Science & Technology
Science and Technology
Science and Technology
Thu, August 27, 2009
BLADE Network Technologies: Converged Networking in the Data Center Gets a Boost From BLADE Network Technologies and Emulex
SANTA CLARA, CA and COSTA MESA, CA--(Marketwire - August 27, 2009) - [ BLADE Network Technologies ] Inc. (BLADE), the trusted leader in data center networking, and [ Emulex Corporation ] (
BLADE and Emulex will develop solution marketing initiatives and conduct joint business development activities to showcase the advantages of BLADE and Emulex solutions for converged networks that utilize next-generation data center technologies, including 10 Gigabit Ethernet, virtual port switching, iSCSI and FCoE. Next week at VMworld, BLADE and Emulex will launch the campaign with a demonstration of the industry's first convergence-ready Virtual Fabric for IBM BladeCenter in IBM's booth #1624. BLADE will also have a presence at Emulex's booth #1937.
In Europe, the two companies will launch their co-marketing campaign at [ Storage Networking World Europe ] from October 27-28 in Frankfurt, Germany. The global campaign will leverage Emulex's [ Convergenomics™ - The Guide to Network Convergence Solutions ], which is a comprehensive introduction to network convergence, and BLADE's approach to [ Rackonomics ], which defines a new set of rules for the data center to enable the lowest total cost of ownership of essential datacenter network infrastructure.
"Emulex and BLADE are working together to bring our shared vision of converged networking for the data center to customers and channel partners worldwide," said Steve Daheb, chief marketing officer and senior vice president of business development, Emulex. "At VMworld, Emulex and BLADE are demonstrating an industry-first solution for true network convergence. Emulex Virtual Fabric Adapters for IBM BladeCenter are based on our OneConnect™ Universal Converged Network Adapter (UCNA) architecture and work seamlessly with BLADE's convergence-ready switches to provide an ideal solution for IBM BladeCenter customers seeking to lower capital expenditures, maximize blade consolidation and deploy highly virtualized environments."
"BLADE and Emulex are ideal partners in a shared endeavor to ensure that data center networks can keep pace with the I/O-intensive demands of virtualization and network convergence," said Tim Shaughnessy, vice president of Marketing, BLADE Network Technologies. "At VMworld, we are pleased to collaborate with Emulex to demonstrate the IBM BladeCenter Virtual Fabric in promoting how this advanced solution delivers flexible 10 Gigabit Ethernet connectivity and converged networking using iSCSI or FCoE along with BLADE's VMready to enable agile workloads that span 1,000s of virtual switch ports."
About the BLADE-Emulex Converged Networking Solution for IBM BladeCenter
The combination of Emulex's Virtual Fabric Adapter CFFh based on its OneConnect UCNA architecture and BLADE's convergence-ready BNT 10-port 10G Ethernet Switch Module for IBM BladeCenter HS22 blade servers provides an end-to-end converged networking solution in highly virtualized blade server environments using VMware. This IBM BladeCenter Virtual Fabric provides the flexibility of 100Mb-to-10Gb Ethernet connectivity, virtual port switching and converged networking with iSCSI or FCoE. Using BLADE's SmartConnect with VMready software on BLADE switches in virtualized data centers with 1,000s of virtual ports, the solution enables network policies to move along with Virtual Machines to maintain application performance, availability and security.
Unlike the physical port switching employed by conventional switch fabrics, the Emulex-BLADE offering provides a virtual fabric for IBM BladeCenter that can be configured with two to eight virtual NICs (vNICs) from a physical adapter. Each vNIC and blade switch can be configured for any bandwidth between 100Mb and 10Gb in increments of 100Mb. The Emulex Virtual Fabric Adapter functionality can be further enhanced with license upgrades to next-generation Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) or hardware iSCSI, and BLADE 10 Gigabit Ethernet switches support iSCSI and can be upgraded to FCoE, allowing a common I/O infrastructure to support diverse application requirements within the data center.
