Roundup: BLADE, CA Tech, Blue Coat, Level 3

Here’s a roundup of this week’s headlines from the data center and hosting industry:

BLADE unveils new RackSwitch. BLADE Network Technologies (BLADE) announced the new RackSwitch G8052, a top-of-rack Gigabit Ethernet edge switch with 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE) uplinks for 40 gigabit per second connectivity to upstream networks and a rich combination of networking features for today's highly virtualized enterprise data center. The RackSwitch G8052 incorporates a number of enhancements for virtualization awareness, enhanced stacking, low latency, line-rate performance, congestion prevention and additional packet buffers in a single-ASIC design. “Our new top-of-rack switch is designed for the demands of the data center to connect vast deployments of servers equipped with Gigabit Ethernet to 10G networks," said Dan Tuchler, vice president of Strategy and Product Management, BLADE Network Technologies. The RackSwitch G8052 is available now at a suggested retail price of $6,600.

CA Technologies and Fujitsu form alliance. CA Technologies (CA) and Fujitsu Limited announced the formation of a strategic alliance that will enhance each company's service assurance product portfolio and cloud computing strategy. The initial OEM agreement has Fujitsu selling CA Application Performance Management (APM) in Japan as well as their SOA middleware suites and system management software suites. CA Technologies will offer Fujitsu's Interstage Business Process Manager Analytics product worldwide, as CA Business Process Analytics, as an add-on option to CA APM. "CA Technologies and Fujitsu have a long history of working together to drive new product and services business opportunities," said Chris Cook, general manager of CA Technologies Service Assurance business. "This partnership demonstrates the companies’ ongoing commitment to deliver market-driven solutions that solve critical IT and business management challenges, including quality service delivery and end-user experience management."

Blue Coat named market leader. Blue Coat Systems (BCSI) announced that it has won the market leader position in the Nemertes Research 2010 PilotHouse Awards for WAN optimization solutions.  Blue Coat received especially strong ratings for what Nemertes calls 'bang for the buck' as well as strong ratings in technology and customer service.  “Blue Coat takes a more comprehensive approach to WAN optimization by integrating video delivery, Web content and application acceleration and security that delivers better ROI to companies,” said Mark Urban, senior director, product marketing, WAN optimization solutions, Blue Coat Systems. “We are honored to receive the PilotHouse Market Leader award and see it as a validation of our complete and future-ready solution for WAN optimization.”

Level 3 streams Hurley Pro. Level 3 Communications (LVLT) announced Thursday that it is working with MSI Live, Hurley and IMG Action Sports to provide live online and iPhone/iPad streaming of the Hurley Pro to surfing fans from September 12-18.  This comes after the same parties collaborated on streaming the 2010 U.S. Open. "Surfing fans span the globe, and naturally not everyone can attend the events in person. By streaming the events, we are able to get surfing fans a little closer to the action, whether they are on their iPad in an airport or on their PC in Buenos Aires," said Evan Slater, vice president of Surf Marketing with Hurley. "To ensure the best experience for our viewers, we rely on Level 3's robust and scalable live delivery platform and the combined support expertise of the MSI Live and Level 3 teams."