BLADE Network Technologies, Inc., a supplier of data center networking, recently unveiled the industry’s first converged networking switch for blade servers, the 10 Gigabit Ethernet switch for IBM (News - Alert) BladeCenter.

 

The switch, featuring 24-port all-10G or 1/10G BLADE, enables network environments to support BLADE’s Cloud Ready Network Architecture with a single fabric for data and storage, data center connectivity with transfer rates of up to 100 Gigabits per second (Gbps) and up to 480Gbps of extremely low-latency bi-directional throughput.

 

“IBM’s work with BLADE has resulted in world-class networking products for our BladeCenter customers, including BLADE’s industry-first blade switch for converged data and storage networks. BLADE’s new 10GbE switch for IBM BladeCenter provides our clients with the ultimate investment protection, while helping them reduce operating and capital expenses,” said Alex Yost, vice president, IBM Systems and Technology Group.

 

The BLADE switch complies with no packet loss as mandated by the Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) and Converged Enhanced Ethernet (CEE) standards for open unified networking and at 10G line-rate throughput. The switch designed for IBM BladeCenter is highly power efficient and consumes less power than a conventional light bulb, and up to 75% less than external switches. The switch will support BLADE’s SmartConnect(TM) with VMready software for the dynamic migration of “live” virtual machines by the third quarter of 2009. Based on the requirement, data centers can migrate to 10 Gigabit Ethernet as Hybrid 1/10G server and uplink connectivity protects investments in existing Gigabit Ethernet servers and uplinks.

 

“Our new BLADE switch enables enterprises to take an open approach to unifying their data and storage networks without requiring an over-engineered solution that calls for them to rip out and replace their existing data center infrastructures. BLADE, one of the industry’s top three providers of 10 Gigabit Ethernet switches, has provided the essential data center networking for almost one million IBM servers to date. Now, our new 10 Gigabit Ethernet switch for IBM BladeCenter enables enterprises to deploy a Cloud Ready network while reducing switch costs by up to 50 percent, cabling costs by up to 90 percent and energy costs by up to 75 percent, along with an easy transition from 1G to 10G Ethernet,” said Vikram Mehta, President and Chief Executive officer at BLADE Network Technologies.

 

BLADE Network Technologies is a supplier of Gigabit and 10G Ethernet network infrastructure solutions that reside in blade servers and storage racks. BLADE’s customers include over half of the Fortune 500 across 26 different industry segments, representing an installed base of over 220,000 network switches.