EMC Corporation, the world leader in information infrastructure solutions, today introduced the newest addition to its EMC(R) Connectrix(R) family of switches and directors as well as new storage networking security and management capabilities.

The EMC Connectrix ED-DCX-4S-B, a new midsize backbone director, based on OEM technology from Brocade, is a multipurpose core and edge network switching platform designed to help facilitate server, storage area network (SAN), and data center consolidation while helping to reduce IT infrastructure and administrative costs. The director scales to 192 ports at up to full 8 Gbit/sec speed through its four modular blade slots and leverages the same architecture and delivers the same high levels of performance, scalability, and energy efficiency as its larger predecessor, the Connectrix DCX director.

The Connectrix DCX-4S provides a highly robust platform in a smaller form factor for enterprise data centers supporting both open systems and System z environments. It can be deployed as a lower-cost backbone for midsize enterprise network environments that do not require the throughput and port density of larger models. For larger networks, it can be deployed at the network edge to provide complete backbone-class capabilities throughout the data center fabric. The DCX-4S is also compatible with other FOS-based Connectrix products, providing investment protection and seamless integration into existing environments.

The Connectrix DCX-4S also provides a full suite of Adaptive Networking features that help optimize fabric performance while maximizing service levels for critical applications. It leverages a future-built multi-protocol architecture for consolidating server connectivity as low-latency, lossless technology options such as Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) and Converged Enhanced Ethernet (CEE) emerge.

"The new Connectrix DCX-4S backbone is ideal for customers who require a cost-effective enterprise-class backbone director for physical or virtual data center initiatives," said Barbara Robidoux, EMC Vice President, Storage Product Marketing.

"The EMC Connectrix family continues to be expanded and provides customers with a wide range of storage networking capabilities, proven interoperability, centralized management and the industry's best customer service."