Brocade VCS Fabric Technology

Brocade VCS Fabric technology helps organizations create efficient data center networks that just work. Ethernet fabrics built on Brocade VCS Fabric technology provide unmatched VM awareness and automation compared to traditional network architectures and competitive fabric offerings. In addition, they increase flexibility and IT agility, enabling organizations to transition smoothly to elastic, mission-critical networks in highly virtualized data centers.

As the trend toward server virtualization and cloud computing continues to grow, IT organizations must be able to support more–often much more, in terms of data and network traffic–with less, and do so much more quickly. In addition, a number of regulations have forced a stronger focus on data security and control. These business realities, along with improvements in WAN/LAN performance, have contributed to a retrenchment of IT operations and investments back into the data center.

But there are important differences in how the "new" data center must be architected, since server-to-server transactions now exceed data center-client exchanges. IT domains that had developed independently in the client/server era have become much more interdependent, and the ability to coordinate resource allocation synchronously across servers, storage, and networks is increasingly necessary to guarantee application availability.

In addition, the rise of cloud computing has created the need for more infrastructure agility–meaning elasticity, architectural flexibility, manageability, and simplified coordination across IT domains–as a building block for service automation.

To address these challenges, Brocade has leveraged its 15-year heritage in data center fabrics to transform Ethernet networks in virtualized data centers. In December 2010, Brocade released its VCS Fabric technology, the first Ethernet fabric technology in the industry.

Brocade VCS Fabric technology is built upon three core design principles:

• Non-stop networking
• Simplified, automated networks
• An evolutionary approach that protects existing IT investments

Brocade VCS Fabric technology is embedded in the Brocade VDX switch family, which enables IT organizations to build Ethernet fabrics that support cloud-optimized networking and greater enterprise agility.

• At A Glance

  • Ease of Use of VCS Fabric Technology Augmented by Brocade Network Advisor (2.6 MB)

  • ISL Trunking for Brocade VCS (582.1 KB)

  • Scaling Out Data Centers with Brocade VCS Fabric Technology and Brocade VDX Switches (1032.2 KB)

• Data Sheets

  • Brocade Premier And Premier-Plus Support – Direct Support (594.8 KB)

  • Brocade VDX 6710 Switches - Revolutionizing the Way Data Center Networks Are Built (1005.3 KB)

  • Brocade VDX 6720 Switches - Revolutionizing the Way Data Center Networks Are Built (1.1 MB)

  • Brocade VDX 6730 Switches - Revolutionizing the Way Data Center Networks Are Built (1.1 MB)

  • Brocade VDX 8770 Switch (1.2 MB)

• Deployment Guides

  • Brocade VCS Fabric Technology and ELD Deployment with NOS (359.4 KB)

  • Brocade VCS Fabric Technology and vLAG Deployment with NOS (600.1 KB)

• Design Guides

  • Brocade VDX/VCS Data Center Layer 2 Fabric Design Guide for NOS  v2.1.1 (5.8 MB)

• Positioning Papers

  • Network Transformation with SDN and Ethernet Fabrics (407.3 KB)

• Product Reviews

  • Brocade Networking with EMC VSPEX Proven Infrastructure (100 VMs) (1.2 MB)

  • Brocade Networking with EMC VSPEX Proven Infrastructure (500 VDI) (1.2 MB)

• Solution Briefs

  • Brocade and IBM Big Data Analytics Solutions (871.4 KB)

  • Brocade and IBM Big Data And Telemetry Solutions (1052 KB)

  • Brocade and Trend Micro Solution (2.2 MB)

  • Brocade and VMware: Optimizing Data Center Virtualization and Cloud Computing (1.8 MB)

  • Brocade VCS Fabric Technology, the Plug-n-Play Cloud Computing Network for Isilon Scale-out NAS (668.7 KB)

  • Brocade Virtual Compute Blocks for VMware (1.5 MB)

• Solution Guides

  • Brocade VCS Fabric Technology and Network-Attached Storage (NAS) with Network File System (NFS) (5 MB)

• Success Stories

  • Brocade Provides Long-Term Network Solution for Iowa Health System (338.2 KB)

  • Government Employees Health Association: Ethernet Fabrics Provide a Healthy Choice for GEHA (1.1 MB)

  • i3D.net Keeps Players Happy with Brocade (1046.7 KB)

  • OnCore IT (1030.4 KB)

  • PayPerCloud: Hosting Company Finds Success in the Cloud with Brocade (935.5 KB)

  • PeakColo Goes to the Cloud and Rises above the Competition (1.1 MB)

  • Singing River Health System: Brocade Helps Singing River Health System Transform Care Delivery (938.5 KB)

  • SIPCOM: Boosts Revenue with Hosted Microsoft UC Services (935.1 KB)

  • SunPower: Brocade Reduces Costs While Boosting Functionality at SunPower (942.6 KB)

  • United Prepares for HDTV and Video on Demand Needs with Brocade Ethernet Fabrics (1.1 MB)

• Technical Briefs

  • Brocade VCS Technical Architecture (4.8 MB)

  • X86 Virtual Servers and Network Challenges (553.1 KB)

• White Papers

  • An Introduction to Brocade VCS Fabric Technology (990 KB)

  • Brocade VCS Fabric Technology Creates "Plug and Play" Network for On-Demand Applications (2.2 MB)

  • Deploying Brocade VDX 6720 Switches with Brocade VCS Fabric Technology in Enterprise Data Centers (953.8 KB)

  • Setting a New Standard for Network Efficiency with VCS Fabric Multilayer, Multipathing Capabilities (816.1 KB)

  • The Total Economic Impact of Brocade VCS Fabric Technology (215.6 KB)

  • What Is an Ethernet Fabric? (872.6 KB)