Service Velocity

As the quantity and complexity of services grows, many service providers are realizing the limits of their application delivery platforms. Telco/carriers as well as providers of cloud, hosting, content, and mobile services are discovering that proprietary products cannot meet their needs. To keep pace with customer demands and stay competitive, today's service providers need to deliver their offerings quickly and cost-effectively.

• Brocade OpenScript Engine: The Brocade OpenScript engine is a scalable, carrier-grade application scripting engine that can help application developers and delivery professionals create and deploy network services faster, and is based on the widely used Perl programming language. Organizations can use OpenScript to augment Brocade ADX Series services with user-provided custom logic. The OpenScript engine includes the Brocade OpenScript performance estimator tool, which mitigates deployment risk by predicting the performance of scripts before they go live. It is coupled with extensive external libraries of software modules from the Comprehensive Perl Archive Network (CPAN) without ongoing fees or costs to utilize them. Highly deterministic and standards-based, the OpenScript engine offers a revolutionary programming framework for service providers to safely build and test solutions, accelerating service creation and deployment without disrupting the production environment.

A Seamless and Scalable Transition to IPv6

The Brocade ADX Series eases the migration to IPv6 by enabling service providers and enterprises to maximize existing IPv4-based investments while communicating with the growing IPv6-based world–without requiring "rip-and-replace" upgrades.

• High-performance native IPv6 service delivery: For sites capable of handling IPv6 traffic natively, the Brocade ADX Series provides IPv6 performance at nearly the same scale as IPv4 performance and IPv6 feature parity in infrastructure, security, load balancing, and routing services.
• IPv6 load balancing gateway: For dual (stack) IPv6- and IPv4-enabled network infrastructure, the Brocade ADX Series supports all modes of IPv6 Server Load Balancing (SLB) with SLB 446, 664, and 666, providing maximum deployment flexibility. The Brocade ADX Series allows existing IPv4 applications to be advertised via an IPv6-based Virtual IP (VIP) service, and vice versa (IPv6 applications to be advertised via an IPv4-based VIP service).
• IPv6 translation gateway: A simple, standards-based Network Address Translation 64 (NAT64) gateway enables communication and interoperability between IPv4 and IPv6 networks. As a result, IPv6-based clients can connect to traditional IPv4 network resources, and IPv4 clients can connect to new IPv6 services.

Optimized Application Delivery

The Brocade ADX Series offers a wide range of functions for an optimal application experience, including:

• Enterprise application delivery: Provides uninterrupted, high-performance, and low-latency delivery of popular enterprise applications, including Microsoft Exchange, Microsoft SharePoint, Microsoft Lync Server (formerly Microsoft Office Communications Server), SAP, Oracle, BEA WebLogic, IBM WebSphere, and Siebel, and financial services applications based on the Financial Information eXchange (FIX) protocol.
• Infrastructure load balancing: Increases availability of infrastructure devices such as firewalls, caches, intrusion prevention appliances, Domain Name Server (DNS) and DNS Security Extension (DNSSEC) servers, and RADIUS servers.
• Efficient load balancing: Enables efficient distribution of traffic among application servers using load-balancing methods that monitor server connection load, server resources such as CPU and memory, application response time, and pre-assigned server weights.
• Application health monitoring: Conducts periodic checks of application servers and services through Layer 2 ARP; Layer 3 PING; Layer 4 checks for TCP and UDP ports; Layer 7 checks for applications that include DNS, RADIUS, HTTP, SSL, LDAP, LDAPS, MMS, RTSP, SMTP, TELNET, FTP, NNTP, IMAP4, PNM, POP3, SIP.
• Layer 7 content inspection: Advanced Layer 7 inspection of HTTP URL, cookie, host headers, and data for maintaining application flow persistence.
• Application infrastructure agility: Enables on-demand inclusion and removal of application instances using Brocade Application Resource Broker.

