Fresh off last week's official launch of our web.alive virtual collaboration tool, Nortel today launched another new product aimed at the enterprise market.

The Ethernet Routing Switch 5600 series is the latest addition to Nortel's growing ERS portfolio, delivering high-density 10Gig, Gigabit, 10/100 and 10/100/1000 Ethernet, and with optional standard-based Power over Ethernet (PoE). 10GE uplinks are available on all models, and the high-end configuration supports up to 96 Gigabit PoE ports.

With those performance specs, the ERS 5600 series sits at the high end of Nortel's family of stackable Ethernet switches, and even supports mix-and-match stacking with the ERS 5500 series to provide more flexibility and investment protection for existing customers.

The aim of the ERS 5600's high-end performance is to expand the target environments where a stackable solution can be deployed, with the 5600 series being suitable wiring closets, distribution, data center and core applications. This Nortel ERS product comparison matrix provides a great summary of the features and functionality of the ERS 5600 series, and how it compares to Nortel's other models.

Like the rest of the ERS family, the 5600 series provides a lot of bang for the buck. In today's press release, Yankee Group senior VP Zeus Kerravala says:

"This is more than a new line of stackable switches for traditional deployments. Given the performance and resiliency they bring to the data center environment, this new line offers enterprises flexibility at a very aggressive price point."

Also much like several other members of the Nortel Ethernet Routing Switch family, unified communications is a front-and-center focus of this newest member of the family. As a routing switch, the ERS 5600 obviously doesn't provide UC capabilities on its own. Its focus is creating a UC-ready infrastructure that can accommodate the various types of traffic that travel across today's business Ethernet networks: data, voice, video, and other multimedia.

The ERS 5600 series is already GA (generally available) and shipping, with a price range of $7,995 for the base model and up to $20,000 for super high-end version.

Click on the thumbnails below to see detailed images of the front and back of the ERS 5600.

Additional reading and resources:

• Today's press release

• ERS 5600 home page

• ERS 5600 product brochure

• ERS 5600 "hot sheet"

• ERS portfolio feature comparison chart