

In booth #832, APCON is featuring the following new product:

• Entry-level aggregation and filtering switch – APCON has expanded its family of IntellaFlex packet aggregation switches with a new offering – a lower-density, cost-optimized unit. This addition to the IntellaFlex family offers 12 1G and two 10G ports, for a total of 14 aggregatable ports. This entry-level switch is designed for applications requiring low port densities distributed across multiple locations.

  This new solution, which pairs a specially designed single-slot chassis with a blade offering an integrated controller, extends the scalability of the IntellaFlex family from 14 ports up to 288 ports in a single chassis. It also provides a reduced-cost solution for data center managers who need to monitor a low number of both 1G and 10G links with a fixed inventory of 1G tools.

• TITAN EnterPoint™ – this innovative multi-switch management software platform allows users to maintain an entire inventory of APCON switches from a central location. New EnterPointv2.30 capabilities being previewed at RSA include automated switch maintenance such as scheduled back-ups and batched upgrades.

  This software also enables IT staff to manage connectivity between data sources and network analysis equipment more efficiently – helping make the standard of "five-nines" network uptime more attainable. The software automatically determines the source-to-destination pathways and routing requirements, and can seamlessly manage port interconnections spanning multiple switches and locations.

Also on view in APCON's booth during RSA is the complete IntellaPatch® Series 3000 family, the most flexible and scalable switching solution available today – providing up to 288 ports in a single chassis. When populated with IntellaFlex™ Packet Aggregator blades, this solution offers a market leading 256 ports of 1G or 96 ports of 10G aggregation connectivity in 8RU.

Addressing data center managers' demands for uptime and reliability, the IntellaPatch Series 3000 switching family offers a robust enterprise-class architecture. A key feature of this design is its fault-tolerant controller cards with automatic failover. Series 3000 chassis are also modular, offering hot-swappable power supplies and field-replaceable fans, as well as hitless software upgrades and a host of advanced diagnostic features.