Application Security and Protection

• Advanced SSL acceleration and offload: Offloads Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) negotiation and connection management tasks from application servers, giving servers more cycles for critical application delivery and improving application response time. Provides comprehensive support for a variety of cipher suites and 1024- and 2048-bit SSL keys.
• The Brocade ADX Series supports two optional SSL acceleration capabilities:
• Integrated SSL on WSM
• Separate SSL module
• SSL proxy mode allows the Brocade ADX Series to re-establish SSL connections to the server for added security.
• Hardware-based implementation in the Brocade ADX Series guarantees high speed with no CPU overhead.
• Comprehensive high-speed SYN-proxy and DoS protection
• The Brocade ADX switch also acts as a high-performance proxy for DNS server farms, delivering up to 18 million DNS queries per second. Moreover, the Brocade ADX Series provides reliable protection against many forms of Denial of Service attacks (DoS), such as DNS and SYN attacks, and offers industry-leading data rates of up to 120 million SYN attack preventions per second while servicing legitimate traffic.
• The Brocade ADX Series reduces an application's exposure to potential network layer attacks, including Denial of Service (DoS) from ICMP and SYN floods. As a result, the Brocade ADX Series protects not only itself, but also the applications it is delivering, from succumbing to such attacks.
• Hardware-based implementation in the Brocade ADX Series guarantees high-speed with no CPU overhead.
• The Brocade ADX Series prevents server session table meltdown when under attack.
• Robust Access Control List (ACL) for IP packet filtering
• The Brocade ADX Series has the ability to filter traffic based on Access Control Lists (ACLs). ACLs allow traffic to be filtered based on the information in the IP packet header.
• Although the Brocade ADX Series is technically not a firewall, implementing ACLs in the hardware provides deep security at incredible performance levels.
• PCI-compliant segmentation is easily achievable via a variety of Layer 2/Layer 3 deployment methods.
• Transaction Rate Limiting (TRL)
• Controls the exact total amount of traffic any client subnet can send through any interface or VIP.
• Network Address Translation (NAT)
• Various static and dynamic methods can be used to hide servers.
• HW VIP-protection
• Prevents anything other than specified traffic from passing through any configured VIP.
• Policy-Based SLB (PBSLB) and Policy-Based Routing (PBR):
• Granularly steers client traffic or response traffic based on IP.
• Deep packet inspection for DNS requests
• Creates policies to scrub, filter, or rate-limit based on DNS fields.

Always-On Application Availability

Brocade ADX Series application delivery switches maximize availability and provide non-stop delivery of business-critical applications through a range of capabilities, including:

• High availability: The Brocade ADX Series provides multiple high-availability options to suit varying infrastructure and business needs for overall enhanced application resiliency. Real-time synchronization of sessions between two peer Brocade ADX units operating in high-availability mode provides protection against system outages. If one device shuts down, then the second device transparently resumes control of client traffic, with no loss to existing sessions or connectivity.


• Site redundancy using GSLB: Organizations deploying multiple, geographically disparate data centers can benefit from Global Server Load Balancing (GSLB). This capability allows Brocade ADX switches to distribute client traffic among data center sites based on site availability, site load, and several other metrics. Brocade ADX switches determine client-to-server proximity by computing the round-trip delay between the client and the data center site. To provide the optimal user experience, the least-loaded, closest available sites to the client are selected to deliver application traffic.
  
  Brocade ADX switches also continually monitor data center sites to detect any changes in servers or services due to varying health and traffic conditions. Configurable site load thresholds allow organizations to align health-check parameters with the server and service capabilities of each site. All of these features work in conjunction with existing DNS as well as DNS Security Extension (DNSSEC) servers to minimize service disruption and maximize application uptime.


• Site redundancy using VIP Route Health Injection (RHI): The Brocade ADX Series provides a site redundancy solution for non-DNS-based infrastructures by injecting network routes for healthy VIP from multiple data center locations. These network routes are propagated through routing protocols, such as BGP, IS-IS, and OSPF, enabling clients to connect to the closest available site.

Simplified and Adaptable Manageability

The Brocade ADX Series supports a range of flexible and powerful interfaces for system configuration and management, including:

