Brocade Preps 100G Launch PDF Print E-mail
Thursday, 19 August 2010 14:56
Brocade Communications Systems Inc. plans to announce 100-Gbit/s interfaces for its NetIron MLX router in September, Light Reading has learned.

Brocade CTO Dave Stevens mentioned it today during a media and analyst tour of the company's brand spankin' new data center, at its headquarters here.

Today, the MLX can support 256 ports of 10-Gbit/s Ethernet, all at line rate, a density Brocade says is unmatched. Starting in September, Stevens says, it will support 32 100-Gbit/s ports. He's not giving out any product specifics, though.

Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU), Cisco Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: CSCO), Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. , and Juniper Networks Inc. (NYSE: JNPR) have announced (or at least made mention of) 100-Gbit/s interfaces for their routers.

Brocade hasn't disparaged 100 Gbit/s, but when the topic has come up before, officials have pointed to their routers' ability to use link aggregation, combining 10-Gbit/s lines to create a virtual connection as large as 320 Gbit/s. 

Separately, the MLX's 10-Gbit/s density has been a selling point for some customers. It was a factor in the Amsterdam Internet Exchange B.V. (AMS-IX) re-upping its long-standing contract with Brocade (formerly Foundry Networks) earlier this year. 

— Craig Matsumoto, West Coast Editor, Light Reading
 

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