Brocade Unveils Ficon Accelerator

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Brocade(R) (Nasdaq: BRCD), the leader in data center networking solutions that help enterprises connect and manage their information, today announced new capabilities for its distance extension products that enable mainframe enterprise customers to better connect, protect, and access their business-critical data across virtually any distance.

Brocade Accelerator for FICON(R) is the latest performance-enhancing product in the Brocade Data Center Fabric (DCF) architecture, a framework that helps organizations to transform their data center infrastructures for maximum performance, flexibility, and investment protection. The new solution, available as an optional software license, leverages proven, fourth-generation technology as well as innovative advanced networking capabilities, data management techniques, and protocol intelligence to speed up mainframe-connected disk and tape operations over distance.

"The mainframe remains a critical backbone element in many enterprises' datacenter environments as they work to support ever higher levels of transactions on this secure and efficient computing platform," said Richard Villars, Vice President of Storage Systems research at IDC. "Products like Brocade's Accelerator for FICON will play an important role in helping enterprises efficiently grow their mainframe infrastructure while ensuring high levels of data availability and security."

Brocade Communications Systems Inc.