This week, Brocade rolled out software advancements to its Brocade ServerIron ADX Series of cloud -optimized delivery switches. Brocade's stated goal is to help customers gain greater application control and service scalability .

The latest iteration of Brocade's ServerIron ADX comes equipped with a new OpenScript engine, an open platform that sets the stage for innovation. That is where the "predicting the future" comes in. The OpenScript engine can intelligently predict the effect of a script on a network before the script is deployed into production.

"Basically, we ported the Perl programming language to the ADX application processor so that you can use APIs to control application delivery with a script," said Greg Hankins, a global solutions architect at Brocade. "This means you get all the Perl goodness that you know and love for writing custom scripts to read or write layer three to seven headers based on your particular application needs."

Customizing Services

Keith Stewart, director of product management at Brocade, stressed that OpenScript allows network operators to bring new services to market faster, and tailor them to the specific needs of their customers and business models.

"Unlike other closed and proprietary systems, Brocade OpenScript provides the scalability that network operators need, built on top of an open, standards-based Perl platform," Stewart said. "Brocade OpenScript gives operators the flexibility they need without locking them into a proprietary implementation."

Brocade OpenScript and Brocade ADX are key elements of Brocade's strategy for next-generation data centers, according to Stewart. He pointed out that Brocade is an active supporter of the Open Networking Foundation, and is building the enabling platforms for a world where applications and data can reside anywhere in the cloud.

IPv6 Improvements

IPv6 increases the pool of global IP addresses and simplifies network administration, which leads to resolution of security and mobility issues and improved quality of service. With that in mind, the latest ADX also offers performance enhancements for Ipv6, Brocade said.

ADX version 12.4 doubles the IPv6 performance of ADX and delivers consistent services across IPv4 and Ipv6, Brocade said. The company said its ADX switch also enables a seamless transition to IPv6 while preserving IPv4 assets through standards-based IPv4-to-IPv6 translation technology. That means organizations can migrate to IPv6 while offering consistent services to clients across both IPv4 and IPv6.

Brocade also created the OpenScript community. It provides a social-networking space for real-time discussions, solutions, technical guidance, and configuration examples for the OpenScript engine.

"A service provider's critical asset is its network; this makes reliability, scalability and performance critical factors for its success," said Alan Weckel, senior director for Dell'Oro Group. "The importance to predetermine the impact network load on their application delivery infrastructure is becoming critical as service providers not only create new revenue generating services but also mitigate network implications before any traffic passes through their application delivery infrastructure."