Brocade Communications Systems 7500E User Manual

DATA SHEET

BROCADE
7500E
EXTENSION
SWITCH

DATA CENTER

HIGHLIGHTS

• Provides a simple, cost-effective Fibre
Channel over IP (FCIP) storage and SAN
extension solution for smaller enterprises,

remote ofces, and service providers

• Optimizes performance and resource
utilization with Fast Write acceleration,
storage-optimized protocol enhancements,
and data compression

• Provides remote SAN connectivity
while isolating IP WAN networks and
SAN fabrics for increased resiliency
and availability

• Provides high-availability features,
including redundant power and cooling

• Simplies deployment and management

with easy-to-use Web-based tools for local
and remote management

• Features a software license upgrade to
activate additional ports and capabilities

• Protects investments through
interoperability with existing Brocade
switches and routers

Enabling Lower-Cost
Global Data Mobility

Due to increased business and regulatory
requirements, organizations of all sizes
regularly need to move, share, and protect

their data—but they often face signicant

challenges in doing so. For instance, smaller
organizations might lack the dedicated
resources, skills, or budgets for high-end
data protection systems and business
continuity. Larger enterprises might need
to connect multiple remote sites in a robust
manner, yet have limited budget to do so.
And IP network service providers might
need a proven remote connectivity solution
that interoperates with existing Storage Area
Network (SAN) infrastructures and is simple
to deploy and manage.

The Brocade
leveraging leading-edge Brocade 7500
technology, provides the performance,

®

7500E Extension Switch,

ease of use, and cost-effectiveness
required to meet these and other business
requirements. The Brocade 7500E combines
Fibre Channel over IP (FCIP) capabilities with
fabric isolation for point-to-point connectivity
of remote SAN fabrics or Fibre Channel
storage over IP Wide Area Networks (WANs)
without merging fabrics.

By avoiding fabric merges, the Brocade
7500E provides WAN link and remote SAN
fault isolation to increase availability for
mission-critical applications and to minimize
the impact of network failures. As a result, it
is ideal for supporting strategic initiatives for
disaster recovery, business continuity, and
data migration.

Brocade

7500E

Brocade

7500E

Fibre Channel

Gigabit Ethernet IP

Primary

Disk Array

Secondary

Disk Array

FCIP

Tunnels

WAN

Figure 1.

Connecting directly to remote Fibre
Channel storage, the Brocade 7500E
reduces the cost of business continuity
and remote data migration.

A bundled package, the Brocade 7500E
includes two 4 Gbit/sec Fibre Channel ports
and two 1 Gigabit Ethernet ports; redundant
power supplies and fans; and advanced
functionality to optimize storage application
performance and resiliency across extended

distances. An easy-to-use GUI simplies

deployment and management, reducing
administrative time and costs.

The Brocade 7500E is interoperable with
existing Fibre Channel and IP storage
and network assets, and it provides a
transparent upgrade path to additional
ports and advanced functionality—making
it a reliable entry-level or remote site FCIP
solution with proven investment protection.

PERFORMANCE-OPTIMIZED
SAN EXTENSION

To deliver high performance, resiliency,
and resource optimization, the Brocade
7500E provides the following advanced
SAN extension capabilities and features:

• Write acceleration (Fast Write for FCIP)

capabilities to signicantly improve

application response time over distance

• Hardware-based compression to optimize
bandwidth utilization and reduce costs

• Storage-optimized TCP for unprecedented
network resiliency, even when using sub­optimal WAN links

• Remote SAN connectivity without merging
fabrics—providing a more secure and
reliable distance-connectivity solution

As a result, the Brocade 7500E helps
provide a high-performance point-to-point
remote data replication solution over any
distance, improving global data mobility for

greater operating efciency.

SIMPLIFIED DEPLOYMENT
AND ADMINISTRATION

To help organizations quickly and effectively
deploy and manage new remote data
replication solutions, the Brocade 7500E
includes everything needed for SAN extension,
including Fast Write and compression
capabilities. In addition, intuitive Web-based
management tools streamline deployment
and reduce administration time.

Because the Brocade 7500E leverages
the standard Brocade Fabric OS
and Brocade management tools, it provides
a consistent, centralized management
platform that minimizes training and

deployment time while signicantly reducing

®

(FOS)