SMC’s among most efficient in In-Stat’s industry analysts’ review of 24- and 48-port switches
SMC Networks, a global provider of LAN hardware and broadband connectivity devices, has announced that its network switches showed to be among the most energy-efficient of high-capacity fixed switches in comparisons conducted by In-Stat.
The publication of the results of these comparisons further support SMC’s stated commitment to ensuring that its products are environmentally-friendly—while in use, while in transit and after disposal.
With data centre energy consumption accounting for a not insignificant amount of US energy usage, choosing energy-efficient computing and networking equipment can have impact.
In the report, “Green Networking Equipment: Who Leads and Who Lags”, analysts Victoria Fodale and Scott Scherer of In-Stat compared the energy consumption of enterprise fixed switching solutions, and concluded that “…even among similarly equipped switches, capable of performing identical tasks, there are significant vendor-specific differences in energy efficiency.” SMC was ranked number two out of a pool of 13 24-port network switches, with a fabric capacity per Watt of just under two; and fifth of 13 in 48port switches, with, again, a fabric capacity of just under two.
SMC’s commitment to deliver energy efficient and environmentally friendly networking solutions, started as far back as 2003—before the movement was popular. SMC not only complied fully (6 out of 6) with the European Union’s RoHS and WEEE demands, and the later China and Korean RoHS, it also took the proactive step of moving all of its product lines—worldwide— to match those standards.
The company’s long-standing environmental focus, addressing both the end-products and the manufacturing processes, means that, today, over 90% of SMC’s SKUs provide energy efficient, environmentally friendly, lead (and other contaminant)-free solutions to the company’s Channel Partners for installations from classrooms to boardrooms.
“SMC’s commitment went beyond what we needed to do, to what we wanted to do,” said Thierry Gonon, General Manager EMEA at SMC Networks. Further, “The objective of leveraging our volume to ensure that every country we ship to benefits from an efficient, non-toxic solution without a significant cost increase made this the right decision.”
In the same report, In-Stat notes that Power-over-Ethernet is one of the big power-users in networking. SMC Networks has, from its first PoE introductions, been mindful of the consumption potential, and has been especially diligent in stressing intelligent power design in those products as well.
“’Green Networking’ is a popular phrase, but at SMC, conservation is—and has been for years—a part of the culture, not a catch-phrase or an initiative,” said Gonon. “Clearly there’s a balance to be struck between rising PoE demands, larger aggregation switches and cutting-edge technologies, so we work diligently on creative power solutions. At SMC, we’re always working to ensure that the energy footprint remains small at user sites.”
There are certainly implications from a South African market perspective says Paul Luff, country manager at SMC Networks South Africa.
“The local marketplace continues to rally around a more proactive, results-driven stance on ‘green technology’. SMC Networks South Africa is proud to spearhead a meaningful contribution to what is a very worthwhile and necessary cause. Our range of networking products reflect the global effort towards rolling out more eco-and resource friendly infrastructure,” says Luff.
SMC Networks stresses efficiency in its product development specifications, but it doesn’t necessarily take the easy route to power savings.
“Some manufacturers implement energy saving processes in their products that can increase the likelihood of full or partial device failure, or that can reduce overall networking efficiency for the sake of power,” said Iain Kenney, SMC Net-works’ Director of Product Marketing. “We’re mindful that the underlying network still needs to be reliable and optimized for efficiency, so, for example, where many manufacturers will shut down unused switch ports or components to conserve energy, SMC worked to find ways to reduce overall power consumption while leaving all ports and components on and available for smoother operation, longer life and better overall network performance.”
“We have had an Environmental Policy Team in place looking at all of our products and projects with a critical eye, because after 33 years as a networking vendor, we’ve gained a different perspective on our markets, our partners, our end users, and our corporate responsibility,” adds Gonon. “We’re really very proud of our leadership in this area.”
For more information about SMC Networks please visit www.smc.com
