Brocade Extends Fabric Networks with 100GbE Switch

Brocade (NASDAQ: BRCD) is stepping up its game in the fabric networking space with its latest switch, featuring support for 100 Gigabit Ethernet (GbE).

The VDX 8770 is a 1/10/40 GbE modular switch designed to extend Brocade’s Virtual Cluster Switching (VCS) technology for Ethernet fabrics and cloud-optimized networks. It offers scaling of VCS fabrics, enabling organizations to expand a single VCS fabric up to 8,000 switch ports with up to 384,000 VMs attached to the fabric, noted Sanjib HomChaudhuri, director of Product Management for Brocade’s Data Center Ethernet business unit.

What’s more, the unit includes a 4 Tbps backplane — growing room to support future technologies such as dense 100 GbE and software-defined networking architectures, HomChaurdhuri said. “This essentially future-proofs the network and eliminates the need for rip and replace,” he said.

Brocade also announced a 24-port 10 GbE module for its MLXe Series routers, which now can scale up to 768 ports of 10 GbE in a single chassis. The technology is purpose-built for high-capacity, high-performance data center core and service provider networks, according to the company, and is based on its MaxScale-160 Packet Processor technology.

“We’ve tripled the density with this new 24-port module,” said Ananda Rajagopal, senior director of Product Management and Strategy for Brocade’s Service Provider business unit.

For channel partners serving companies with heavy data traffic, such technologies may be a welcome addition to their portfolio. The technology also furthers Brocade’s dedication to the Ethernet fabric space, an area gaining more attention as companies grapple with heavier traffic loads and ways to keep their networks optimized.

The technologies were announced at Brocade’s Technology Day 2012 Sept. 12 at the company’s corporate headquarters and are slated to be available by the end of the quarter.