This is the most competitive director switch ever for Brocade, says Tom Buiocchi, Brocade VP of marketing. "This is a product line extension, more so than anything... Customers hate ripping and replacing.
Brocades line of SilkWorm switches -- beginning with two low-end Dazzler switches announced a month ago -- are all built on the same software code base, operating system, and firmware (see Brocade Dazzler Starts Low). That makes for easy upgrades. For instance, customers can use the same chassis to move up from the 12000 to the 24000.
Buiocchi says customers will not only be spared forklift upgrades by going with the 24000 but also will be able to tap new technologies, such as 4-Gbit/s and 10-Gbit/s speeds, iSCSI and FCIP, and built-in fabric intelligence -- when they become available.
This claim puts pressure on Brocade. Traditionally, first-mover advantage has gone a long way toward winning director customers. So Brocades easy upgrade path will only go so far if it cant beat the others to deliver advanced technologies.
There are other challenges, too: Brocade has not fared as well on the high end as with the rest of the switch market. Even last quarter, when Brocade announced 100 new customers for the 12000, some noted its growth in the enterprise lagged behind the low-end and midrange. And despite McDatas sales slump the past six months, its technology is still directly challenging Brocade's in the market (see McData Slashes Guidance Again).
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