BLADE Network Technologies Delivers Cloud Ready, Virtual Machine-Aware Networking

LAS VEGAS, NV -- (Marketwire) -- 05/19/09 -- INTEROP LAS VEGAS 2009 - BLADE Network Technologies, Inc. (BLADE), the trusted leader in data center networking, announced that its 10 Gigabit Ethernet switches for IBM BladeCenter support BLADE's VMready(TM) -- the first networking solution that supports 1,000s of virtual switch ports. VMready is part of BLADE's Cloud Ready Network Architecture designed for the massive virtualization required by today's cloud computing environments.

BLADE's VMready is designed to equip cloud-ready networks with a scalable approach that unifies server computing with the underlying network by enabling switching at the virtual port level. BLADE's Virtual Machine-aware VMready is designed to balance server performance and network I/O so that thousands of VMs in cloud computing environments can be deployed to run massive application workloads.

BLADE's BNT 1/10G Uplink Ethernet Switch Module for all IBM BladeCenter chassis is available today with VMready, and the new BNT 10-port 10G Ethernet Switch Module for IBM BladeCenter H/HT is planned for VMready support in 3Q09. BLADE's 1,000 v-port VMready will be showcased for the first time at BLADE's booth 1175 at Interop, May 18-21, 2009, in Las Vegas.

"Server virtualization technologies can provide tremendous benefits, especially if enterprises can take full advantage of the mobility functions. Without automated network support, however, this mobility has the potential to create additional burdens and risk within an enterprise," said Bob Laliberte, analyst for Enterprise Strategy Group. "The ability to automatically transfer network settings in support of a VM as it moves within a resource pool is a must-have technology for server virtualization environments. Any organization that has an existing or planned server virtualization environment should take a hard look at the BLADE Network Technologies VMready software and switches as it can be a key enabler to unlock the full functionality of server virtualization."

New multi-core processors combined with 10 Gigabit Ethernet networks provide ample compute power and network bandwidth for cloud computing environments and highly virtualized enterprise data centers. However, conventional Ethernet switches only see physical ports on servers, require complex configurations per physical port and are prone to security vulnerabilities when enabled for dynamic "live" migration of virtual machines. Cisco's alternative approach calls for a proprietary virtual switch that modifies the native VMware hypervisor and requires a Cisco-only environment from VM, to server to network.

"In cloud computing and virtualized enterprise data center environments, hundreds of virtual servers can be consolidated to run on as few as 20 physical servers," said Dan Tuchler, Vice President of Strategy and Product Management, BLADE Network Technologies. "New tools are needed to gain visibility into the traffic for each Virtual Machine. Controlling traffic by physical port only, as is typical in today's switches, cannot efficiently support a virtualized cloud network. In an environment in which Virtual Machines are being created, moved, and retired, network policies must move along with the VM to ensure security and the integrity of the application, which is exactly what VMready is all about."

Data center architects can use BLADE's VMready switches to overcome network-based obstacles. The inability for security policies to move in concert with the VM is inhibiting virtualization in the enterprise data center. VMready watches the Virtual Machine environment at the virtual port level to ensure that when a live VM moves from one physical host to another, the destination network has been prepared in real-time -- preserving essential security, access and performance policies.

BLADE's VMready is designed to automate VM migration by ensuring that the wrong Quality of Service (QoS) settings do not choke the application, the wrong Virtual LAN (VLAN) does not prevent the application from connecting to the network, and the wrong Access Control Lists (ACLs) do not compromise network security or disconnect authorized users. As a result, data centers can harness the promise of virtualization, enabling applications to securely scale up for high availability or scale down for energy efficiency.

VMready is part of BLADE's SmartConnect(TM) switch-resident software that runs on BLADE's Ethernet switches. Alternative approaches require a server-resident virtual switch that adds server CPU overhead and only works in certain VMware(TM) environments. BLADE's VMready switches work with all leading server virtualization offerings and releases, including KVM as part of Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization, Xen, Microsoft's Hyper-V and VMware.

Using blade server systems equipped with BLADE's 1/10 Gigabit Ethernet switches and BLADE's SmartConnect switch virtualization software with VMready, enterprise data centers can deploy virtualized applications and services that can migrate dynamically to achieve ultimate business flexibility. Here's how BLADE's 1,000 v-port VMready works:

--  Discovers thousands of virtual machines as they become active on the
    network and monitors them to detect VM migration events
--  Automatically enforces network settings on the physical destination
    port to match the original configuration in real-time during the migration
--  Supports virtual machine migration across a blade chassis, rack or
    group of racks
--  Interacts with management consoles for added management visibility and
    control.
    

"VMready's ability to make the network aware of KVM virtual machines is a major enhancement," said Benny Schnaider, Vice President, Business Development at Red Hat. "Ensuring that VMs remain available and secure as they migrate is a major step toward the truly dynamic data center."

Pricing and Availability

BLADE's VMready is available now as part of the SmartConnect software upgrade to new and previously installed BLADE switches. VMready is included with BLADE's BNT 1/10Gb Uplink Ethernet Switch (Part number: 44W4404) which works on all five IBM BladeCenter chassis and new BNT 10-port 10G Ethernet Switch Module (Part number: 46C7191) for IBM BladeCenter H/HT as part of IBM's Virtual Switch Extensions. VMready will be available for BLADE's RackSwitch top-of-rack data center switch products in mid-2009.

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

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