Brocade, a provider of data centre networking solutions that help enterprises connect and manage their information, has announced the availability of three new Brocade 8 gigabits-per-second (Gb/s) fabric switches for the HP StorageWorks B-Series SAN Connection portfolio. The new family of switches is expected to offer more efficient performance levels and further reduce the amount of energy requirements in the data centre.

The new Brocade switches are designed to optimise data centres that plan to implement virtualised servers for consolidation efficiencies by increasing server and storage utilisation. With configurations that range from eight to 80 ports, the new fabric switches offer scalability, delivering full line-rate performance on every port and simplified management for a virtual environment. In addition, the new products are designed to consume 40 percent less power per port than previous models.

Brocade has also announced the general availability in July of a custom 8 Gb/s embedded SAN switch module for the HP StorageWorks 4400 Enterprise Virtual Array (EVA4400). The EVA4400 supports two embedded switch modules per enclosure, for a total of 20 high-performance FC ports, to offer customers a virtualised Storage Area Network (SAN) storage solution. The EVA4400 with embedded switches is designed for mid-size customers implementing their first SAN.

"Integrating the newest Brocade fabric switches into the HP StorageWorks SAN portfolio will enable HP customers to further consolidate servers, storage and the networking infrastructure, thus, simplifying data centre connectivity," said Ian Whiting, vice president and general manager of the Brocade Data Centre Infrastructure Division.

"Customers are looking for a low-cost, scalable storage infrastructure to support their company growth, and the EVA4400, combined with the HP B-Series SAN portfolio can meet this need," said Bob Wilson, vice president and general manager, StorageWorks Storage Platform Division, HP.