GE Fanuc Intelligent Platforms Announces NETernity™ RM983RC Managed Layer-2 Gigabit Ethernet Switch

Front I/O routing provides alternative to RM980RC, RM982RC

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA - GE Fanuc Intelligent Platforms, a unit of GE Enterprise Solutions, today announced the NETernity™ RM983RC VME Ethernet Switch. Designed for demanding network switching applications in industrial, commercial, government, telecommunications and defense applications, the 6U form factor RM983RC switch provides support for 12 or 24 Gigabit Ethernet ports. It ships with GE Fanuc’s OpenWare™ Lite switch management environment, providing customers with the flexibility to manage configuration of the RM983RC from a serial console or via the network.

“Communications technologies come and communications technologies go,” said Rubin Dhillon, Communications Product Manager at GE Fanuc Intelligent Platforms, “but Ethernet goes on for ever. It is the de facto standard for local area communications, and continues to surprise the industry with its ability to deliver ever-higher levels of performance. The RM983RC further expands our industry-leading range of Ethernet switches, and is ideally placed to capitalize on the continuing growth in Ethernet deployments.”

Capable of Layer-2 switching at wire speed, the RM983RC’s 12 or 24 ports are routed to front panel I/O and can be 10/100/1000BaseT, 1000BaseSX or 1000BaseLX. Mixing and matching of fiber and copper media in groups of four is supported. Scanbe front panel and urethane or acrylic conformal coatings are optional. The front panel I/O routing of the RM983RC extends the capability of the NETernity 6U VME product family by offering designers a choice of I/O routing; the recently announced NETernity RM982RC features rear I/O.

OpenWare Lite, which is available on selected NETernity switches, is designed to be easy to deploy. Linux®-based, the software allows faster implementation and easy updates to firmware. A familiar Linux command line interface and remote Telnet user interface support allows users to select how they interact with the switch. Management features include support for VLANs, MSTP, trunking, mirroring and limited SNMP.

About GE Fanuc Intelligent Platforms
GE Fanuc Intelligent Platforms, a joint venture between General Electric (NYSE: GE) and FANUC LTD of Japan, is a high-performance technology company and a global provider of hardware, software, services, expertise and experience in automation and embedded computing, with products employed in virtually every industry, including manufacturing automation, defense, automotive, telecommunications, healthcare and aerospace. GE Fanuc Intelligent Platforms is a worldwide company headquartered in Charlottesville, VA, and is part of GE Enterprise Solutions. GE Fanuc Intelligent Platforms provides a unique foundation of agile, advanced and ultra-reliable technology that customers can trust to ensure their long-term success. For more information, visit www.gefanuc.com

About GE Enterprise Solutions
GE Enterprise Solutions elevates customers’ productivity and profitability with integrated solutions using sensors and non-destructive testing; security and life safety technologies; power system protection and control; and plant automation and embedded computing systems. Enterprise Solutions’ high-tech, high-growth businesses include Sensing & Inspection Technologies, Security, Digital Energy, and GE Fanuc Intelligent Platforms. The business has 17,000 problem-solving employees in more than 60 countries around the world.

NOTES TO EDITORS
NETernity and OpenWare are trademarks of GE Fanuc. Linux is the registered trademark of Linus Torvalds. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.