Brocade has announced that it will be offering the first fully converged embedded 10 Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) switch module and Converged Network Adapter (CNA) designed specifically for IBM BladeCenter server environments. The new converged switch module and CNA provide IBM BladeCenter customers with increased bandwidth through higher-density 8 Gbps Fibre Channel and 10 GbE port count, investment protection of their existing servers, and reduced hardware costs, along with unmatched flexibility and the scalability to grow.
The Brocade 8470 Switch Module for IBM BladeCenter and Brocade 1007 CNA for IBM BladeCenter expand Brocade’s embedded switch and adapter product line for the Data Center Bridging (DCB), Fibre Channel and Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) protocols used in IBM BladeCenter environments. The Brocade 8470 switch module is the converged embedded switch with both DCB and Fibre Channel ports, providing IBM BladeCenter customers with multiprotocol support that consolidates their IP and Fibre Channel I/O needs into a single switch.
"IBM and Brocade have a long-standing relationship developing products for System x and BladeCenter. The Brocade Converged Ethernet Switch Module and Converged Network Adapter give customers the capability to have a simple, flexible and converged datacenter and give customers the first solution for BladeCenter with true 10 Gigabit Ethernet and 8 Gigabit Fibre Channel ports in the same switch. This is just another example of how IBM and Brocade continue to partner on new technologies for industry leading datacenters," said Alex Yost, Vice President and Business Line Executive for IBM System x and BladeCenter.
The Brocade 8470 switch module and Brocade 1007 CNA are designed to deliver upon the four Brocade One value propositions of unmatched simplicity, non-stop networking, optimized applications and investment protection for IBM BladeCenter customers looking for a seamless path toward network convergence.
