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Storage-networking company sues rival

McData sues Brocade Communications, accusing it of infringing a patent related to eliminating bottlenecks that can slow data transfer within a switch.

Stephen Shankland Former Principal Writer
Stephen Shankland worked at CNET from 1998 to 2024 and wrote about processors, digital photography, AI, quantum computing, computer science, materials science, supercomputers, drones, browsers, 3D printing, USB, and new computing technology in general. He has a soft spot in his heart for standards groups and I/O interfaces. His first big scoop was about radioactive cat poop.
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Stephen Shankland
McData, a company that makes storage-data networking gear, sued its rival Brocade Communications for alleged violation of its patents, McData said Thursday.

McData accuses Brocade of infringing on its patent No. 6,233,236, which covers aspects of measuring traffic within a switch, the company said. The technology relates to eliminating bottlenecks that can slow data transfer within the switch.

"We strongly believe that Brocade has been selling...products that infringe our patent," said McData General Counsel Thomas. O. McGimpsey.

A Brocade representative declined to comment on the lawsuit.

Brocade has just begun selling its Silkworm 12000 switch, its highest-end product yet, with 128 ports to connect storage devices, servers and other networking components. The 12000 is the first product from Brocade that squarely targets McData's high-end products.

These special-purpose "storage area networks" (SANs) communicate using the Fibre Channel standard, but companies have begun a shift to adopt a newer, slower standard called iSCSI that's based on the more widely used Internet Protocol (IP).

McData holds 25 storage-networking patents with 15 more pending, the company said.