Looking to capitalize on the growth of server virtualization and
infrastructure consolidation, Brocade has unveiled its Brocade FCX
series of 10/100/1000M bps with 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10 GbE) uplink
top-of-rack switches.
The lineup offers price/performance value starting at $4,945 and
available starting in April to help customers both reduce overhead
costs and scale their networking infrastructure with the pace of server
consolidation.
Brocade is also introducing a rebate program for channel partners to
offer to end customers as a way to ease the move to the new technology.
The 10 GbE migration program for channel partners will help them
provide end customers with a cost-effective way to “future-proof” their
networks, Brocade said. The FCX series and all current Brocade 10 GbE
products will be included in the migration program.
And it’s coming at the right time, analysts said.
The Ethernet switch market is poised to return to growth in 2010 and to
grow annually through 2014, according to a new report by Dell’Oro
Group, networking and telecom analysts. The firm says the growth is
expected to come in large part from sales of Ethernet switches
optimized for larger data center deployments that are being driven by
virtualization together with the better cost structure of fewer, larger
data centers.
“We believe the performance of the data center will drive growth in the
Ethernet Switch market over the next five years,” said Alan Weckel,
director of Dell’Oro, in a statement announcing the firm’s research
report earlier this month.
“For the data center, we expect above-market growth with modest port
growth and significant revenue growth during the forecast period. While
we are still very early in the migration towards 10 GbE for server
connectivity, we believe that we will see 10 Gigabit Ethernet as a
catalyst for growth in the Ethernet switch market.”
Dell’Oro says that fixed 10 GbE revenues are projected to grow the most
during the forecast period, with the number of ports shipped to expand
about 85 percent from 124 million ports in 2009 to 225 million ports in
2014. Other vendors offering switches in this segment include 3Com,
Arista, Blade, Cisco, Extreme, Force 10, HP, and Juniper.
Brocade says its new FCX switches can be stacked horizontally across
server racks to create a single logical switch, reducing administrative
expenses and simplifying management.
Brocade’s FCX portfolio is available in 24- or 48-port models with
wire-speed performance for server access in a 1U form factor, and
delivers up to 40G bps of switching bandwidth between stack members,
Brocade said in a statement. They have an optional 4-port 10GbE
module doubling the number of 10 GbE connections between network
layers.
They offer front-to-back cooling for high-density data centers that
have strict space and environmental requirements, according to Brocade.
Brocade will offer the Brocade Assurance Limited Lifetime Warranty on
the Brocade FCX series, and will also provide its Brocade Global
Services team for customers looking for help in deploying networking
solutions.
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Computer Networking 
