Brocade launches MLXe core routers

Brocade (Nasdaq: BRCD) today launched the industry’s highest core router density with the introduction of the new 24-port 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10 GbE) Brocade® MLXe® Series routers. The router’s industry-leading 10 GbE density and performance, coupled with Brocade 100 GbE technology and massive MPLS capacity is optimized for large-scale telecom service provider networks and Internet data center core applications where high port density, scalable MPLS, rich routing and deep buffering capabilities are required. Massive increases in data traffic – driven by video, mobile devices and the cloud – have changed network traffic characteristics, creating the need for new network architectures from data centers to the service provider core. Using the new router, telecom service providers can create highly scalable BGP-free MPLS networks optimized for high-speed transport and fast convergence. By reducing the number of devices, providers can greatly simplify their architectures and reduce both capital expenditure and operational costs Based on Brocade MaxScale-160 Packet Processor technology with fourth-generation silicon innovation, the new router triples existing 10 GbE density and is purpose-built for high-capacity, high-performance data center core and service provider networks. For network operators in large data centers, the 768-port density achieved with the new 24-port 10 GbE module provides significant advancements for consolidation at the core of the network. By fully virtualizing their networks to simplify the provisioning of new services and maximize infrastructure utilization, they can achieve much higher network efficiency – reducing the number of devices to deploy and manage from 32 to just one while lowering associated power and space costs by up to 70 percent. “Network operators are challenged to scale their networks and manage increasing complexity – with more routers, more subnets and massive dynamic flows,” said Ken Cheng, vice president of Service Provider and Application Delivery Products at Brocade. “The Brocade MLXe Core Router with the new 24-port 10 GbE module and industry-leading SDN technology will enable them to significantly scale their core networks to do more while greatly reducing network complexity and cost.” Today Brocade also introduced significant enhancements to the Brocade ADX Application Delivery Switch with the 12.5 software release, which significantly advances application delivery deployment models for cloud and hosting providers and service-oriented enterprise IT organizations by enabling them to create highly consolidated, multitenant environments while delivering the same SLAs and granular tiered-service offerings. Continued Commitment to Software-Defined Networking (SDN) The new products introduced today support SDN, building on Brocade’s strategy and vision for SDN announced earlier this year. SDN is gaining broad support from network operators within enterprises and cloud service providers, as it enables new levels of control over the network, transforming the network from a static, monolithic framework into a dynamic, agile and intelligent architecture. According to IDC, the SDN market is set to reach $2B by 2016.1 Through the implementation of SDN, customers can unleash the full potential of their networking infrastructure in order to realize increased business agility, additional revenue streams from new service models and better IT asset utilization.