Targeted at enterprise datacenters and service providers, the ServerIronGT Layer 4-7 switches are available in two form factors: ServerIronGT C is a 2U system, and ServerIronGT E is a 5U system. Both include load balancing and content switching features, as well as redundant power supplies, hot-swappable modules, and auto-failover capabilities. The units can accelerate applications ranging from VoIP to bulky Web applications.

"The only real difference between the two [ServerIron models] is in size and expansion capability," said Gopala Tumuluri, director of product marketing at Foundry. "Once you deploy these switches, you can expand and house them in ways so they will continue to evolve with your own demands."

Both switches include a 2-port 10 Gigabit Ethernet line card and a WSM7 management module. The smaller ServerIronGT C has three slots total, leaving one slot for expansion; the larger ServerIronGT E has four total slots, leaving two for expansion.

In the case of the ServerIronGT E, "you're trading rack space for expandability," Tumuluri said. However, he considered the 2U ServerIronGT C a good choice for space-constrained datacenters, where companies don't want to trade performance and availability for space savings.

In either case, users can expand port capacity easily, or double switch performance by adding a second management module. The modules are all interchangeable, so moving to a higher-capacity chassis is a relatively straightforward process.