Plexxi Introduces Cloud Builder 2.2 Software Suite & New Switch 3 100 GbE Hardware Platform

NASHUA, N.H., Nov. 17, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Plexxi, a pioneer in converged network infrastructure, announced today two new products that combine to deliver cloud builders unprecedented capabilities to bring public cloud flexibility and efficiency to the private cloud through a focus on agility, ease-of-use, security, scale and cost-effectiveness. The first product, Plexxi 2.2 Software Suite for cloud builders, is available immediately and includes the Plexxi Network OS, the Plexxi Control application-defined fabric controller, and Plexxi Connect workflow orchestration and automation tool set. The second product, the Plexxi Switch 3, with availability in January, is a powerful next-generation switch capable of delivering 10/25/40/50/100 GbE connectivity. Together, the new products expand the company's go-to-market opportunities in content distribution, high frequency trading, enterprise and government market segments.

As the industry transitions into the next era of IT, data and application growth is forcing cloud data center network architectures to change radically.  This shift is causing an increased emphasis on integrable tools rather than a focus on individual infrastructure components (CPU, Network, Storage).  Cloud Architects are tasked with delivering agility and cost savings through automation, resource elasticity, workflow integration, data and application mobility.  Traditional static network approaches are an impediment to achieving these desired results. The new Plexxi Control 2.2 software introduces powerful functionality that, in combination with Plexxi Connect and Plexxi Switch, enables cloud builders to create a best-in-class cloud infrastructure. 

In parallel, the company announced plans to introduce its newest switch platform available in January, the Plexxi Switch 3, a powerful next-generation switch capable of delivering 10/25/40/50/100 GbE connectivity. High performance application environments, the explosive growth of data volumes, and the increasing density of high performance server and compute hardware have created a need for a higher capacity network.

"Companies building cloud infrastructure need to be focused on future proof solutions, leveraging a new generation of software and hardware technologies that meet their evolving cloud requirements," said Rich Napolitano, CEO of Plexxi. "We've seen growing demand for infrastructure tools that allow for a seamless experience between the public and private cloud and that will make the private cloud as easy to build, operate and consume as the public cloud. Plexxi Control 2.2 and Switch 3 provides the scalability, agility and simplicity cloud builders want and need to meet the new requirements of the next era of IT."

"We expect increased adoption of private and hybrid cloud architectures while adoption of off-premises public cloud slows over the next two years," said Cliff Grossner, Ph.D., Research Director, Data Center, Cloud and SDN at IHS.  "Cloud operators seeking the agility of the public cloud, are demanding their data center networks to be dynamically tuned under program control adapting to application traffic flows as provided by Plexxi's application centric approach."

Private cloud agility equaling or exceeding that of the public cloud is now possible through a combination of converged data center network infrastructure and workflow integration across compute, storage and network domains. The Plexxi Control 2.2 platform meets the challenge of this evolving cloud market by providing cloud builders with a new dynamic network control suite that is agile enough to meet the market's dramatically changing needs for connectivity within and between data centers.

Plexxi Control 2.2 Software Suite provides NEW tools for the cloud builder, including:

1. Plexxi Connect Cloud Integration Suite – Zero-touch, automated orchestration of VMware and OpenStack environments delivering unprecedented cloud insight, agility and business responsiveness while reducing the time required to deploy new services

a. Dynamic discovery and visualization of the virtualized environment 
b. Zero-touch provisioning for new data and application workloads 
c. Dynamic affinities and fabric control through integration and drag and drop capabilities

2. Dynamic Fabric Control – Simplified and highly dynamic traffic control providing unprecedented OpEx savings and efficiency by leveraging the results/input/policy provided from the Cloud Integration Suite

a. Fabric Control - enables zero-touch configuration through an understanding of the physical and logical meshed network topology to efficiently distribute traffic 
b. Workload Control – dynamically manages workload-specific traffic (vMotion, VSAN, file transfers. etc.) to ensure data and application workload SLAs are met
c. Flow Control – enables override capabilities for specific traffic flows delivering better security, improved traffic management and the creation of end-to-end managed paths instead of traditional next hop approaches

3. Layer 1 Traffic Distribution and Replication – Cost-effective ultra-low latency solution for time sensitive data like analytics, high performance computing, content distribution and high frequency trading

a. Layer 1 traffic distribution through the fabric for Ethernet and non Ethernet traffic such as Fibre Channel and Infiniband 
b. Point and click one-to-many data replication throughout the fabric for applications like market data distribution in the financial markets

4. Security Tool Suite – Reduces risk through defense in-depth leveraging existing security investments

a. Dynamic Security Affinity – mix and match layers 1-4 attributes for a more comprehensive security policy profile by physically isolating network traffic as defined at the network level and enforced network-wide
b. Service Chaining – intercept traffic flows for redirection to a security application or appliance for detailed analysis

Plexxi Switch 3 provides NEW density and increased capacity for the cloud builder, including:

1. 10/25/40/50/100 GbE connectivity and 3.2 Tb switching capacity for supporting massive data growth in cloud environments
2. Less than 400 ns latency to support an ever-increasing amount of time-sensitive applications
3. 1 RU form factor and low-power consumption for optimized cloud-based data center resources

Perseus, a world-wide provider of managed services for high-precision, high-speed connectivity recently adopted Plexxi Control 2.2 to expand its service operations into new markets and address the challenges of managing a globally distributed cloud network. The newly deployed solution leverages Control's dynamic fabric control functionality for improved fabric, workload and flow management along with L1 traffic distribution and replication for ultra low latency application requirements. The system delivers the scalability to support any size cloud at any Point of Presence.

"As a global managed service provider, our customers expect us to push the boundaries of technology innovation to continually improve the resiliency and agility that they depend on," said Andrew Kusminsky, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Strategy Officer at Perseus. "In Plexxi, we found a solution that helped us to rapidly expand globally while allowing us to scale for future growth and quickly pivot based on our customers' needs. We've just built the world's largest SDN-based on-demand services network that will allow us to quickly offer new products and services while enabling new partnerships at a rapid pace."

About Plexxi Inc.

Plexxi is a pioneer in converged network and application-centric data center infrastructure. Plexxi solutions enable Cloud Builders to harness the power of a single, simple platform to create private, hybrid cloud and data center networks. Plexxi's converged infrastructure and application defined networking solutions provide a comprehensive suite of tools, from hardware to management and application integrations that dynamically help applications to perform better and operate at the speed of business. Headquartered in Nashua, N.H., Plexxi has raised $83 million in financing from investors including Lightspeed Venture Partners, Matrix Partners and North Bridge Venture Partners. For more information, visit www.plexxi.com or follow us on Twitter @PlexxiInc.

Contact:

Jackie D'Andrea
InkHouse for Plexxi 
[email protected] 
781-966-4143

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SOURCE Plexxi

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