04/07/2009
Brocade Unveils Server Consolidation and Network Convergence Vision for Next-Generation Data Center Evolution
New Brocade Switch and Converged Network Adapters Provide Seamless,
End-to-End FCoE Solution from Server to Storage Target
ORLANDO, Fla., April 07, 2009 -
Brocade® (Nasdaq:BRCD) today announced the industry’s only
end-to-end Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE)-based solution that brings
the Fibre Channel (FC) standard and Converged Enhanced Ethernet (CEE)
together. Brocade made the announcement at a press conference during
Storage Networking World 2009, where the company also reiterated its
continued commitment to a customer-driven and pragmatic approach to
providing solutions that support emerging technologies. This approach
emphasizes the importance of utilizing non-disruptive and rational
deployment models, while protecting and extending existing data center
investments.
As part of the announcement, Brocade introduced two new products that
support FCoE and CEE:
New Brocade 8000 Switch and Brocade 1010/1020 Converged Network
Adapters
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The new Brocade 8000 Switch is a multiprotocol, Layer 2, top-of-rack
FCoE switch with 24 10 Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) CEE ports and eight FC
ports supporting 8 Gbps speeds — enabling the consolidation of
input/output (I/O) storage and data networking ports at the server
edge.
-
The newly introduced Brocade converged network adapters (CNAs) provide
up to 500,000 IOs per second (IOPS) per port and are available in two
models: the Brocade 1010 single-port CNA and the Brocade 1020
dual-port CNA. The Brocade CNAs are one of the first-to-market single
application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) CNAs that provide
classic Ethernet capabilities based on the common TCP/IP protocol
suite, converged Ethernet and storage transport functionality over a
single link and deliver 10 Gbps FCoE connectivity from servers to SAN
fabrics and to local area networks (LANs).
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Within the rack, the Brocade 8000 connects to servers equipped with
Brocade 1010 and 1020 CNAs. Combined with the Brocade 8000, the
Brocade CNAs form a seamless end-to-end FCoE connectivity solution,
from server to storage target, with a common management platform via
Brocade Data Center Fabric Manager (DCFM™), industry-leading
performance and superior Quality of Service (QoS) to meet the demands
of next-generation data centers.
-
The Brocade 8000 is based on Brocade Fabric OS® (FOS) with
extensions covering FCoE and CEE, and it delivers distributed
intelligence throughout the network, while enabling a wide range of
value-added applications and advanced fabric services, including
Brocade Fabric Watch, Inter-Switch Link (ISL) Trunking, and end-to-end
Advanced Performance Monitoring.
-
Both the Brocade 8000 Switch and Brocade 1010 and 1020 CNAs are
managed by Brocade DCFM, which enables the management of traditional
FC SAN and new FCoE/CEE environments from a single application.
Brocade DCFM Enterprise also provides a non-disruptive upgrade path
from Brocade Enterprise Fabric Connectivity Manager (EFCM) or Brocade
Fabric Manager.
-
Compared to competitive offerings, the Brocade 8000 consumes half the
power, provides twice the FC bandwidth in a 50 percent smaller form
factor, and also offers a CEE-to-FC subscription rate that is
approximately four times better.
-
Brocade Global Services offers FCoE implementation services designed
to assist customers in installing, configuring, and integrating
Brocade FCoE solutions.
Technology and Business Benefits of FCoE and CEE Solutions
-
FC Investment Protection: FCoE integrates seamlessly with
existing FC environments and utilizes the familiar rich set of
storage-aware FC fabric services, management applications, and
utilities in the data center.
-
Server Edge I/O Consolidation: Transporting storage and
networking data over CEE reduces the number of server adapters,
cables, and required switch ports — which in turn simplifies cabling
and reduces power consumption and cooling costs.
-
Server I/O Virtualization: FCoE and CEE 10 GbE interfaces
provide the scalability needed in highly demanding virtualized server
environments, and they offer converged interfaces that facilitate
virtualized application mobility to meet the dynamic needs of
enterprise data centers.
-
Incremental Server-SAN Attach: As a result of reduced capital
expenses, server costs are reduced, enabling investment in additional
servers and higher rates of servers attached to SANs.
Quotes
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EMC: “FCoE and CEE will play a key role in virtual data center
environments,” said Barbara Robidoux, EMC vice president, Storage
Product Marketing. “EMC and Brocade are continuing their long-standing
partnership to address customers’ next-generation data center
requirements. Network convergence with FCoE and CEE is a major
component of these new data center architectures. Together these
technologies provide the networking performance and flexibility that a
virtual data center requires. They also help customers address some of
their major data center challenges, including maximizing utilization,
reducing operating costs, and lowering capital expenditures, all while
providing investment protection for existing Fibre Channel
investments.”
