FOUNDRYNETNo. 001SEPTEMBER 2026NETWORK ENGINEERING REFERENCE
FoundryNet: network engineering reference and the Foundry Networks archive
Runbook-grade explanations of the things Foundry Networks built hardware for, written for engineers who arrive mid-task. Load balancing, Ethernet switching, routing and monitoring on one side; the history, product families, security advisories and command line of Foundry Networks on the other.
00 /Contents
- 01Server Load Balancing Guide4 pages
How server load balancing works: virtual IPs, health checks, GSLB across sites, session persistence and the Layer 4 versus Layer 7 decision, with examples.
- 02Ethernet Switching Guide6 pages
Ethernet switching explained for engineers: VLANs and trunks, link aggregation, spanning tree, 802.1X, Layer 2 versus Layer 3 switches and PoE budgets.
- 03Network Routing Guide4 pages
Routing guides for engineers: first-hop redundancy with VRRP and VSRP, MPLS Layer 3 VPNs, the IPv6 transition toolkit and what a core router actually does.
- 04Network Monitoring Guide3 pages
Network monitoring for engineers: sFlow sampling and collectors, SNMP versions, OIDs and vendor MIBs, and how to mirror a port for packet capture.
- 05Foundry Networks Product Archive14 pages
Independent archive of Foundry Networks (1996 to 2008): history, the Brocade acquisition, ServerIron, BigIron, FastIron, NetIron, advisories and CLI.
02 /Ethernet Switching Guide
- 01VLANs: Broadcast Domains, 802.1Q Tagging and Trunk PortsGuide
- 02Link Aggregation and LACP: Bundling Ethernet LinksGuide
- 03Spanning Tree Protocol: STP, RSTP and MSTP ExplainedGuide
- 04802.1X Port Authentication: Supplicant, Authenticator, RADIUSGuide
- 05Layer 2 vs Layer 3 Switch: Where Each BelongsGuide
- 06Power over Ethernet: 802.3af, 802.3at and 802.3bt BudgetsGuide
05 /Foundry Networks archive
Company history, the Brocade deal, nine product family profiles, the advisories page, the CLI cheat sheet and the password recovery procedure. Section overview.
- 01Foundry Networks: Company History, 1996 to 2008Archive
- 02Brocade Foundry Acquisition: Timeline, Renames and SuccessorsArchive
- 03Foundry Networks Security Advisories Archive (bugTraq)Archive
- 04Foundry IronWare CLI Command Reference and Cheat SheetArchive
- 05Foundry Switch Default IP, Console Access and Password RecoveryArchive
- 06IronView Network Manager: Foundry SNMP Management PlatformArchive
- 07Foundry ServerIron: Layer 4-7 Switch and Load Balancer FamilyArchive
- 08Foundry BigIron: Layer 3 Backbone Switch FamilyArchive
- 09Foundry FastIron: Layer 2/3 Edge and Wiring Closet SwitchesArchive
- 10Foundry NetIron: Core and Service Provider Router FamilyArchive
- 11Foundry EdgeIron: Entry-Level Managed Edge SwitchesArchive
- 12Foundry SecureIron: Security Switch and Firewall Load BalancerArchive
- 13Foundry IronPoint: Enterprise Wi-Fi Access Points and Wireless SolutionsArchive
- 14Foundry AccessIron: Access Routers for Branch and WAN EdgeArchive
06 /What this site is
This site occupies the domain that Foundry Networks used from 1996 until its acquisition by Brocade in December 2008. For a decade, foundrynet.com was where network engineers went for configuration guides, datasheets, security advisories and release notes. Thousands of university IT pages, ISP wikis, forum threads and encyclopedia footnotes still link to those documents. When the company was absorbed, the site went dark and every one of those links died. FoundryNet exists so that they land somewhere useful again.
The site has two halves that serve one reader. The reference half explains the technologies in current, vendor-neutral terms: what server load balancing actually does with a connection, how 802.1Q tags move through a trunk, why spanning tree still matters, how VRRP elects a master, what an sFlow sample is worth statistically. Each guide shows the general shape of the configuration in the IronWare command line as one worked example, because that is what the original documents at these addresses described, and because a great deal of that hardware is still running in labs, schools and small ISPs.
The archive half is an independent, unofficial record of Foundry Networks: the company history, the Brocade deal and where each product line ended up, one profile per product family, the security advisories page that replaced the old bugTraq listing, a command-line cheat sheet, and the answer to the question that arrives most often from people who bought a switch at auction: there is no default IP address, so here is how to reach the console and recover the password.
Nothing here is copied from the original documentation and no Foundry, Brocade or successor PDFs are hosted. Where a fact could not be verified against a primary source it is hedged or left out. Every page carries a sources list and a named editor, and corrections are invited through the contact page. FoundryNet is not affiliated with or endorsed by Foundry Networks, Brocade, Broadcom, Extreme Networks or Ruckus/CommScope; product names appear for identification only.
07 /How to use it
- 01
Start with the hub for your problem: load balancing, switching, routing or monitoring. Each hub page orients you in about five minutes and lists every guide in the section.
- 02
Every guide opens with a quick answer and key facts in the margin, then explains the mechanism, then shows the configuration shape and the failure modes. Read the margin first if you are in a hurry.
- 03
If you followed an old
foundrynet.comlink, you were redirected to the page that covers the same subject. The eyebrow line names the original document where one existed. - 04
Running Foundry or Brocade hardware today? Read the security advisories page before anything else, then the CLI reference and the default IP and password recovery guide.
08 /Editor
FoundryNet is edited by Ray Castellano, who spent the 2000s racking, configuring and eventually decommissioning the equipment described in the archive. The site relaunched in September 2026. It carries no advertising, no tracking and no affiliate links; the only thing stored in your browser is the theme preference. If a page is wrong, say so and it will be fixed with a dated note.