Abstract

Extreme Networks, Inc. commissioned The Tolly Group to evaluate the Layer 2 and Layer 3 interoperability of three of its switches: an Alpine 3808 edge switch; a BlackDiamond 6808 core/backbone switch; and a Summit48i work group/departmental switch. The Tolly Group engineers put each of these switches through a battery of tests designed to reveal the depth of interoperability each switch provides. The Alpine 3808, the BlackDiamond 6808 and the Summit48i were tested individually for interoperability with switches from six other network infrastructure vendors.

The switches were tested for interoperability with switches from Alcatel, Anritsu, Enterasys, Foundry Networks, Marconi, and NEC. 

Tests included: Auto-negotiation, IP RIP (v1 and v2), OSPF, link aggregation, IPX RIP, VRRP, 802.1p/Q, Gigabit Ethernet uplinks. The Extreme switches passed all tests attempted.

Extreme Networks’ Alpine 3808, BlackDiamond 6808, and Summit48i are presented in this Tolly evaluation as interoperable Layer 2 and Layer 3 switching platforms designed for heterogeneous enterprise networks where multivendor compatibility is essential. Tested individually in July 2001 against seven third-party switches from six other infrastructure vendors, the three switches were evaluated across a broad interoperability matrix spanning Ethernet negotiation, routing protocols, uplinks, VLAN handling, resiliency, and redundancy.  

In mandatory testing, all three Extreme switches passed auto-negotiation with every peer device, correctly establishing the highest common speed and duplex settings. They also successfully exchanged RIP version 1, RIP version 2, and OSPF routing tables with all supported third-party switches, demonstrating reliable dynamic IP route interoperability in mixed-vendor environments. The summary tables on pages 1 and 2 show uniform pass results in these core categories.  

Optional testing broadened the interoperability profile further. Each switch passed Link Aggregation tests with all participating vendors tested, enabling multi-link trunking across mixed-brand infrastructures. All three platforms also passed 802.1p/Q testing, forwarding VLAN-tagged and priority-marked frames without modification, and interoperated successfully with all tested vendors over full-duplex 1000Base-SX Gigabit Ethernet uplinks. In addition, they exchanged IPX RIP routing data with six peer switches and supported VRRP hot-standby interoperability with six switches; exceptions were due to missing protocol support on the third-party device, not failure by the Extreme switches. Accelerated Spanning Tree testing showed interoperability with four peer devices, while three others did not support the feature.  

The methodology used live traffic generation and protocol validation tools, including 1,518-byte bidirectional traffic streams, SmartBits verification of aggregated throughput above 200 Mbit/s, and failover monitoring with one-second ping intervals. Vendor specifications cited in the report list the Alpine 3808 at 64 Gbit/s switch fabric and 48 Mpps, the BlackDiamond 6808 at 128 Gbit/s non-blocking bandwidth and 96 Mpps, and the Summit48i at 17.5 Gbit/s non-blocking bandwidth and 10.1 Mpps. Overall, the evaluation positions these Extreme switches as strong candidates for mixed-vendor enterprise deployments requiring standards-based interoperability and resilient network operation.