Brocade Opens R&D Lab in San Jose, CA

Brocade Communications Systems, Inc. announced the opening of its data center and engineering labs in a 75,000-square-foot space at its new San Jose headquarters, incorporating key elements of flexibility, energy efficiency, sustainable design and technology innovation.

The construction of the new campus enabled Brocade to design its engineering labs and data center to the highest standards and best practices, from the ground up, collapsing the access and aggregation networking layers for a flat Layer 2 network that results in more available bandwidth and simplified operations.

Brocade consolidated three San Jose-area data centers into one 5,000-square-foot facility, decreasing the physical footprint requirement by 30 percent and reducing data center energy consumption by 37 percent, which will eliminate 4,450 tons of CO² emissions per year. In the process, the company was able to decommission approximately 133 kilowatts (kW) worth of equipment, translating to $200,000 in yearly savings.

In addition, Brocade:

Increased the electrical density of its racks by 21 percent by utilizing more rack unit space and designing new rack elevations.
Gained 12 percent more vertical space by designing a flat floor lab – as opposed to a raised floor – enabling engineers to install taller racks with more rack units.
Consolidated five R&D engineering lab locations into one R&D Lab. The decommissioning of 400 racks and subsequent re-racking of equipment resulted in a yearly savings of $260,000, increased rack power density (up 21 percent), and decreased rack footprint (down 20 percent).
Unveiled an extremely capable, highly-available yet simple network based on Brocade NetIron MLX technology, eliminating the need for the aggregation layer. Connecting the network edge directly to the core has greatly reduced capital outlay and simplified operations, in addition to decreasing requirements for space, power and cooling.

"Brocade’s new cutting-edge data center incorporates design features that are directly linked to our Brocade One vision – unmatched simplicity, investment protection, non-stop networking and optimized applications," said Michael Hirahara, Vice President, Global Real Estate, Facilities and Services at Brocade. "Our data center and R&D lab go beyond just being functional spaces. They are a testament to Brocade’s technological expertise, corporate vision and core values."

The new data center executes on the Brocade commitment to business and corporate responsibility, with a number of advanced design features that optimize energy efficiency, including:

Hot-row/cold-row configuration and hot-row containment
Custom-designed, energy-efficient in-row cooling units with built-in fan redundancy
Fully automated controls at the POD level with energy monitoring capabilities
Energy-efficient chillers and cooling towers
High-efficiency motors with variable frequency drives
Occupancy-sensing lighting controls
Very Early Warning Smoke Detection (VESDA) system
Fire suppression using dry pipe and dry agent to protect equipment
A calculated Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) metric of 1.3, while comparable data centers of the same size typically have a PUE greater than 1.5

Video tour of Brocade data center, narrated by Michael Hirahara, Vice President, Global Real Estate, Facilities and Services