Brocade, Lenovo Expand OEM Relationship

Networking solutions vendor Brocade (BRCD) has expanded its original equipment manufacturer relationship with Lenovo, making the company’s Gen 5 Fibre Channel SAN switches available to the PC giant’s global channel partner ecosystem.

The new agreement will also allow Lenovo and its channel partners to sell Brocade’s embedded Fibre Channel and VCS Ethernet fabric switches for its x86-based servers, according to the announcement. Additionally, each of Brocade’s solutions have been approved for interoperability and are available in the new Lenovo Storage S2200 and S3200 SAN arrays.

“We are excited to expand our OEM partnership with Lenovo,” said Jack Rondoni, vice president, Storage Networking at Brocade, in a statement. “New qualification and support for the S2200 and S3200 enables Lenovo customers of all sizes to uniquely experience the performance benefits of Gen 5 Fibre Channel, from ThinkServer and System x users to enterprise-class Flex System clients.”

Brocade originally entered into an OEM relationship with Lenovo after the company acquired IBM’s x86 server and Flex System business in October. Prior to the acquisition, Brocade had a longstanding relationship with IBM and served as the company’s first fibre channel switching partner.

“Combining Lenovo servers and the Lenovo S2200 and S3200 with Brocade Gen 5 Fibre Channel creates complete solutions that offer affordable innovation and unmatched performance to address the ever-demanding needs of our global customers,” said Kamran Amini, executive director of EBG Product Marketing at Lenovo. “Seamless interoperability with Brocade Gen 5 Fibre Channel SAN fabrics helps ensure trouble-free deployments that enhance the unique value delivered by our new storage arrays.”