Brocade Announces New SAN Switch for HP BladeSystem c-Class

First Embedded 8 Gbit/sec Fibre Channel Switch for the Blade Server Marketplace

SAN JOSE, Calif., Aug. 20 -- Brocade(R) (NASDAQ:BRCD) today announced the introduction and general availability of the Brocade 8 Gbit/sec Storage Area Network (SAN) Switch for the HP BladeSystem c-Class portfolio, the industry's highest-performance embedded switch available today. The next-generation, high-performance data center solution increases the network bandwidth of the HP BladeSystem c-Class technology and increases flexibility while helping reduce costs through rack consolidation, shared power and cooling, less cabling, and fewer required Small Form-factor Pluggable (SFP) optics modules.

The new Brocade 8 Gbit/sec SAN switch supports organizations that want to consolidate and simplify their medium-size and enterprise-class environments using the HP BladeSystem c-Class portfolio. The embedded solution offers numerous advantages to growing companies, including:

  -- Integrated SAN connectivity, featuring a state-of-the-art,
     zero-footprint design that reduces costs through easy installation,
     simplified management, and lower cost of deployment
  -- Support for high-speed, scalable, virtualized environments
  -- Inter-Switch Link (ISL) Trunking enhancements that support a single
     trunk made up of all eight SAN ports for balanced throughput as high as
     64 Gbit/sec

Providing performance-enhancing features in 12 or 24 auto-sensing ports, the new switch supports legacy lower-bandwidth storage products for investment protection. It also offers the option to scale to larger fabrics on a "pay-as-you-grow" basis-increasing productivity while substantially reducing costs.

These types of advantages reflect the growing industry trend for accelerated deployment of embedded switches. In fact, IDC predicts that by 2011, the blade market will grow to $11.8 billion in customer revenue and 2.6 million units. This represents Compound Annual Growth Rates (CAGRs) of 32.2 percent and 32.8 percent in revenue and units, respectively. The blade segment is expected to continue gaining share as a percent of the overall server market. From 2006 to 2011, IDC expects the blade share of total server revenue to increase from 5.2 percent to 18.6 percent.(1)

"Customers are looking for a high-performing, low-cost, scalable storage infrastructure to support the growing needs of their companies. The HP BladeSystem c-Class portfolio, supported by the new Brocade 8 Gbit/sec switch, meets this need," said Luc Moyen, Vice President and General Manager of the Brocade Server Division. "In addition to greatly increased SAN performance potential, this combination provides unparalleled flexibility, scalability, and simplified management for IT administrators."

Additionally, the Brocade Adaptive Networking services enabled by the new switch allow organizations to better manage data flow and meet service level agreements while optimizing application performance in virtual environments with capabilities such as fabric Quality of Service (QoS).

"Customers can reduce costs and improve network performance by simplifying their SAN environment with the BladeSystem c-Class infrastructure and the newest Brocade switch," said Mark Potter, Vice President and General Manager, BladeSystem Division, HP. "HP is the only company today to offer 8 Gbit/sec SAN solutions from embedded to enterprise environments. This enables and optimizes support of customers' virtualized environments through high-speed technology that doubles the bandwidth of their storage networks."

For more information on the new Brocade 8 Gbit/sec switches, visit: http://www.brocade.com/products/HP_Blade.jsp.

For more information on the HP BladeSystem c-Class features, visit: http://www.hp.com/go/bladesystem.

About Brocade

Brocade is the leading provider of data center networking solutions that help organizations connect, share, and manage their information in the most efficient manner. Organizations that use Brocade products and services are better able to optimize their IT infrastructures and ensure compliant data management. For more information, visit the Brocade Web site at http://www.brocade.com/ or contact the company at info at brocade.com.

Brocade, the B-wing symbol, DCX, Fabric OS, File Lifecycle Manager, MyView, and StorageX are registered trademarks, and DCFM and SAN Health are trademarks of Brocade Communications Systems, Inc., in the United States and/or in other countries. All other brands, products, or service names are or may be trademarks or service marks of, and are used to identify, products or services of their respective owners.

(1) IDC, World Blade Server 2008 -- - 2011 Forecast and 2006 Vendor Shares, Doc #210229, February 2008