Jung notes that McData continues to be the low-cost leader in the FC fabric space, with IBM selling a 16-port Sphereon 4500 switch for $22,700 -- almost 40 percent less than Cisco's 9216 and 30 percent less than Brocade's 16-port SilkWorm 3800.
However, Cisco disputes SG Cowen's price comparison, complaining that the analyst firm didn't account for certain additional components. McData's switches require Product Manager software, which ranges in price from $3,150 to $9,590 per switch. Meanwhile, IBM's base pricing for Brocade's 3800 includes only eight optical interfaces.
But even accounting for these extras, Cisco comes out the most expensive option: The 16-port 9216 is still 8 percent more than the Brocade 3800 and 39 percent more than the McData 4500. "We think the premium is justified based on our advanced feature set and our performance," says Paul Dul, product line manager for Cisco's MDS 9000 family.
In another recent development on the Cisco front, Steve Querner, VP of worldwide storage networking sales, has left the company (see Cisco's VP of Storage Sales Quits).
Todd Spangler, US Editor, Byte and Switch
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