• Enhanced Web interface: The Brocade ADX Series features a dynamic Web-based Graphical User Interface (GUI). It leverages the XML API and provides an intuitive system dashboard, simplified navigation, configuration management, and real-time system monitoring of Brocade ADX Series deployments. In addition, the GUI includes an advanced configuration tool for the OpenScript engine and IPv6 services.
• Real-time monitoring: Real-time performance monitoring capabilities provide IT organizations with detailed visibility into system and traffic statistics, helping them track the health and performance of their Brocade ADX switch deployment. These statistics provide information at a global, session, or object level, and can be accessed via the CLI, API, or Web interface. For added simplicity, the Brocade ADX Series Web interface includes a real-time dashboard to quickly access system summary information and to drill down for more details on areas being monitored.
• Command Line Interface (CLI): To reduce training time and simplify system management, the Brocade ADX Series includes a powerful CLI with a familiar network style, complete with tab completion and in-line help.
• Roles-based management: Roles-based management allows organizations to create multiple administrative domains and assign different access privileges to users inside these domains. Users can be managed locally or via an existing RADIUS or TACACS system.
• Secure remote access: Administrators looking to access the system remotely can do so securely via SSHv1, SSHv2, and HTTPS (SSL).
• System management: The Brocade ADX Series eases system maintenance via critical features such as support for multiple boot images, and lights-out management. The system can be upgraded via FTP, HTTP, and TFTP, and includes support for dual software images and configurations.
• Open XML API: The Brocade ADX Series leverages a standards-based SOAP/XML API that enables tighter integration with both custom and third-party orchestration and automation tools. Application professionals can take advantage of XML API extensions–from basic services such as load balancing VIPs, real servers, and system stats to advanced services such as SSL, health checks, Firewall Load Balancing (FWLB), Role-Based Management (RBM), application scripting, and more.
• SNMP support: The Brocade ADX Series controllers support SNMP v1, v2, and v3, enabling device monitoring through third-party network management applications.
• Brocade Network Advisor: Large numbers of Brocade ADX Series switches can be managed from one central console through Brocade Network Advisor. Brocade Network Advisor provides additional tools for simplifying SSL key and certificate management as well as the management of application services, such as Virtual IP (VIP) Manager and Global Server Load Balancing (GSLB).

On-Demand Provisioning in Heterogeneous Virtual Environments

Application Resource Broker

Brocade Application Resource Broker is an infrastructure software component that simplifies the management of application resources within IT data centers by automating on-demand resource provisioning. This solution helps ensure optimal application performance by dynamically adding and removing application resources such as Virtual Machines (VMs). Brocade Application Resource Broker–working in tandem with the Brocade ADX Series–provides these capabilities through real-time monitoring of application resource responsiveness, traffic load information, and capacity information from the application infrastructure.

Brocade Application Resource Broker delivers a range of capabilities to dramatically simplify management of public and private cloud environments. Highlights include:

• Simplifies orchestration and management of application service delivery
• Dynamically provisions application and network (Brocade ADX Series) resources in response to changes in application demand
• Provides flexibility in managing the rules and policies that automate the Virtual Machine (VM) provisioning process
• Leverages the application intelligence of the Brocade ADX Series switch in the decision to provision additional resources
• Increases visibility and control over the entire application infrastructure in order to simultaneously provision VMs across multiple tiers that may or may not include load-balanced traffic flows

Working in conjunction with Brocade Application Resource Broker, the Brocade ADX Series provides greater application visibility and elasticity in virtualized application and cloud environments.

What's new in Brocade Application Resource Broker:

• Available as a standalone application that allows support for multiple hypervisors, enabling the automated provisioning of VMs within heterogeneous virtual environments: VMware, XenServer, and Microsoft Hyper-V
• Integration with third-party management suites
• As a vSphere plug-in
• As an LB Provider for MSCVMM 2012, to simplify the administration of the Brocade ADX Series from within Microsoft System Center
• Flexible deployment options
• Can currently be installed in Microsoft Windows environments
• Can now be installed in Linux environments as well
• Secure user access via HTTPS

Greater Business Agility and Operational Efficiency

• Capacity on-demand: All Brocade ADX Series switches can be quickly upgraded in the field using software keys. This allows organizations to enable a full suite of hardware and software options when needed without opening switch cases, which can disrupt service. For example, on an entry-level Brocade ADX 1000 Series fixed configuration platform, the performance can be doubled or quadrupled through the simple addition of a software license fully supporting a "pay-as-you-grow" deployment strategy. Additional interface density and advanced software capabilities can also be obtained with license upgrades.
• Brocade Network Subscription: Brocade helps organizations easily address their information technology requirements by offering flexible network acquisition and support alternatives to meet their financial needs. Organizations can select from purchase, lease, and Brocade Network Subscription options to align network acquisition with their unique capital requirements and risk profiles. To learn more, visit www.brocade.com/bns.

Application Delivery Communities

• OpenScript Community
  The Brocade OpenScript Community is changing the way application development and delivery professionals learn, search, and share dynamic data-driven application scripts, helping to differentiate service creation for service providers. To learn more, visit http://community.brocade.com/openscript.

• ADI (Application Delivery Infrastructure) Community
  The Brocade Application Delivery Infrastructure (ADI) Community provides a Web 2.0 social networking resource for application and networking professionals seeking real-time discussions, solutions to current application delivery challenges, latest product information, configuration examples, and implementation guidance. To learn more, visit http://community.brocade.com/adi.