For the past several months, I’ve used this forum to highlight the various technology components that make up Brocade’s new campus infrastructure: a state-of-the-art data center, a world-class converged IPv6-ready network that relies exclusively on Brocade products, expanded unified communications capabilities, and a sustainable/green design. So what do we end up with when we bring it all together? In this case, the whole really is more than the sum of its parts.

When we designed the new campus, we didn’t just want to consolidate our existing technologies and services at a new site. We wanted to create a showcase of Brocade’s capabilities by leveraging our own products wherever possible. And thanks to the hard work of the hundreds of people from IT, Engineering, Facilities and Real Estate, we have. Their dedication combined with Brocade technology has proven to be very powerful. They’ve helped make a real difference for our staff, customers and our business.

Today, the new IP network foundation is delivering 1Gbps to the desktops of the 2,500 Brocadians who work onsite, 10Gbps in the data center core, and 1Gbps to the WAN and Internet. That capacity is helping to support bandwidth-hungry applications, including voice communications based on VoIP, wireless service, video conferencing using traditional H.320 and the newer H.264, and a multitude of web services. Here are the rest of the highlights:

So, where do we go next?  As Brocade continues to work its tactical and strategic plans, IT will have a central and evolving role. The infrastructure we now have in place gives us the tools to meet and quickly support business needs, and it enables us to deliver even greater value to our customers.

For example, our core and edge network infrastructure provides built-in capacity and scalability to support storage virtualization and a service-oriented architecture. It also provides bandwidth to support future applications like Fixed Mobile Convergence and Unified Communications, including video to the desktop using Microsoft Office Communicator and advanced web cams such as Microsoft’s LifeCam Show.

Although the new campus project officially wraps up next month, it’s certainly not the end of the road for us. My next blog will coincide with the official grand opening celebrations at the new campus, which gives me a perfect opportunity to share our project successes, lessons learned and notable project metrics. I appreciate your continued interest in my blogs and I invite you to check back.

Pictured below is Brocade’s state-of-the-art data center located at the new San Jose campus

An outside view of Brocade’s new San Jose campus

There’s an old saying: People may doubt what you say, but they’ll believe what you do. I was reminded of that the other day during a walk-through at our new San Jose campus.

We said we would design and deliver a next-generation network platform capable of supporting the company’s business needs now and into the future. We also said we’d use the project as our opportunity to retire outdated legacy systems, consolidate network platforms and introduce technology solutions that were both eco-friendly and people-friendly. As we near the completion of this 24-month project, I can say without reservation that we’ve achieved all of that and more.

The same Brocade IP network technology that’s been helping us to limit downtime during our data migrations to the new campus will now provide secure, uninterrupted, high-speed connectivity across the campus. So what might we do with 1 Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) to the desktop, 10 GbE in the data center core and 1 GbE to the WAN and Internet?

From day one, this high-performance network will help us ensure rich multimedia content delivery by supporting a variety of bandwidth-hungry applications and services. That includes voice communications based on VoIP and videoconferencing using traditional H.320 and Web services.

As we look ahead, the core and edge network infrastructure will deliver the bandwidth Brocade needs for future applications like Fixed Mobile Convergence and Unified Communications, including video to the desktop using Microsoft Office Communicator and high-definition Webcams such as Microsoft LifeCam Cinema.

When it’s completed next month, the next-generation wireless LAN we’ve designed will turn the entire facility into a Wi-Fi hotspot. Because of “always-on” access to business applications, our employees will be able to maximize their productivity, regardless of their location on campus. They will be connected whether they’re working at their desks, hosting multi-site video conferences, or simply moving between buildings.

Another example of how we intend to use our high-bandwidth Brocade IP network to enhance operations is the new fleet of Sharp multi-function peripherals (MFPs), which can print, scan, fax and copy documents. These state-of-the-art peripherals replace myriad workgroup and desktop devices that used too much energy and were expensive to maintain.

The new MFPs enable users to print to a single queue held on a central server in the data center (no more printer selection!), and then walk up to any MFP within the three building campus, swipe their employee badge and release their print job. The multi-10 GbE core-to-intermediate distribution frame (IDF) uplinks enable the fast routing of the print job from the server to the MFP where the user is located.

This means that documents are physically printed only when an employee is at the MFP. As a result, there will be no more waste caused by unclaimed printouts left at the print stations, and persons who previously needed desktop printers due to security concerns can now use the same MFPs as everyone else. Best of all, while this new approach improves the employee experience, it also improves productivity, reduces waste and lowers operating costs. It’s another great example of how doing the right thing from a business perspective is also the right thing to do from a people and environmental perspective.

Individually, these changes may not seem like much, but taken together they will give us the tools to work smarter and more efficiently. As always, thank you for your continued interest in my blog and in IT’s contributions at the new Bay Area campus. We haven’t crossed the finish line, but we’re definitely in the home stretch.

