The improvements introduced include:
- New extensions to VCS technology that automate the processes of discovery, configuration, and mobility of virtual machines within Brocade's Ethernet fabrics.
- Increased scalability up to double the number of switches that can be integrated into a VCS fabric, allowing customers to easily and quickly grow their data center networks.
- The new Brocade VDX 6730 Data Center switch, a 10 Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) switch that protects investments made in SAN infrastructure by enabling communication between VCS Ethernet fabrics and Fibre Channel SAN fabrics.
- The new Brocade VDX 6710 switch (pictured) for Data Center, a high-density 1/10GbE switch, which offers a low-cost entry point to VCS technologies, allowing 1GbE servers to connect to both Ethernet fabric environments and classic LAN environments.
- Unified management of Brocade Ethernet fabrics with other data center LAN, SAN and application delivery infrastructures through a single enterprise-grade application, the Brocade Network Advisor.
With these new enhancements, Brocade becomes the first manufacturer to offer integration between an Ethernet fabric infrastructure and the VMware vCenter cloud management and virtualization platform, reducing administrative costs and unplanned downtime. Thanks to the integration of Brocade's VCS fabric with vCenter, virtual appliances connected to an Ethernet fabric are automatically configured based on information stored in vCenter, and their connectivity services are automatically maintained as they move within the infrastructure. This represents a radical shift from the current method of configuring traditional networks for virtualized data centers, which for most companies is typically a manual, laborious, and error-prone process. This new enhancement for VCS infrastructures provides a secure connection to vCenter that eliminates the aforementioned problems and helps ensure consistency between server and network configurations.
To simplify operations for its customers, Brocade has also introduced enhancements to its Brocade Network Advisor, the industry's unified network management platform for IP and SAN environments. These enhancements allow all VCS nodes in a single infrastructure to be managed as a single logical switch, streamlining operations. Additionally, Brocade Network Advisor enables users to associate VMware port groups with port profiles across different fabrics and vCenter instances. These improvements are designed to ensure successful migrations of virtual appliances both within the same Ethernet fabric and between different Ethernet fabrics.
