At Dell, The Switch Is On

Dell Computer is applying its talent for building commodity hardware quickly and inexpensively to the switching market for large businesses. Last week, the vendor, which already makes switches for midsize businesses, unveiled the PowerConnect 3248 and PowerConnect 5224, its first network switches with multilayer quality-of-service and advanced-management features. The 3248, a 48-port Fast Ethernet switch, is priced at $1,499. The 5224, a 24-port Gigabit Ethernet switch, is $2,499.