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Brocade releases low-end storage switch

Brocade Communications announced Thursday a low-end switch that supports the new and faster 2-gigabit-per-second version of the Fibre Channel standard for joining storage systems and servers. The Silkworm 3200, with eight ports, joins the 16-port Silkworm 3800 as well as competing products such as the 10-port Slingshot 4210 from Gadzoox. Brocade hopes the new switch will help smaller companies adopt storage area networks (SANs), a networking technology that has been expensive and complex. The switch is available as of Thursday and is expected to cost less than 1-gigabit-per-second Fibre Channel switches.

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Brocade Communications announced Thursday a low-end switch that supports the new and faster 2-gigabit-per-second version of the Fibre Channel standard for joining storage systems and servers. The Silkworm 3200, with eight ports, joins the 16-port Silkworm 3800 as well as competing products such as the 10-port Slingshot 4210 from Gadzoox.

Brocade hopes the new switch will help smaller companies adopt storage area networks (SANs), a networking technology that has been expensive and complex. The switch is available as of Thursday and is expected to cost less than 1-gigabit-per-second Fibre Channel switches.