Unique VCS Fabric Features for
High-Performance Data Centers
TheBrocadeVDX6730withBrocadeVCS
Fabrictechnologyprovidesthefollowing
uniquefeaturesforbuildingaccess-layer
fabricsoptimizedfortheneedsof
modernworkloads:
•Elastic, self-healing fabrics: Brocade
VCS fabrics are self-forming and self-
healing,providingahighlyresilient,
operationallyscalablefoundationforvery
largeordynamicclouddeployments.
Multi-nodefabricscanbemanagedas
asinglelogicalelement,andfabricscan
bedeployedandeasilyre-deployedina
varietyofcongurationsoptimizedtothe
needsofparticularworkloads.
•Efcient multipathing across Layers 1-3:
WithNetworkOS3.0,BrocadeVCSFabric
technologydeliversefcientlyload-
balancedmultipathingatLayers1-3,with
multipleLayer3gateways.Theresultis
veryelasticLayer2andLayer3domains
withmoreeffectivelinkutilizationand,
ultimately,amoreexible,agilenetwork
thathelpsorganizationsrapidlyadaptto
changingbusinessconditions.
•Lowest power consumption: The
Brocade VDX 6730 provides the
industry’slowestpowerconsumption
inaport-dense,2Uformfactor—
imperativeintoday’sdatacenters.
•Scale-out solution for virtualized data
centers: VCSfabricsenabledynamic,
large-scaleservervirtualization
deploymentsinprivateandpublicclouds
withprovenzero-touchVMdiscovery,
networkconguration,andVMmobility.
•Local switching: The Brocade VDX 6730
delivers high performance for intra-
racktrafcinvirtualizedenvironments,
providingultra-lowlatencyof600
nanoseconds for the same ASIC on the
switch.Thishelpsorganizationsdesign
anetworkwithnooversubscriptionfor
deterministicnetworkperformanceand
improvedapplicationresponsetimes,
makingtheBrocadeVDX6730idealfor
performance-demanding environments.
ETHERNET STORAGE CONNECTIVITY
TheBrocadeVDX6730connectstoFCoE,
iSCSI,andNASstorage,andincludesFibre
ChannelportsforconnectivitytoBrocade
Fibre Channel SAN fabrics. The Brocade
VDX6730helpsprotectexistingSAN
investmentsbybridgingSANfabricsand
Ethernet fabrics. The native Fibre channel
portsandFCoEcanbeturnedonwithan
add-onsoftwarelicense.
Server and Storage Virtualization
Automation Support
BrocadeVCSFabrictechnologyoffersunique
featurestosupportvirtualizedserverand
storageenvironments.BrocadeVM-aware
networkautomation,forexample,provides
secureconnectivityandfullvisibilityto
virtualizedserverresourceswithdynamic
learningandactivationofportproles.By
communicatingdirectlywithVMwarevCenter,
iteliminatesmanualcongurationofport
prolesandsupportsVMmobilityacross
VCSfabricswithinadatacenter.
DuringaVMmigration,networkswitchports
mustbedynamicallyconguredtoensurethat
theVMtrafcexperiencesconsistentpolicies
andcongurations(seeFigure2).The
BrocadeAutomaticMigrationofPortProles
(AMPP)featureenablesaseamlessmigration.
PortprolesandMACaddressmapping
arecreatedonanyswitchinthefabric.
Thismappingprovidesthelogicalowfor
trafcfromthesourceporttothedestination
port.AsaVMmigrates,thedestination
portinthefabriclearnsoftheMACmove
andautomaticallyactivatestheport
proleconguration.
InadditiontoprovidingprotectionagainstVM
MACspoong,VM-awarenetworkautomation
andAMPPenableorganizationstofullyalign
virtualserverandnetworkinfrastructure
resources,andrealizethefullbenetsof
servervirtualization.
PROACTIVE MONITORING
Brocade Fabric Watch is an innovative
switchhealthmonitoringfeatureavailable
on the Brocade VDX 6730. Fabric Watch
monitorsthehealthofcertainswitch
componentsand,basedonthethreshold
set,declareseachcomponentasmarginal
ordown.
EASE OF USE AUGMENTED BY
BROCADE NETWORK ADVISOR
BrocadeNetworkAdvisorisaneasy-to-
usenetworkmanagementplatformfor
advanced management of Brocade VCS
fabricsandBrocadeVDXswitchesacross
theentirenetworklifecycle.Organizations
canuseBrocadeNetworkAdvisorto
manageaVCSfabricasasingleentityor
todrilldowntoindividualBrocadeVDX
switchesforfault,inventory,orperformance
management—andtomanagemultipleVCS
fabricsinparallel.Moreimportant,Brocade
NetworkAdvisormanagesbothSANand
IPnetworks,andcanbeusedtodozoning
acrossBrocadeVDXswitchesandFibre
Channel SANs.
BrocadeNetworkAdvisoralsoprovides
simpliedmanagementofAMPP
congurations,andintegritycheckscanbe
performedacrossphysicalBrocadeVDX
congurations,eitherinthesamefabric
oracrossdifferentVCSfabrics.Inaddition,
BrocadeNetworkAdvisorenablesVM-level
monitoringandcanhelpidentifytop-talker
applicationsleveragingsFlowacrossthe
fabric.Finally,BrocadeNetworkAdvisor
providesVCSfabricdiagnostics,including
visualizationofVCSfabrictrafcpathsand
networklatencymonitoringthatenables
faultisolationviahop-by-hopinspection.
Fordetails,visitwww.brocade.com/
management.
BROCADE GLOBAL SERVICES
BrocadeGlobalServiceshastheexpertise
tohelporganizationsbuildscalable,
efcientcloudinfrastructures.Leveraging
15yearsofexpertiseinstorage,networking,
andvirtualization,BrocadeGlobalServices
deliversworld-classprofessionalservices,
technicalsupport,andeducationservices,
enablingorganizationstomaximizetheir
Brocadeinvestments,acceleratenew
technologydeployments,andoptimizethe
performanceofnetworkinginfrastructures.
CLOUD-OPTIMIZED NETWORK
ACQUISITION
Brocadehelpsorganizationseasilyaddress
theirinformationtechnologyrequirements
byofferingexiblenetworkacquisitionand
supportalternativestomeettheirnancial
needs.Organizationscanselectfrom
purchase,lease,andBrocadeNetwork
Subscriptionoptionstoalignnetwork
acquisitionwiththeiruniquecapital
requirementsandriskproles.To
learnmore,visitwww.Brocade.com/
CapitalSolutions.
MAXIMIZING INVESTMENTS
Tohelpoptimizetechnologyinvestments,
Brocade and its partners offer complete
solutionsthatincludeprofessionalservices,
technicalsupport,andeducation.Formore
information,contactaBrocadesales
partner or visit www.brocade.com.