Hardware maker Brocade claimes to have invented the first IP storage switch for data centers. The idea is to rationalize the impact of the masses of data created by modern IP applications such as cloud, mobile and big data, by handling it directly through a dedicated IP storage switch.

Brocade says its VCS Ethernet fabric systems can complement EMC’s Connectrix family of network switches and together they form the IT industry’s first network switch designed for IP storage.

The problem with traditional Internet protocol  (IP) network designs is that they were created for a world that existed before today’s model of IP applications, such as the software created for cloud, mobile, social and big data systems, according to Jason Nolet, senior VP of Brocade’s data center switching, routing and analytics products group. Brocade and EMC want users to have a dedicated IP storage network, said Nolet, giving better performance and agility.

A separate net for IP storage

This is a priority for data center operators as a result of the “the growing mission criticality of their IP storage-based applications,” said Nolet.

Corporate IP storage capacity is doubling nearly every two years, according to analyst Ashish Nadkarni, research director for storage systems and software at IDC.

The new IP storage switch means EMC customers separate IP storage traffic from other data traffic. This subdivision of traffic gives network managers more control and allows a more efficient allocation of bandwidth, according to needs and priorities, according to Jonathan Siegal, EMC’S marketing VP.

“The rise of new workloads to support cloud, mobile and the Internet of Things requires that storage networks expand and change almost instantaneously,” said Siegal, “dedicated networks for IP storage will solve this problem.”