Choice at the Core and at the Edge
Brocade DCX Backbones are available in two modular form factors. Built for large enterprise networks, the 14U Brocade DCX has eight vertical blade slots to provide up to 384 Fibre Channel ports using Brocade-branded 4 Gbps or 8 Gbps SFPs. Built for midsize networks, the 8U Brocade DCX-4S has four horizontal blade slots to provide up to 192 Fibre Channel ports.

Both models feature ultra-high-speed Inter-Chassis Link (ICL) ports to connect two backbones, providing extensive scalability and flexibility at the network core. At the network edge, organizations can utilize Brocade 8 Gbps switches, Brocade 48000 Directors, or—for complete backbone-class capabilities—the Brocade DCX-4S.

Industry-Leading Performance, Scalability, and Energy Efficiency
Delivering uncongested 8 Gbps throughput and four times the performance of competitive offerings, Brocade DCX Backbones enable enterprises to:

• Achieve greater server, storage, network, and data center consolidation
• Broaden server virtualization with more–and more demanding–virtual machines on fewer physical servers
• Reduce equipment, facility, and overhead costs
• Scale efficiently and non-disruptively to meet storage growth and application demands

Brocade DCX Backbones are also ten times more energy efficient than competitive offerings. In addition to helping organizations reduce energy costs and achieve “green” initiatives, Brocade DCX Backbones free up limited power and cooling resources in the data center for more servers and storage arrays.

Fabric-Based Data Encryption and Protection
Brocade DCX Backbones deliver high-speed, highly secure fabric-based encryption of data on disk or tape with integrated support for leading key management solutions. This enables organizations to further prevent exposure of sensitive information, fulfill compliance requirements, and reduce administrative overhead and complexity.

Through integration with third-party applications, Brocade DCX Backbones also help enterprises to continuously protect data without impacting server resources, recover instantly to any point in time, and scale third-party applications across heterogeneous environments.

Advanced Capabilities to Optimize and Extend ROI
Brocade DCX Backbones offer advanced capabilities to help maximize investment return today and tomorrow. Native B- and M-Series connectivity enables organizations to leverage current Brocade investments without risk, disruption, or management complexity. Adaptive networking helps optimize fabric behavior and ensure ample bandwidth for critical apps. Virtual Fabrics capabilities allow the logical partitioning of a physical SAN into logical fabrics and isolation by application, group, customer, or traffic type. And to simplify and consolidate server connectivity, both models are compatible with the Brocade 8000 top-of-rack switch and also future-built to support direct FCoE/CEE connections.

Brocade Optical Transceiver Modules
Brocade DCX Backbones require Brocade optical transceiver modules, which are available in multiple models to satisfy a wide range of speed and distance requirements. These Small Form-factor Pluggable (SFP) modules are optimized for Brocade 8Gbps products to maximize performance, reduce power consumption, and help ensure the highest availability of mission-critical applications. Learn More

Cable Management
Cable management solutions for Brocade DCX Backbones enable organizations to build highly scalable, flexible, and cost-, space-, and energy-efficient cable infrastructures for next-generation data centers. Learn More

Industry Standards Compliance
Brocade products conform to industry standards in a manner consistent with accepted engineering practices and procedures. Review Industry Standards Compliance List