In my February blog I described how Brocade IP products will form the scalable network backbone at the new Brocade San Jose campus. Similarly, Brocade IT is using the build-out to upgrade our Storage Area Network (SAN), using the latest Brocade products and services to meet the demands of ballooning data growth and server virtualization.

The new campus will include dual SAN cores featuring Brocade DCX Backbones along with Brocade 5100 edge devices and embedded SAN switch devices in every blade-server chassis. Increasing Inter-Switch Link (ISL) throughput to 8 Gbps Fibre Channel will reduce our cabling and patch requirements and lower the number of potential failure points. We will manage and monitor all SAN equipment through the Brocade Data Center Fabric Manager (DCFM) Enterprise product.

Brocade DCX Backbone                           Brocade 5100 Switch

We are considering SAN virtualization for both campus migration activities and a more general deployment within the San Jose campus and the Broomfield, Colorado data centers. We plan to migrate the existing SAN storage from our three current San Jose data centers and integrate it into the campus infrastructure to form several aggregated storage pools. Non-blade server builds for the campus will be using Brocade 815 Host Bus Adapters (HBAs) to provide redundant 8 Gbps links into the dual-fabric SAN. In addition, the Brocade Global Services organization is working with the campus IT team to evaluate the full range of migration options and identify activities where they can augment IT resources.

                     Brocade 815 HBA

Our solutions and architecture teams are also reviewing SAN virtualization products from Brocade OEM partners. In Q4FY09, we deployed SAN storage supporting Hyper-V virtualization in Broomfield, and 35 percent of the company’s Broomfield Windows SAN capacity migrated onto this new storage. We added capacity in Q1FY10, to enable migrations of Exchange and SQL*Server data.

In Q4FY09, we also added UNIX and Windows virtualization capacity to support the SOA and upcoming Knowledge Base projects. And earlier this year we added virtual server capacity to support the Business Intelligence applications and the future Online Self-Service application, which gives Brocade customers greater ability to create cases and view service requests. That’s important because demand for self-service technology solutions has never been greater, and by empowering our customers to manage their own technology requests, we’re better able to serve them and keep costs under control. Whenever possible, we’re leveraging Brocade technology to facilitate those opportunities.

Thanks for your continued interest in Brocade IT’s role and contributions at the new Brocade Bay Area campus. If you missed one of my earlier posts, they’re all archived on the Wingspan blog homepage. I hope you’ll check back next month, when I’ll focus on the engineering applications at the new campus.

Brocade’s new San Jose campus gives our IT team the ability to create an infrastructure to support the technology of today and of the future. It’s a big job and a huge opportunity. When it’s done the new campus will provide for scalable platforms to enable the demand we see coming.

The new infrastructure will provide us with the opportunity to upgrade and consolidate several legacy systems, retire others and introduce robust new solutions. Technical requirements call for designing and building an all-new WAN, LAN and Wireless IP network. Extensive cabling and wiring is also needed to support the demands of both our IP telephony system and a heavily utilized SAN.

Our three San Jose-area data centers will be consolidated into one secure, state-of-the-art facility. For business continuity, we’ll use a high-efficiency UPS system with a stand-by generator; a second B Bus rail for all critical network and storage equipment; redundant in-row cooling units; a back-up water reservoir system; and the latest fire suppression technology. We’ve also included provisions for a future Tier upgrade that will enable installation of a second UPS system and redundant chiller.

We’ve designed the new data center to optimize energy efficiency: it will have a hot row, cold row configuration with hot row containment; custom-designed in-row cooling units; fully automated controls at the POD level with energy monitoring capabilities; energy efficient chillers and cooling towers; and high-efficiency motors with variable frequency drives.

We’re working closely with our Facilities and Real Estate teams to migrate technology and equipment to the new site. How and when we move is critical. Brocade employees have zero tolerance for network downtime, so IT’s transition strategy has been planned very carefully to limit disruption within the business.

There will be three phases. Each phase represents the relocation of the data center, building equipment, labs and people from one of Brocade’s three main San Jose and Santa Clara sites. Phase 1 will take place in May, phases 2 and 3 in mid and late July, respectively.

The work is already well underway. To minimize risk and downtime, seed equipment is being installed at the new campus. We’ll migrate critical business applications and services to this equipment in waves, and fully test it before moving it into production.

We’ll also reuse existing technology and hardware in an effort to save costs, but only where it makes sense. For example, once applications have been successfully migrated to the seed equipment at the new campus, we’ll move the freed-up equipment and reuse it. We expect to repurpose about 60 percent of our existing data center and lab equipment this way.

Looking to the future, the demand for storage and networking solutions is only going to increase and increase exponentially. Brocade’s new campus will give us a next-generation facility to easily handle the flow of data and the applications to support that demand. In future blogs, I’ll be writing about each area of the new campus’ IT infrastructure (e.g., the network, the SAN servers). I hope you’ll find the information useful.