BLADE Network Technologies and IBM Team Up to Deliver First FCoE-Ready 10 Gigabit Ethernet Blade Switch for Converged Data and Storage Networks

LAS VEGAS, NV -- (Marketwire) -- 05/19/09 -- INTEROP LAS VEGAS 2009 - BLADE Network Technologies, Inc. (BLADE), the trusted leader in data center networking, announced today its new 10 Gigabit Ethernet switch for IBM BladeCenter, the industry's first converged networking switch for blade servers. The new 24-port all-10G or 1/10G BLADE switch equips network environments to support BLADE's Cloud Ready Network Architecture with a single fabric for data and storage, 100 Gigabits per second (Gbps) of data center connectivity and up to 480Gbps of extremely low-latency bi-directional throughput.

The BLADE switch performs at 10G line-rate throughput with no packet loss as required by Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) and Converged Enhanced Ethernet (CEE) standards for open unified networking. BLADE's newest switch for IBM BladeCenter consumes less power than a standard light bulb -- up to 75 percent less than external switches -- and will support BLADE's SmartConnect(TM) with VMready(TM) software for the dynamic migration of "live" virtual machines in Q3 2009. Hybrid 1/10G server and uplink connectivity protects investments in existing Gigabit Ethernet servers and uplinks so data centers can migrate to 10 Gigabit Ethernet as requirements demand.

The new BLADE switch will be showcased for the first time at BLADE's booth 1175 at Interop, May 18-21, 2009, in Las Vegas.

"IBM's work with BLADE has resulted in world-class networking products for our BladeCenter customers, including BLADE's industry-first blade switch for converged data and storage networks," said Alex Yost, vice president, IBM Systems & Technology Group. "BLADE's new 10GbE switch for IBM BladeCenter provides our clients with the ultimate investment protection, while helping them reduce operating and capital expenses."

"Our new BLADE switch enables enterprises to take an open approach to unifying their data and storage networks without requiring an over-engineered solution that calls for them to rip out and replace their existing data center infrastructures," said Vikram Mehta, President and CEO, BLADE Network Technologies. "BLADE, one of the industry's top three providers of 10 Gigabit Ethernet switches*, has provided the essential data center networking for almost one million IBM servers to date. Now, our new 10 Gigabit Ethernet switch for IBM BladeCenter enables enterprises to deploy a Cloud Ready network while reducing switch costs by up to 50 percent, cabling costs by up to 90 percent and energy costs by up to 75 percent, along with an easy transition from 1G to 10G Ethernet."

BLADE's new BNT 10-port 10G Ethernet Switch Module for IBM BladeCenter (H/HT) combines Cloud Ready network performance with an unsurpassed set of "Virtual, Cooler and Easier" advantages:

Cloud Ready Networking:

--  Simple firmware update for open FCoE/CEE unified networking that
    includes support for priority-based flow control, enhanced transmission
    selection, bandwidth allocation per priority group, Fibre Channel
    initialization protocol, end-point discovery and jumbo frames for Fibre
    Channel payloads.
--  Ten external SFP+ uplinks combine with 14 internal ports for up to
    480Gbps of extremely low-latency bi-directional throughput.
--  For those needing support for existing blades with Gigabit Ethernet,
    the BLADE switch supports either Gigabit or 10 Gigabit Ethernet for
    seamless migrations.
--  Up to 50 percent less expensive than data center networks implemented
    using external 10GbE switches.
--  Up to 800G of full-duplex, low-latency uplink bandwidth eliminates the
    need for InfiniBand in HPC clusters.  With support for four switches per
    chassis, a BLADE switch environment is capable of up to 1.92 Tbps bi-
    directional throughput.
--  Pricing at well under $500 per port enables mainstream adoption of 10
    Gigabit Ethernet.
    

Virtual:

--  Planned support for BLADE's SmartConnect and VMready network
    virtualization software along with IBM Open Fabric Manager will enable
    seamless integration into Virtual Machine environments with dynamic policy
    migration for live VM mobility.
--  Easy transition to FCoE/CEE converged networks that are far less
    complex than Cisco Nexus/DCE Unified Computing Networks.
    

Cooler:

--  Power consumption equivalent to a standard light bulb.
    

Easier:

--  Future-proof investment protection for data centers that are
    transitioning from Gigabit to 10 Gigabit Ethernet servers and uplinks,
    enabling an easy transition to 10GbE by simply replacing uplink
    transceivers.
--  Support for SFP+ and Direct Attach Cables (twinax cables) reduces
    cabling costs and infrastructure complexity by up to 90 percent.
--  Full Layer 3 support for OSPF and BGP routing at no additional cost
    and seamless interoperability with Cisco core networks.
    

"The vast majority of organizations in North America are making real and lasting changes in their data center architecture. Customers are choosing networking products that support virtualized data center environments and provide a compelling total cost of ownership analysis," said Lucinda Borovick, Research Vice President, Datacenter Networks for IDC. "BLADE's new switch delivers the FCoE-ready 10 Gigabit Ethernet connectivity designed for cloud-ready I/O-intensive converged networking environments."

BLADE's BNT 10-port 10G Ethernet Switch Module is available from IBM in June (Part number: 46C7191) for IBM BladeCenter H/HT.

About BLADE Network Technologies

BLADE Network Technologies is the leading supplier of Gigabit and 10G Ethernet network infrastructure solutions that reside in blade servers and "scale-out" server and storage racks. BLADE's new "Virtual, Cooler and Easier" RackSwitch family demonstrates the promise of "Rackonomics" -- a revolutionary approach for scaling out data center networks to drive down total cost of ownership. The company's customers include more than 300 of Fortune 500 companies across 26 industry segments, and an installed base representing more than 250,000 network switches and nearly 6 million switch ports connecting more than 1,200,000 servers. For more information, visit www.bladenetwork.net. Follow us on Twitter at BLADENetwork or read our tweets at www.bladenetwork.net/twitter.html.

BLADE Network Technologies, the BLADE logo, BLADEHarmony, RackSwitch, RackSwitch Solution Partner, SmartConnect and VMready are trademarks of BLADE Network Technologies. All other names or marks are property of their respective owners.

* Ethernet Switch Report, 4Q08, Dell'Oro Group, February 2009

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