-
HDS: “FCoE integrates seamlessly with existing Fibre Channel
environments and utilizes the familiar set of storage-aware Fibre
Channel fabric services, management applications, and utilities in the
data center that our customers have enjoyed for years. Through our
partnership with Brocade, we are committed to protecting our
customers’ existing Fibre Channel investments while allowing them to
leverage emerging technologies such as FCoE and CEE,” said Asim
Zaheer, vice president of product and competitive marketing, Hitachi
Data Systems.
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HP: “Customers are looking to lower costs by simplifying
management, improving energy efficiency and reducing power consumption
within their technology infrastructures,” said Bob Wilson, vice
president of Storage Platforms, StorageWorks Division, HP. “Customers
interested in deploying FCoE will be able to consolidate SAN and LAN
server traffic while reducing cable requirements and simplifying
management through HP’s broad storage portfolio and Brocade’s 8000
switch.”
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IBM: “Convergence of Fibre Channel and Ethernet fabrics into a
common fabric is an important goal of IBM’s dynamic infrastructure
initiatives,” said Jim Comfort, IBM Vice President of Enterprise
Initiatives. “IBM has a long history of working with Brocade. We have
been an active participant in development of industry standards for
FCoE/CEE in partnership with Brocade and many other companies in the
IT industry. We anticipate that customers will be anxious to achieve
the environmental and operational efficiencies that can result from
deployment of converged fabrics.”
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Microsoft: “As our customers look to create a more dynamic data
center with Microsoft virtualization and management software,
technologies such as FCoE will serve as a foundation in the future to
achieve that and reduce operating costs,” said Dai Vu, director,
virtualization solutions marketing at Microsoft Corp. “Microsoft has
announced plans to support FCoE with an upcoming logo program and we
look forward to Brocade’s participation to qualify their FCoE adapters
for use by our mutual customers.”
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NetApp: “With the industry’s first native FCoE storage system,
NetApp fully supports Brocade’s new line of FCoE switches and CNAs to
provide customers with added flexibility, efficiency, and performance
in the data center,” said Patrick Rogers, vice president of Solutions
Marketing for NetApp. “With a strong relationship that dates back to
2001, Brocade and NetApp are committed to working together to help
promote and advance FCoE technology, enabling customers to consolidate
and streamline their data centers.”
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Oracle: “Oracle and Brocade have a proven track record of
delivering industry-leading solutions for enterprises and data
centers. Oracle is pleased to continue to collaborate with Brocade to
provide validated configurations for Oracle Enterprise Linux and
Oracle VM with 8 Gbps Fibre Channel server connectivity and storage
networking. Together, our work helps drive advanced features and
provide industry-leading price/performance, utilization, and
scalability for today’s virtualized environments. In addition, Oracle
and Brocade are extending our collaboration to include other emerging
technologies such as FCoE and CEE for use in conjunction with Oracle
VM, to simplify and facilitate virtualized application mobility in
order to meet the dynamic needs of our customers,” said Monica Kumar,
Senior Director, Linux, Virtualization and Open Source Marketing,
Oracle.
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Sun: “Sun has a long history of working with Brocade to deliver
better value to customers. Transporting storage and networking data
over Converged Enhanced Ethernet allows our customers to reduce the
number of server adapters, cables, and switch ports - reducing overall
system power consumption and cooling costs,” said Gautam Chanda, Group
Manager, Sun Microsystems, Inc.
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VMware: “As our customers move toward cloud computing, they are
increasingly interested in aggregating their IT resources, including
server, storage, and network assets, to work as an efficient, unified
utility,” said Shekar Ayyar, vice president of infrastructure
alliances at VMware. “The VMware platform is on the leading edge of
this trend, giving our customers the foundation for cloud computing.
We are pleased to work with Brocade, whose new switches and network
adapters aim to provide flexible, converged solutions that can help
our customers improve the reliability and manageability of cloud-based
IT services.”
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HBA, DCX, Fabric OS, File Management Engine, StorageX, DCFM, SAN Health,
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EMC, HDS, HP, IBM, Microsoft, NetApp, Oracle, Sun, VMware
About Brocade
Brocade (Nasdaq:BRCD) develops extraordinary networking
solutions that enable today’s complex, data-intensive businesses to
optimize information connectivity and maximize the business value of
their data. For more information, visit www.brocade.com.
Brocade, the B-wing symbol, BigIron, DCX, Fabric OS, FastIron,
IronPoint, IronShield, IronView, IronWare, JetCore, NetIron, SecureIron,
ServerIron, StorageX, and TurboIron are registered trademarks, and DCFM,
Extraordinary Networks, and SAN Health are trademarks of Brocade
Communications Systems, Inc., in the United States and/or in other
countries. All other brands, products, or service names are or may be
trademarks or service marks of, and are used to identify, products or
services of their respective owners.
© 2009 Brocade Communications Systems, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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