QLogic and Brocade First to Demonstrate Non-Volatile Memory Express Over Fabrics with Fibre Channel

Proof of Concept Extends Reach of NVMe Flash Drives Over Storage Area Network Fabric, Providing Foundation for Improved Storage Performance and Enhanced Fabric Integration


LAS VEGAS, Dec. 07, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- (Gartner Data Center, Infrastructure & Operations Management Conference) – Today, QLogic® and Brocade® demonstrated the industry’s first Non-Volatile Memory Express (NVMe) over Fabrics solution using Fibre Channel as the fabric. The demonstration is based on the draft specification of NVMe over Fabrics under definition by the NVM Express, Inc. organization and the draft Fibre Channel over NVMe (FC-NVMe) standards under definition by T11. The solution is being demonstrated in the Brocade booth #546 at the Gartner Data Center, Infrastructure & Operations Management Conference in Las Vegas.

NVMe provides a standards-based approach for PCI Express (PCIe) solid state drive (SSD) access that significantly improves performance by reducing latency and streamlining the command set while providing support for security and end-to-end data protection. NVMe over Fabrics defines an efficient mechanism to utilize these devices in large scale storage deployments and provides investment protection by allowing the latest in innovations and advances in low latency SSD flash to be used over proven Fibre Channel fabrics. This enables the NVMe storage devices to be shared, pooled and managed more effectively. The QLogic and Brocade FC-NVMe proof of concept (POC) is aimed at providing a foundation for lower latency and increased performance, while providing improved fabric integration for flash-based storage.

“Next-generation data intensive workloads are utilizing low latency NVMe flash-based storage to meet ever increasing user demand,” said Vikram Karvat, vice president of products, marketing and planning, QLogic. “By combining the lossless, highly deterministic nature of Fibre Channel with NVMe, FC-NVMe targets the performance, application response time, and scalability needed for next generation data centers, while leveraging existing Fibre Channel infrastructures. QLogic is pioneering this effort with industry leaders, which in time, will yield significant operational benefits to data center operators and IT managers.”

“The advent of FC-NVMe is critical to the evolution of the data center and Brocade has been at the forefront, being both a key contributor and editor for the T11 FC-NVMe architecture,” said Jack Rondoni, vice president of storage networking, Brocade. “As the data center continues to evolve, so does Fibre Channel-based technology. Fibre Channel plays a vital role in connecting flash-based devices and FC-NVMe will further strengthen this correlation.”

“The NVM Express organization is pleased to see the first demonstration of NVMe over Fabrics using Fibre Channel,” said Amber Huffman, president, NVM Express, Inc. “We are excited to collaborate with the T11 standards organization to develop a robust standard that works well for Fibre Channel-based storage environments.”

“FC-NVMe extends the reach of existing Fibre Channel investments, enabling data centers to continue to leverage the tens of billions of dollars of installed Fibre Channel equipment,” said Seamus Crehan, president of Crehan Research. “The popularity of Fibre Channel connected flash-based storage continues to grow strongly, ensuring the longevity and persistence of Fibre Channel connectivity in the data center of the future.”

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QLogic – the Ultimate in Performance

QLogic (Nasdaq:QLGC) is a global leader and technology innovator in high performance server and storage networking connectivity products. Leading OEMs and channel partners worldwide rely on QLogic for their server and storage networking solutions. For more information, visit www.qlogic.com.

About Brocade

Brocade (NASDAQ:BRCD) networking solutions help the world's leading organizations transition smoothly to a world where applications and information reside anywhere. (www.brocade.com)

About NVM Express, Inc.

NVM Express, Inc. was formed to define a new storage interface protocol, NVM Express, to enable the full performance potential provided by non-volatile memory storage technology, such as PCI Express solid state drives, in a standards-based approach to enable broad ecosystem adoption. NVM Express, Inc. is a non-profit organization and includes more than 80 member companies.

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