Force10 Networks Hosts an Open Automation 'Festival' for the Dynamic Data Center at Interop 2010

SAN JOSE, Calif., April 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Force10 Networks, Inc., the global technology leader that data center, service provider and enterprise customers rely on when the network is their business, today announced it will feature four interoperability demonstrations with ecosystem and solution partners to showcase leading-edge network automation technologies for the dynamic data center at booth #939 at this week's Interop 2010 IT Expo in Las Vegas.

As part of its "Open Automation Festival" during the show, Force10 is demonstrating how its switch/routers are managed, programmed and orchestrated by partners including VMware, Sun Microsystems, TBD Networks and Agilysys. These real-world demonstrations illustrate how network automation technologies drive down costs and empower customers to increase employee productivity, minimize human error and accelerate the network's responsiveness to resource needs.

The demonstrations illustrate the convergence of technology milestones introduced in recent announcements from Force10. The company has taken a leadership role in the data center market with the launch of the highest-ever 10 GbE port density, its plan to deliver end-to-end, edge-to-core 40 GbE switch/router solutions and top-of-rack access switch for converged Fibre Channel and Ethernet fabrics as well as recently unveiling its Open Automation initiative for dynamic data centers.

"In recent weeks, we have established clear thought leadership in the market through our server- and application-centric approach to network automation," says Steve Garrison, vice president of marketing, Force10 Networks. "Our demonstrations this week clearly show that an open standards-based approach to network automation gives customers the flexibility to leverage the tools they are comfortable with as they tackle the pressing needs of their dynamic data centers today and lay the foundation for cloud-based services for tomorrow."

Force10 understands the complex environments that its customers must maintain, and the company is working with them to address the increasing complexities of virtualization sprawl. IT managers are losing simplicity and manageability due in part to the compounding efforts of virtualization that can broaden their IT assets and drive utilization with just the touch of a keyboard. Automation is seen as the logical and required technology to allow customers to gain control of operational expense. Force10 is presenting VLAN automation, server/hypervisor-to-switch communications and a dynamic provisioning solution as the first set of tools and offerings helping to recapture simplicity and operational control of today's IT infrastructure

Four Interop Demonstrations Present Realistic Automation Approaches that Attack Operational Expenses

In contrast to other vendors who present revolutionary concepts to solving these problems, Force10 believes faster adoption and greater customer value will occur by demonstrating an evolutionary approach that enhances existing technologies and data center skill sets, enabling customers to see immediate operational savings without significant increases in capital expense and new training. All four demonstrations will illustrate solutions architected to ensure constant network and application availability as well as lower operational expenses from less training and easier management.

Demo to Show Automated Switch Configuration Based on Dynamic Changes to VMware Infrastructure

Force10 and VMware will jointly demonstrate real-time communications between VMware's vSwitch and Force10's C-Series resilient switch running VMware SDK software. Force10 and VMware will create VLANs based on dynamic changes to VMware – vSwitch environment. On demand flow though provisioning, de-provisioning and characterization of VLANs offers data center customers a level of simplicity lost in the expanding virtualized it landscape.

VMware, TBD Networks and Force10 to Demonstrate Network Orchestration Capabilities

VMware provides unique virtualization and distributed resource scheduling technology for allocating CPU and memory resources. Network orchestration, meanwhile, is focused on storage and LAN/WAN resource and performance analysis. A real-world network configuration that includes Force10 switches along with VMware and TBD Networks software, will graphically show the configuration of VMware Hypervisors as well as both network and switch configurations. The demonstration will show, in real time, changes in the Hypervisor state, network topology and configuration of the physical switch. The demonstration will also feature TBD Networks software identifying and proactively eliminating storage and network resource bottlenecks to optimize resource use and lower operating expenses.

Force10 Teams with Oracle/Sun to Demonstrate VLAN Configuration and Automation

Force10 will be demonstrating HyperLink functionality with Oracle/Sun using a Force10 S50 top-of-rack access switch connected to a Sun server running Open Solaris and Sun Crossbow. Using open standard protocols, Sun and Force10 will demonstrate an environment that offers VLAN automation without the need for middleware. VLANS are graphically defined in the Solaris OS running on the server, open standard protocols are then used to "publish" the VLAN's requirements to a trusted port of an adjacent Force10 switch automatically, creating the required VLAN configuration that allows flow-through provisioning of the network element.

Force10, Solutions Partner Agilysys Debut "Cloud in a Box"

Working with Sun and Force10, Agilysys is demonstrating a hardware/software/services solution targeted at customers looking to deploy private clouds. Customers are recognizing the need to deploy private clouds in an effort to address new application models and the need for the increased agility in deploying new services and the trend toward everything as a service. Featuring the Sun Microsystems VeriScale dynamic infrastructure software with a Force10 C-Series switch, the three companies will demonstrate true bi-directional, dynamic scaling of infrastructure against user-definable business and application metrics. The turnkey solution is generally available from Agilysys as a single rack of equipment with compute, storage and networking in a bundled solution.

About Force10 Networks

Force10 Networks is the global technology leader that data center, service provider and enterprise customers rely on when the network is their business. The company's high performance Ethernet switching and routing solutions virtualize and automate Ethernet networks to deliver new and distinct economic advantages by increasing network availability, agility and efficiency while reducing power and cooling costs. Force10 provides 24x7 service and support capabilities to its global customer base in more than 60 countries worldwide.  For more information on Force10 Networks, please visit www.force10networks.com.

Force10 Networks, Force10, E-Series, Traverse, and TraverseEdge are registered trademarks and ExaScale, S-Series, TeraScale, and FTOS are trademarks of Force10 Networks, Inc.  All other company names are trademarks of their respective holders.

SOURCE Force10 Networks