Brocade extends Ethernet fabric ‘leadership’

According to Gartner, “traditional data center physical networks deploy primarily "access, aggregation, core" architecture, with Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) for topology management and device base provisioning and operation model. Such architecture and model will not meet the demands of modern data centers. “

Brocade recognized this more than three years ago, and set out to transform networking by delivering a highly automated, efficient, VM-aware Ethernet fabric architecture that provides the ideal network foundation for virtualized, cloud-based data centers. The innovations being announced today extend this vision with enhanced capabilities that address new data center imperatives, such as network virtualization, and evolving network requirements in Cloud Service Provider (CSP) and enterprise data centers.

An emerging requirement for both CSPs and enterprises that offer Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) is the ability to provide multitenancy support at scale to ensure each tenant’s traffic remains private while sharing a common infrastructure. To address this requirement, Brocade has developed two multitenant solutions: VCS Virtual Fabric and the VCS Fabric Gateway for VMware NSX.

Brocade also expanded its flagship VDX portfolio with new VCS Fabric-enabled switches based on Brocade’s next-generation ASIC. The new products include the industry’s first fabric-based 1 Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) top-of-rack switch that can be upgraded to 10 GbE through a software license, offering customers unmatched investment protection. In addition, Brocade announced a complete suite of next-generation line cards for the Brocade VDX 8770 chassis switch ranging from 10 GbEBase-T to 100 GbE.

Highlights:
Choice of Multitenant Solutions Provide Network Architecture Flexibility

Available now, Brocade VCS Virtual Fabric is a key feature of Brocade VCS Fabric technology supported on Brocade VDX next-generation switches. An alternative to overlay networks, VCS Virtual Fabric attributes include:

Provides a native, network-based approach to multitenant scale enabling data center operators to retain full network visibility utilizing their existing tools.

Offers a highly evolutionary approach to multitenancy that minimizes disruption to current data center operational and organizational models.

Is hypervisor agnostic, ideal for customers who may be considering more than one hypervisor vendor in their data center.

Provides automated tenant provisioning through open APIs and OpenStack.

Brocade also announced today that it is engaged in in-depth customer trials with its VCS Fabric Gateway for VMware NSX, with general availability planned for March 2014. In collaboration with VMware, Brocade developed this integrated and high-performance gateway solution for customers who prefer overlay architectures, such as VMware NSX, to virtualize their networks. Solution benefits include:

Unifies virtual and physical environments by converting tunnel connections into IP connections for bare metal servers running non-virtualized applications, physical storage devices or specialized hardware running network services.

Provides orchestration support for network provisioning and automation through Brocade VDX Ethernet fabric switches and VMWare NSX hypervisors.

Delivers gateway-level robustness allowing multiple VDX Ethernet fabric switches to be connected to support mission critical applications.
· Next Generation VDX Platforms

Brocade VDX 6740T-1

Fixed 48 × 1 GbEBase-T ports upgradable to 10 GbEBase-T

Unparalleled value: Industry’s lowest-cost entry point into Ethernet fabrics

Brocade VDX 8770 Modules

6 × 100 GbE port module: The industry’s first and only offering to support 100 GbE Ports on Demand (PoD) capabilities within Ethernet fabrics, designed for emerging 100 GbE deployments in the heart of the data center

27 × 40 GbE port module: For dense 40 GbE spine/middle-of-row deployments, this module is optimized with large buffers to absorb microburst traffic in data centers

48 × 10 GbEBase-T port module: For dense 10 GbE leaf/middle-of-row deployments, this module is designed to cut CapEx by supporting 1/10 GbE connectivity directly on copper interfaces, without the need for more expensive optics