Brocade® Announcements Fuel Speculation
In the past thirty days Broadcom has made a couple of significant moves. First, it referenced an as of yet un-announced future Generation 7 (Gen 7) director that will be twice as fast as the current two-year-old 16 Gbps X6, Gen 6, director. No mention was made of the exact release date or compatibility with Gen 6, only the comment, “Gen 7, which will double the speeds yet again, is already on the horizon”.
Second, Broadcom has announced End-of-Life (EOL) for the Brocade® 300 SAN Switch. The 300 is an 8 Gbps Gen 4 switch which has remained an active product throughout the 8 years that Brocade® has sold the newer 16 Gbps Gen 5 product line.
Could the movement of the Brocade® 300 to EOL designation along with the whisper announcement of a coming 64 Gbps Gen 7 director be signaling that Broadcom is simplifying its product offerings and at the same time signaling that it will finally get around to officially End-of-Lifing it’s now 8-year-old Gen 5 product line? Stay tuned, only time will tell. But clearly Broadcom does not plan to stand still after its Brocade® acquisition.
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