Juniper Networks has entered the Ethernet switching market with its EX series of switches.

The EX 3200 and EX 4200 switches are expected to be available in March 2008, and the EX 8200 series in the second half of 2008.

The list price for the EX 3200 series starts at $4,000, while the EX 4200 series starts at $6,000.

Running on the firm's JUNOS network operating system, Juniper claimed that the offerings could deliver carrier-class reliability and reduce network downtime.

To boost security Juniper has integrated its Unified Access Control technology with the new switches to allow businesses to control user access to mission-critical applications and assets through the enforcement of end-to-end policies.

The products also offer anomaly-based threat detection at wire-speed and sample-based deep packet inspection to provide application visibility.