Brocade Delivers New and Improved Business Continuity Options for IBM System Z Customers
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SAN JOSE, Calif., May 7 -- Brocade® (NASDAQ:BRCD), the leader in networked storage solutions that help enterprises connect and manage their information, today announced new breakthroughs that allow IBM mainframe customers to dramatically reduce the complexity and cost of data center and disaster recovery solutions.
The new Brocade solution -- enabled via a recent software release on its Storage Area Network (SAN) director, switch, and router products -- allows System z customers, for the first time ever, to utilize cost-effective IP Wide-Area-Network (WAN) links to transmit FICON® data over long distances. The FICON protocol is used for mainframe storage hosts.
The unique Brocade implementation of FICON over IP WANs increases efficiency for IBM mainframe disk and tape storage solutions, while providing extended distance support for IBM Global Mirroring applications. Previously, customers typically had to rely on more-expensive, dedicated network links for these long-distance connectivity solutions.
"Many enterprises around the world continue to depend upon their mainframe environments for their mission-critical applications, and they need solutions that allow them to further boost data protection for these critical systems while also reducing costs," said Richard Villars, Vice President of Storage Systems research at IDC. "As a leading supplier of storage networking solutions for IBM mainframe customers (through its merger with McDATA), Brocade's delivery of FICON-over-IP extension options for IBM storage systems makes it clear that the company intends to maintain a leading role in helping enterprises better use and protect their core information assets."
New Options for Enterprise-wide FICON Connectivity
The new FICON-over-IP extension solutions have been successfully tested and qualified by both Brocade and IBM in conjunction with IBM Global Mirroring solutions (including Peer-to-Peer Remote Copy (PPRC) and eXtended Remote Copy (XRC) disk replication solutions) and other IBM storage-over-distance solutions (including IBM Virtual Tape Systems). As a result, enterprises now have additional design options for extending their mainframe business continuity and disaster recovery applications, and can avoid the expense of dedicated network bandwidth links. For very long-distance requirements, Brocade also offers extension solutions with unique FICON emulation and pipelining capabilities, enabling mainframe applications to extend over thousands of miles. In addition, Brocade offers a variety of professional services specifically designed to help mainframe customers design, deploy, optimize, and better manage their FICON infrastructures.
"System z customers require robust scalability and data protection when designing their enterprise-wide infrastructures, and this is precisely what the new Brocade FICON connectivity solutions deliver," said Tom Buiocchi, Brocade Vice President of Worldwide Marketing. "By offering enterprises a wide range of solutions to support business continuity, disaster recovery, and compliance, we're enabling customers to improve data availability at reduced costs."
The new solutions are available immediately from IBM. To learn more about Brocade's Mainframe solutions visit www.brocade.com/solutions/mainframe.jsp.
About Brocade
Brocade is the leading provider of networked storage solutions that help organizations connect, share, and manage their information. Organizations that use Brocade products and services are better able to optimize their IT infrastructures and ensure compliant data management. For more information, visit the Brocade Web site at www.brocade.com or contact the company at info@brocade.com.
Source: Brocade Communications Systems, Inc.
CONTACT:
media,
Michelle Leach,
+1-408-333-5319,
or mleach@brocade.com,
or Ian Yellin of Ogilvy PR,
+1-415-667-2714,
or ian.yellin@ogilvypr.com, for Brocade
Web site: www.brocade.com/
