Brocade Inter-Switch Link (ISL) Trunking is an optional software product available for all Brocade 2 and 4 Gbit/sec Fibre Channel switches and directors. This technology is ideal for optimizing performance and simplifying the management of multi-switch SAN fabrics containing Brocade 1, 2, and 4 Gbit/sec switches and directors. When two or more adjacent ISLs are used to connect two switches, the switches automatically group the ISLs into a single logical ISL, or "trunk". The throughput of the resulting trunk can be anywhere from 4 Gbit/sec to as much as 32 Gbit/sec.

• Combines up to eight ISLs into a single logical trunk that provides up to 32 Gbit/sec data transfers (with 4 Gbit/sec switches)
• Optimizes link usage by distributing heavy SAN frame traffic across all ISLs
• Maintains in-order delivery to ensure data reliability
• Helps ensure reliability and availability even if a link in the trunk fails
• Optimizes fabric-wide performance and load balancing with Dynamic Path Selection (DPS)
• Simplifies management by reducing the number of ISLs required
• Provides a high-performance solution for network- and data-intensive applications