DATA CENTER Setting a New Standard for Network Efficiency with Brocade VCS Fabric Multilayer, Multipathing

2Modern virtualized, distributed application architectures are placing profound new demands on the data center networks that serve them. Application performance itself is now highly dependent on link utilization and finding the optimal path between servers. The efficiency and resilience of the network connecting the application components have never been more important. IT service organizations also need the flexibility to scale out their networks on demand to respond to immediate business needs without hard-wired technical limitations. Perhaps most importantly, mission-critical networks must ensure predictable application performance at any time, regardless of traffic volume. However, overbuilding data center networks to support unusual traffic spikes is generally not economically feasible. IT departments need to find practical ways to strike a balance between resilience and flexibility on the one hand, and over-engineering on the other. The innovative multilayer, multipathing capabilities from Brocade deliver at least twice the network efficiency of other vendors. “Efficiency ” has many aspects, including enabling the shortest, most direct traffic paths, multiplying the number of available links and gateways, and reducing the operational burden--including managing unplanned downtime--through increased automation. This paper describes how Brocade is able to achieve this exceptional level of network efficiency