Brocade X6 Directors

Brocade X6 Directors

  • Accelerates application response time by up to 71 percent across 32 Gbps links
  • Built for large enterprise networks, the 14U Brocade X6-8 has eight vertical blade slots to provide up to 384 32 Gbps Fibre Channel device ports and 32 additional 128 Gbps Brocade UltraScale Inter-Chassis Link (ICL) ports.

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High Performance
High Scalability and Flexibility
User-Centered Design

  • Accelerates application response time by up to 71 percent across 32 Gbps links
  • Consolidates infrastructure with 128 Gbps Brocade UltraScale ICL connectivity for simpler, flatter, low-latency fabrics
  • Automatically detects degraded application or device performance through integrated network sensors

  • Enhances operational stability, maximizes application performance, and increases business agility with enterprise-class Gen 6 directors

  • Simplifies end-to-end management of large-scale environments by automating monitoring and diagnostics
  • Simplifies configuration automation and enables integrated advanced services across the Fabric with standard REST APIs
  • Mitigates risk with backward-compatibility while further protecting future investments with Gen 7-ready support
  • ImgPlaceholder
    High Performance
    • Accelerates application response time by up to 71 percent across 32 Gbps links
    • Consolidates infrastructure with 128 Gbps Brocade UltraScale ICL connectivity for simpler, flatter, low-latency fabrics
    • Automatically detects degraded application or device performance through integrated network sensors
  • ImgPlaceholder
    High Scalability and Flexibility
    • Enhances operational stability, maximizes application performance, and increases business agility with enterprise-class Gen 6 directors
  • ImgPlaceholder
    User-Centered Design
    • Simplifies end-to-end management of large-scale environments by automating monitoring and diagnostics
    • Simplifies configuration automation and enables integrated advanced services across the Fabric with standard REST APIs
    • Mitigates risk with backward-compatibility while further protecting future investments with Gen 7-ready support

Tech Specs

Chassis Single chassis: The Brocade X6-8 provides up to 384 32 Gbps ports or a 512-port equivalent with 128 Gbps (4×32 Gbps) UltraScale ICL ports (32 Gbps×4 QSFP ports). The Brocade X6-4 provides up to 192 32 Gbps ports or a 256-port equivalent with 16 UltraScale ICL ports.
Each provides support for (E, F, D, M, SIM, AE, and EX) Fibre Channel ports using 48-port 32 Gbps Fibre Channel blades.
Control processor Redundant (active/standby) control processor modules
Scalability Full-fabric architecture with a maximum of 239 switches
Certified maximum 6,000 active devices per switch; 56 switches, 19 hops in Brocade Fabric OS (FOS) fabrics; larger fabrics certified as required
Fibre Channel brades Brocade FC32-48 port blade provides 48 ports of 32 Gbps Gen 6 Fibre Channel
Performance Fibre Channel:
  • 4 Gbps line speed, full duplex
  • 8 Gbps line speed, full duplex
  • 16 Gbps line speed, full duplex
  • 32 Gbps line speed, full duplex
Autosensing of 4, 8, 16, and 32 Gbps port speeds depending on SFPs used. Speed matching between 4, 8, 16, and 32 Gbps port speeds. 10 Gbps port speeds with dedicated SFPs.
ISL trunking Frame-based trunking with up to eight 32 Gbps ports per ISL trunk ; up to 256 Gbps per ISL trunk
Exchange-based load balancing across ISLs with DPS included in Brocade FOS
UltraScale ICL trunking Chassis-to-chassis linkage through connectors on the Core Routing (CR) blade Can configure the following maximum QSFPs per trunk depending on blade type, connecting:
  • Up to four 4×32 Gbps QSFP ports in a trunk group to form a 512 Gbps trunk between two Brocade CR32-4 blades. For trunks containing four or fewer QSFP ports, ports in a trunk must be located in the same port group on each blade
  • Up to four 4×32 Gbps QSFP ports in a trunk group to form a 512 Gbps trunk between a Brocade CR32-4 and CR32-8 blade. For trunks containing four or fewer QSFP ports, ports in a trunk must be located in the same port group on each blade. A minimum of two QSFP connections are required for a trunk, and up to four 4×16 Gbps QSFP trunks between pairs of Brocade CR32-8 (CR32-4) and CR16-8 (CR16-4).
Multichassis with UltraScale ICL ports Up to 4,608 non-blocking 32 Gbps Fibre Channel ports; UtraScale ICL ports (32 for 8-slot or 16 per 4-slot chassis, optical QSFP) connect up to nine chassis in a full mesh topology or up to 12 chassis in a core-edge topology.
UltraScale ICL bandwidth Brocade X6-8: 4.096 Tbps; 32 UltraScale ICL ports provide the equivalent of 128 32 Gbps ports. Each UltraScale ICL port provides 128 Gbps bandwidth over a QSFP (32 Gbps×4) link.
Brocade X6-4: 2.048 Tbps; 16 UltraScale ICL ports provide the equivalent of 64 32 Gbps ports. Each UltraScale ICL port provides 128 Gbps bandwidth over a QSFP (32 Gbps×4) link.
Both models: Frame-based trunking is enabled between four UltraScale ICLs. DPS distributes exchanges across all frame trunks.
Chassis bandwidth Brocade X6-8: 12.2 Tbps per chassis (384 ports×32 Gbps) data rate + 4.096 Tbps UltraScale ICL bandwidth (32×128 Gbps)
Brocade X6-4: 6.1 Tbps per chassis (192 ports×32 Gbps) data rate + 2.048 Tbps UltraScale ICL bandwidth (16×128 Gbps)
Slot bandwidth 1,536 Gbps (line rate)32 Gbps: Brocade G620 requires Brocade hot-pluggable SFP+, LC
Switch latency Brocade FC32-48 blade at Gen 6 32 Gbps speeds: <900 ns (including FEC); any-port-to-any-port local switching and 2.7 μs blade to blade at 32 Gbps, cut-through routing
Maximum frame size 2,112-byte payload
Frame buffers 15,000 per switching ASIC
Classes of service Class 2, Class 3, Class F (inter-switch frames)
Fibre Channel port types Brocade FC32-48 port blade: F_Port, E_Port, EX_Port, M_Port, SIM, and D_Port
NOTE: Self-discovery is based on switch type (U_Port) with an optional port-type control.
Data traffic types Brocade FC32-48 port blade: Supports hot-pluggable Brocade Fibre Channel SFP+ at 32 Gbps SWL/LWL and SFP+ at 16 Gbps SWL/LWL
Core Routing (CR) blades, Brocade CR32-4 and CR32-8: Support hot-pluggable Brocade Fibre Channel QSFP at 4×32 Gbps SWL, 4×16 Gbps SWL QSFP for ICL connections
USB One USB port per control processor for firmware download, support save, and configuration upload or download
Fabric services Adaptive Networking (Traffic Isolation, QoS); BB credit recovery; Brocade Advanced Zoning (default zoning, port/WWN zoning, peer zoning, target-driven zoning, broadcast zoning); Dynamic Path Selection (DPS); Extended Fabrics; FDMI; Flow Vision; Frame Redirection; FSPF; Integrated Routing; ISL Trunking; Management Server; Monitoring and Alerting Policy Suite (MAPS); Configuration and Operational Monitoring Policy Automation Services Suite (COMPASS); N_Port Trunking; NPIV; NTP v3; Port Fencing; Registered State Change Notification (RSCN); Reliable Commit Service (RCS); Simple Name Server; Virtual Fabrics (Logical Switch, Logical Fabric)

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