Brocade announces comprehensive connectivity support for MS

href="http://www.ciol.com/Networking/News-Reports/Brocade-verifies-Riverbed-WAN-optimization-soln/15410134976/0/">Brocade
has announced that its storage
networking solutions support and optimize Microsoft SQL Server 2008
R2 will provide customers with comprehensive solutions for reliable
access to mission-critical data. As a powerful and cost-effective
database solution, href="http://www.ciol.com/Technology/Security/News-Reports/Microsoft-secures-SQL-Server-2008-R2/135181/0/">
SQL Server is deployed by enterprise customers to
meet a variety of organizational and departmental needs. The latest
iteration-SQL Server 2008 R2, has been built upon this momentum to
deliver new features and functionalities, including more efficient IT
capabilities and expanded reporting and analytics.

Building upon years of proven
performance, Brocade provides storage networking components required
for optimal operation of SQL Server, including high levels of I/O
performance resulting in lower latency, server prioritization
functionality to allow for flexible database configurations and true
end-to-end monitoring and reporting capabilities. Brocade storage
networking solutions provide connectivity capabilities in the form
of:

• Brocade storage area network (SAN)
  switches and directors, as well as Brocade 815/825 8 Gbps Fibre Channel
  host bus adapters (HBAs), to provide industry-leading performance and
  management of database traffic

• Brocade 8000 Fibre Channel over
  Ethernet (FCoE) switches and Brocade 1010/1020 10 Gbps converged
  network adapters (CNAs) for converged networking platforms

• Brocade FCX Series switches and
  Brocade TurboIron 24X 1 Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) and 10 GbE products for
  iSCSI SANs

• Brocade Data Center Fabric Manager
  (DCFM) which provides end-to-end network management from server to
  storage, including integration with Microsoft System Center

The two companies are developing
solutions designed to support some of the most challenging business
requirements their customers face. For instance, the growth of cloud
computing platforms is placing increased demands on database
performance, which is highly reliant on network connectivity
capabilities. In order to help and ensure that the data maintains its
integrity and is readily accessible and secure, the networking
infrastructure must be able to work seamlessly with the server to
provide the necessary level of performance for the delivery of
critical business applications.

“Brocade networking technology and
server connectivity solutions are an instrumental part of a Microsoft
SQL Server deployment and help ensure optimal performance of the
application for high availability and quick access to
mission-critical data,” said Claude Lorenson, Director-SQL
Server, Marketing, Microsoft Corporation. “With the release of SQL
Server 2008 R2, Microsoft is working closely with Brocade to push the
limits of scalability and performance for our mutual customers,” he
added.

“In today's competitive business
climate, customers are looking for best-of-breed solutions that can
dramatically help them realize real return on their IT investment,”
said Bob Braham, VP-Product Marketing, Brocade. “The continued
proliferation of data-intensive services and applications, as well as
the expectation of 'anywhere, anytime' access is placing
unprecedented demands on database technologies. The interoperability
of Brocade's storage networking technology and products with
Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 translates into reduced monetary and
operational risk and increased performance and security for
enterprise customers.”

Unfaltering network connectivity and
the ability to efficiently optimize network resources from a central
location are components that are critical to the optimal performance
of SQL Server. Brocade storage networking solutions have been tested
for interoperability with the latest feature enhancements to SQL
Server 2008 R2, providing customers with the assurance that their
existing Brocade storage networking infrastructure will continue to
deliver high availability and optimal access to data without
compromising the performance of other IT resources.

These solutions are available today
through Brocade OEMs and certified channel partners.