KEY SOLUTION AREAS
The TurboIron 24X provides a high-performance, cost-effective solution for many types of data center environments, including top-of-rack server connectivity, 10 GbE aggregation, and HPC environments.

Data Center Top-of-Rack Server Connectivity
The TurboIron 24X is designed to fit in server racks, and it consumes only one rack unit. To simplify cabling, the 10 GbE NICs in the servers connect to the TurboIron 24X 10 GbE ports by using SFP+ or direct attached SFP+ copper (see Figure 2).

If any servers in the rack have only 1 GbE-capable NICs, organizations can connect them to the same TurboIron 24X by using a 10 GbE port as a 1 GbE port through an SFP. Some of the 10 GbE ports on the TurboIron 24X can connect to the data center middle-of-row/end-of-row aggregation chassis, usually through link aggregation.

Cost-Effective 10 GbE Aggregation
In data center environments where most servers are 1 GbE-capable, the TurboIron 24X provides a compact and cost-effective 10 GbE aggregation switch. It connects to the data center core through wire-speed 10 GbE while Brocade FastIron EdgeX, FastIron CX, or NetIron CES 1 GbE top-of-rack switches connect the 1 GbE servers through 10 GbE uplinks to the TurboIron 24X (see Figure 3).

High-Performance Cluster Computing Connectivity
The high performance, density, and reliability of the TurboIron 24X are designed for the most demanding HPC environments. In environments where high-speed inter-cluster connectivity is required over distance, organizations can use Brocade Metro-Ring Protocol (MRP), supporting devices (such as the Brocade FastIron, NetIron, and BigIron offerings) in conjunction with the TurboIron 24X to provide dual-ring, fault-tolerant connectivity (see Figure 4).

Midmarket Collapsed Aggregation and Core Layer Deployment
In midsize to large branch offices, the aggregation and core may be collapsed due to a smaller number of connections from user access edge and uplinks. The need for a cost-effective, high-density 10 GbE platform becomes imperative. The TurboIron 24X provides the necessary advanced Layer 2 and Layer 3 features to be deployed in such networks (see Figure 5).

Cost-Effective Co-Located Financial Services
Brokerage firms, trading partners, and financial service providers use co-located data centers as a way of connecting and exchanging data. The TurboIron 24X acts as a border gateway for these data centers to efficiently and cost-effectively exchange BGP routes between sites using 1/10 GbE connectivity (see Figure 6).

10 GbE Server Connectivity with Brocade 1010 and 1020 CNAs/NICs
The Brocade 1010 and 1020 CNAs/NICs offer enterprise-class 10 GbE connectivity with industry-leading price, performance, and features. They offer stateless networking protocol offloads such as IPv4/IPv6/UDP/TCP checksum offload, TCP Segmentation Offload (TSO), Large Receive Offload (LRO), Receive Side Scaling (RSS), and Header Data Split (HDS), making them ideal for high-performance applications, including iSCSI. In addition, they support Virtual Machine Optimized Ports (VMOP), a feature that provides hypervisor offload in virtual environments for greater Ethernet performance and lower CPU utilization. The Brocade 1010 and 1020 CNAs/NICs provide Data Center Bridging (DCB) support and full Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) protocol offload, offering the highest levels of investment protection. Also, the same management tool (future release) is used for configuring the CNAs/NICs and the TurboIron 24X for reduced operational costs.

• Data Sheets

  • Brocade TurboIron 24X Switch (1.2 MB)

• Documentation

  • Brocade FCX, ICX, and TurboIron Diagnostic Reference, 07.4.00 (574.6 KB)

  • Brocade TurboIron 24X Series Configuration Guide, 07.4.00 (8.2 MB)

  • Brocade TurboIron 24X Series Hardware Installation Guide, 07.4.00 (4.3 MB)

  • Unified IP MIB Reference, May 2012 (3.4 MB)

• FAQs

  • Brocade TurboIron 24X Switch FAQs (58.5 KB)

• Stencils

  • Visio Product Stencils: Ethernet Products (13 MB)

  • Visio Product Stencils: SAN Products (6 MB)

• Success Stories

  • Charleston Southern: Keeping a Campus Connected (1058.8 KB)

  • University of Lausanne Gets an Education in Improved Bandwidth and Security (513.7 KB)

• Technical Briefs

  • Seamlessly Scale 1 GbE iSCSI SANs with 10 GbE Storage (916 KB)

• White Papers

  • Brocade Solutions for iSCSI Storage Area Networks (2.3 MB)

  • Turning Data Centers Green with the Brocade TurboIron 24X (1.5 MB)