Brocade Reveals Fabric Vision Technology

Brocade (BRCD) has introduced its Fabric Vision technology, a storage area networking (SAN) hardware and software solution that simplifies SAN deployment and management, and provides improved visibility into the storage network. The solution is a mix of tools and features that enhance the company's Gen 5 Fibre Channel portfolio.

"Our customers run their most critical applications and store their most important data on Brocade Fibre Channel infrastructure to support highly virtualized and emerging cloud-optimized data centers," said Jason Nolet, vice president of the Data Center Networking Group at Brocade. "They depend on Brocade to continue innovating and developing solutions that solve real-world problems today and that can adapt to evolving requirements into the future. Today's announcement underscores our investment and laser-focus on leading the Fibre Channel industry with innovative technology and solutions built upon standards-based networking and management."

Brocade's Fabric Vision technology is comprised of policy-based tools, management tools, monitoring tools, customizable health and performance dashboard views, and cable and optic diagnostic features. It combines Brocade hardware capabilities, the embedded Brocade Fabric OS operating system, and Brocade Network Advisor management software. It provides administrators with the ability to anticipate and preempt problems before they impact operations, accelerate application deployments and dramatically reduce operational costs.

Brocade is committed to develop new SAN solutions based on components that conform to the Gen 6 Fibre Channel industry standard, which is expected to be finalized by the end of 2013. It has already initiated research and development for Gen 6 Fibre Channel technology to address the evolving storage networking needs of enterprise data centers. Brocade is also working with the OpenStack Foundation to develop open source software that will simplify management of Fibre Channel fabrics in cloud architectures.

Brocade 6520 Switch

Brocade also announced a high-density fixed-configuration SAN switch. The new Brocade 6520 Switch features  96 Fibre Channel ports in a 2U form factor, delivering industry-leading port density and space utilization for data center consolidation projects. The density of the new 6520 means fewer inter-switch links, fewer cables and fewer switches to manage - resulting in more reliable fabrics and lower overall costs. The new Brocade 6520 Switch and new Brocade Network Advisor 12.0 are available now through Brocade OEM partners Fujitsu, HP and NetApp, as well as through Brocade channel partners. These new products will be offered later this year by other OEM partners, including Dell, EMC and HDS.

"Increasing infrastructure complexity continues to drive requirements for ongoing consolidation and simplification of IT resources," said Dan Iacono, Research Director, Storage Systems, IDC.  "Storage Area Network (SAN) management software, such as Brocade Fabric Vision technology, can improve the administrator's ability to better monitor, manage and operate their storage networks, which can allow more time for the administrator to provide value back to the business."

"Transitioning to virtualization or IT-as-a-Service stresses legacy storage architectures and outdated networks, often causing system downtime and limited application performance," said Tom Joyce, Vice President, Marketing, Strategy and Operations, Storage at HP. "Modern converged storage designs such as HP 3PAR StoreServ Storage, coupled with high-performance Gen 5 Fibre Channel technologies from Brocade, minimize workflow disruptions by accommodating today's unpredictable workload demands, enabling organizations to drive innovation while delivering exceptional customer service."