Brocade & HP: Blade Brothers

Brocade Communications Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: BRCD) and Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ) have announced a partnership based on blade server switching.

Brocade is planning to embed its 4-Gbit/s Fibre Channel switches into HP BladeSystem enclosures by the second quarter of next year. The switch will be built on the same architecture as the Silkworm 4100 that Brocade announced last week (see Brocade First With 4-Gig, Last With CUP).

This is the first design win for the new ASIC on which Brocade has built its 4-Gbit/s switch. Also, Brocade's will be the first switch HP integrates into its blade server chassis.

The deal appears to be as much about jockeying for position in the blade computing arena as it is about technology. Indeed, for both Brocade and HP, it represents a counterpunch against rivals in the emerging blade server market (see On the Edge of a Blade).

Brocade is looking to grab the lions share of the blade switch market, which it forecasts will reach more than $150 million by 2006 (see Brocade Outlines Market Plans). Brocade also is striking back at QLogic Corp. (Nasdaq: QLGC), which has made inroads at HP at Brocade’s expense.HP recently decided to dual-source switches on low-end SAN systems by offering QLogic as well as Brocade, and made QLogic its switch partner in a new SAN system last week (see HP and QLogic Aim Low and QLogic Pulls a Switch Deal).

The rivalry between QLogic and Brocade is longstanding: Both supply IBM Corp. (NYSE: IBM) with blade server switches, and industry sources say QLogic was in the running for the deal Brocade and HP anounced today.

For HP, today’s announcement is a jab at IBM. Big Blue was first to offer a specialized switch for its blade servers through a partnership with Brocade in May (see IBM, Brocade Tie SAN Knot). Now, HP is first to announce a specialized 4-Gbit/s blade switch -- although there’s no guarantee the infrastructure for 4-Gbit/s performance will be in place when the switch becomes available. Brocade's switch automatically reverts to 2-Gbit/s if 4-Gbit/s isn't present in the network.

Brocade has its work cut out for it in preparing its switch for HP’s blades. The HP chassis is much smaller than IBM's, offering less space and power for the switch.

Still, neither Brocade nor HP seem daunted by the task ahead. Instead, the prospect of gaining a march on their competition appears to have both sides committed to making things work.— Dave Raffo, Senior Editor, Byte and Switch