"One of the challenges customers face today is that they have too many devices in their datacenters that need to be managed," said Alex Yost, vice president, IBM Systems & Technology Group. "The Virtual Fabric solution for IBM BladeCenter developed in partnership with Emulex and BLADE Network Technologies allows customers to significantly reduce the number of adapters, switches and cabling by offering up to eight virtual adapters with the flexibility to work at any bandwidth from 100Mb to 10Gb."
-- View product demonstration video at: [ http://www.youtube.com/EmulexVideo ] -- More information about Emulex OneConnect UCNAs at:[ http://www.emulex.com/products/strategic-direction/oneconnect-universal-cna.html ] -- Emulex connectivity solutions for IBM at: [ http://www.emulex-ibm.com ] -- BLADE networking solutions for IBM BladeCenter at:[ http://www.bladenetwork.net/ibm-bladecenter-1.html ] -- Follow BLADE on: -- Twitter: [ http://twitter.com/BLADENetwork ] -- Facebook: [ http://www.facebook.com/pages/BLADE-Network-Technologies/107162475618 ] -- YouTube: [ http://www.youtube.com/user/bladenetwork ] -- Follow Emulex on: -- Twitter: [ http://twitter.com/Emulex ] -- Facebook: [ http://www.facebook.com/pages/Emulex-Corporation/116933412473 ] -- YouTube: [ http://www.youtube.com/EmulexVideo ]
About Emulex
Emulex is the leader in converged networking solutions for the data center. Our Connectivity Continuum architecture provides intelligent networking services that transition today's infrastructure into tomorrow's unified network ecosystem. Emulex provides a single framework that intelligently connects every server, network and storage device within the data center. Through strategic collaboration and integrated partner solutions, Emulex provides its customers with industry leading business value, operational flexibility and strategic advantage. Emulex is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (
About BLADE Network Technologies
BLADE Network Technologies (BLADE) is the leading provider of [ Gigabit and 10G Ethernet ][ cloud-ready networking solutions ] for dynamic, enterprise data centers worldwide. In addition to its innovative [ OEM blade switches ], and [ SmartConnect with VMready virtualization ] and [ BLADEHarmony Manager ] software, BLADE's "Virtual, Cooler, Easier" [ RackSwitch family ] enables "[ Rackonomics ]" -- an efficient approach for scaling out data center networks to drive down total cost of ownership. BLADE's customers include more than 300 of the Fortune 500 across 26 industry segments, for an installed base representing over 6 million switch ports connecting over 1,350,000 servers and storage systems. Visit: [ www.bladenetwork.net ]. Twitter: @[ BLADENetwork ].
Emulex Safe Harbor Statement
"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: With the exception of historical information, the statements set forth above include forward-looking statements that involve risk and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements regarding future events and future performance. Emulex wishes to caution readers that a number of significant factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Those factors include changes in economic and industry conditions and the effects of ongoing global economic uncertainty, changes in end user demand for technology solutions; the effect of any actual or potential unsolicited offers to acquire Emulex; Emulex's dependence on a limited number of customers and the effects of the loss of, or decrease or delays in orders by, any such customers, or the failure of such customers to make payments; the rapidly changing nature of technology, evolving industry standards and frequent introductions of new products and enhancements by competitors; the effect of rapid migration of customers towards newer, lower cost product platforms; slower than expected growth of the storage networking market or the failure of Emulex's Original Equipment Manufacturer ("OEM") customers to successfully incorporate Emulex products into their systems; delays in product development; the highly competitive nature of the markets for Emulex's products; Emulex's ability to gain market acceptance for its products; any inadequacy of Emulex's intellectual property protection or the potential for third-party claims of infringement; Emulex's ability to attract and retain skilled personnel; and the Emulex's reliance on third-party suppliers. These and other factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements are also discussed in Emulex's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its recent filings on Forms 8-K, 10-K and 10-Q. Statements in this release are based on current expectations and Emulex undertakes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements for any reason. All trademarks, trade names, service marks, and logos referenced herein belong to their respective companies.
