EMC Issues Connectrix DCX

HOPKINTON, Mass. -- EMC Corporation, the world leader in information infrastructure solutions, todayintroduced the EMC(r) Connectrix(r) ED-DCX-B, the industry's first 8 Gb/s(gigabit-per-second) Fibre Channel director. With 8 Gb/s line rates - double thatof existing directors - and four times the aggregate bandwidth, the newest member ofthe Connectrix family enables large-scale consolidation of virtual and physicalservers and storage pools, multi-protocol integration, and simplified managementthat can dramatically reduce operational and capital costs.

Based on OEM technology from Brocade, the Connectrix ED-DCX-B combines unprecedentedscalability and bandwidth with leading innovations in power, energy efficiency andport density. The Brocade DCX is a new class of network infrastructure and serves asthe core platform for Data Center Fabric (DCF) architectures. The DCF architectureencompasses multiple storage protocols between applications and storage, connectsvirtual server and storage pools, supports networking over extended distances, andprovides mainframe connectivity. The DCX will be a platform for future networkingcapabilities, providing 8 Gb/s Fibre Channel services at the core of the data centeras well as additional specialized fabric and data center application services.The Connectrix ED-DCX-B is designed to provide the highest levels of scalability andperformance with low energy consumption. With 6.5 Tb/s (terabits-per-second) oftotal bandwidth, it can be configured to support 2, 4, and 8 Gb/s Fibre Channel toconnect hundreds of applications, consolidate large scale VMware environments, andserve as the core backbone of enterprise storage area networks (SANs). TheConnectrix ED-DCX-B also provides integrated multi-protocol support, enablingfurther consolidation over extended distances and in heterogeneous serverenvironments.

The Connectrix ED-DCX-B offers multiple blade options for server-to-storageconnectivity. The 8 Gb/s Fibre Channel blades are available in 16, 32, and 48 portsfor a maximum configuration of up to 384 ports in a single domain. In addition, newinter-chassis links (ICLs) can be configured to connect two Connectrix ED-DCX-Bchassis together, while preserving front-end ports. These connections utilize coppercables to link the director's core blades without combining domains.

"The EMC Connectrix family of switches and directors provides customers withextensive choices, proven interoperability, centralized management and theindustry's best customer service," said Barbara Robidoux, EMC Vice President,Storage Product Marketing. "The new Connectrix ED-DCX-B backbone is ideal forenterprise customers looking for the highest levels of performance, availability andreliability. It's a platform that is designed to meet current needs and be easilyexpanded to meet future SAN requirements."

EMC Corp.