Hitachi Cable, Ltd. has added the low-price Apresia(R)*1 Light series, with a selected range of features, to its Apresia(R) Ethernet*2 switch lineup and begun sales of the first model in this series, the Apresia(R) Light 209-PoE.

In recent years, the market for VoIP devices has been expanding rapidly as use of IP technology for internal telephone systems advances. Since many Japanese companies arrange office desks by division or by department, demand is increasing for Ethernet switches that can be installed in limited space and can provide power to connected IP telephones and other equipment. In response to such demand, Hitachi Cable has developed and begun sales of the compact desktop switch Apresia(R) Light 209-PoE.

The Apresia(R) Light 209-PoE is a layer-2 switch with nine 100 Base-TX/10 Base-T ports. Compliant with IEEE802.3af, it has eight downlink ports, capable of providing a combined power supply capacity of up to 74 W, and one uplink port. Connecting IP telephones with PoE*3 power functions to the switch's downlink ports increases office layout freedom by removing the need to use the telephones' AC adapters. The downlink ports can be used for connecting not only IP telephones but also wireless LAN access points, security cameras, and other devices with PoE power functions, making it possible to install such devices without regard to the locations of power outlets.

Hitachi Cable has traditionally provided various authentication and quarantine solutions using the Apresia(R) authentication switch*4. For VoIP networks, it is advocating the SecureVoIP concept, which provides a series of functions including more stable network connections, securing QoS*5through ToS remarking*6, and power supply to IP telephones.

Using the Apresia(R) authenticating switches and Apresia(R) Light 209-PoE makes it possible to achieve more stable VoIP network connections by conducting authentication using IP telephones without supplicants (terminal-side software) through Hitachi Cable's unique Apresia(R) NA*7 network authentication function.

Confirmation of operation has already been completed using the IP NETPHONE S from SAXA, Inc. and the SIP-2100P and SIP-2400P from Tottori SANYO Electric Co., Ltd.

By adding the newly developed Apresia(R) Light series to the Apresia(R) lineup, Hitachi Cable intends to further expand its share of the enterprise Ethernet switching market. Apresia(R) sales for Fiscal 2006 are expected to reach 13 billion yen.

Main specifications: Apresia® Light 209-PoE

(subject to change without notice)

Item Specifications Basic configuration Switch cabinet Interface One 10/100M Ethernet port Eight 10/100M Ethernet ports (IEEE802.3af-compliant)v Power supply AC 100 V/10 V/240 v (+-10%)v VLAN Port-based VLAN/overlapping VLAN Features Port trunking Port mirroring IEEE802.1P QoS / (Port Base QoS) Power consumption 125 W or less (including power supply of up to 74 W) External dimensions 210 mm (W) x 297 mm (D) x 43 mm (H) Approximate weight 2.5 kg or less Noise level 40 db or less Installation types Can be installed horizontally or vertically

*1	Apresia is a registered trademark of Hitachi Cable, Ltd. in Japan.
*2	Ethernet is a registered trademark of Fuji Xerox Co.,Ltd.
*3	PoE is an abbreviation for Power over Ethernet, a technology for providing power supply using Ethernet cables instead of power cables, standardized under IEEE802.3af of IEEE (Institute of Electric & Electronics Engineers).
*4	Authenticating switches are switches with user authentication functions built in to control client terminal network access permissions. The Apresia 2000/3000 series supports such authentication functions.
*5	QoS is an abbreviation for Quality of Service, which refers to the technologies and services used to ensure a certain level of communication quality on a network. One means of achieving QoS is the assigning of priorities using ToS fields. Using ToS field values to determine packet priorities and transmitting such packets via routers based on these priorities makes it possible to ensure communication quality in VoIP services.
*6	ToS remarking makes it possible, on shared networks used by multiple applications, to control communication priorities by assigning variable values to ToS fields within packets in accordance with the priority of each application and by assigning ToS values to terminals not compatible with ToS.
*7	NA is the abbreviation for Network Authentication. It does not depend on the type of client OS and thus can be used for authentication of machines based on Linux/Unix and other types of systems. It also supports authentication with MAC addresses and thus can be used for IP phones, printers, POS terminals, and other terminals without browsers.

Apresia(R) Light 209-PoE appearance