Brocade IP Storage Switch for EMC Connectrix

Brocade Communication Systems, Inc. expanded its longstanding OEM relationship with EMC Corporation by adding Brocade VCS Ethernet fabric solutions to EMC’s Connectrix family of network switches, creating the at network switch designed for IP storage.

Available, the Connectrix VDX-6740B IP storage switch establishes a resilient, agile and easily-deployed foundation for EMC storage, cloud, deduplication, and backup and recovery systems.

“Legacy IP network designs were never intended for today’s New IP applications, such as cloud, mobile, social and big data,” said Jason Nolet, SVP, data center switching, routing and analytics products group, Brocade. “Through our extended partnership with EMC, customers can now realize the improved performance, resiliency and agility of a dedicated IP storage network for the growing mission critical nature of their IP storage-based applications.“

EMC customers will deploy the new switch to separate IP storage traffic from other data traffic, a more reliable and efficient approach compared to legacy deployments where storage traffic and all other network traffic share the same network infrastructure.

“Today’s IP storage workloads can benefit from a dedicated IP storage network which establishes the same performance, predictability, availability and operational simplicity that we have been delivering to our FC customers for the past 15+ years,” said Jonathan Siegal, VP, marketing, core technologies division, EMC.

Enterprises are demanding more flexible, open network architectures that help fulfill IDC’s Third Platform compute model.

“IP storage capacity is doubling nearly every two years, and transitioning to higher-performance, more mission-critical applications,” said Ashish Nadkarni, research director, storage systems and software, IDC. “To meet these new requirements, organizations should consider dedicated networks for IP-based storage as a better approach to align their networking infrastructures with business needs.“

Fabrics Optimized for IP Storage Enabled with EMC Connectrix
The Connectrix VDX-6740B is a low latency IP storage switch that provides connectivity for an array of EMC high-end and mid-range NAS and iSCSI storage platforms. The new switch redefines agility with automation and simplicity, achieved through zero-touch, self-forming fabrics.

“The VDX 6740 will allow us to better guarantee application performance and availability for our VNX environment, particularly for our databases,” said Joshua Olstad, director of IT, Oyster River Cooperative School. “The network infrastructure will be quick to deploy and management will be easier than our legacy network, including the ability to move live VMs between servers for load balancing.“

Connectrix VDX solutions are integrated with Connectrix Manager Converged Network Edition (CMCNE), which provides unified management, monitoring and diagnostics for both IP and FC storage networks. Integration with EMC Storage Analytics software delivers actionable performance analysis and enables customers to identify and resolve performance and capacity issues.

Additional Connectrix VDX-6740B Details:

• Connectivity for high-end and mid-range NAS and iSCSI storage, platforms, including EMC’s VMAX3, VNX, Isilon and XtremIO products.
• Storage fabric connectivity for EMC’s VSPEX Infrastructure cloud and EMC’s VSPEX BLUE hyper-converged appliance, as well as for Data Domain deduplication and Avamar backup and recovery systems.
• Patented load-balanced, multi-pathing for optimal performance and efficiency.
• Deep, on-chip buffers deliver more than two-times the throughput of any other switch in its class.
• Storage-class resiliency with millisecond link failover allowing I/O to continue non-disruptively after a path or link failure.
• End-to-end interoperability testing with EMC storage, cloud, deduplication, backup and recovery systems through EMC’s E-Lab program.
• Three-year hardware warranties, with options for both premium and enhanced support.
  

The Connectrix VDX-6740B is available from EMC and its network of channel partners.