Brocade Internet Backbone Routers Selected as the Core for Highwinds’ Global Content Delivery Network Expansion

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Brocade^® (Nasdaq:BRCD) today announced that Highwinds, a global provider of content delivery, network and IP services, continued the expansion of its network infrastructure by leveraging the Brocade NetIron^® XMR Series of Internet backbone routers. With reliability, performance and density being the driving factors during the vendor selection process, Brocade technological advancements beat out the other competitive solutions that were evaluated.

“It was clear we need to rapidly scale our network to not only keep up with global bandwidth needs, but also to build in sufficient headroom to protect our investment. After evaluating all the major networking vendors, we chose Brocade because of its price/performance value, reliability and advanced routing capabilities.”

Content Delivery Network (CDN) providers face a number of challenges that require an advanced set of solutions in order to ensure successful and profitable operations. They operate in an environment where exponential growth requires the network to scale quickly and cost-efficiently. To help support their traffic growth, Highwinds decided to expand its infrastructure with Brocade IP networking solutions.

“Since we started our network expansion in 2007, we’ve seen exponential traffic growth primarily due to the proliferation of online video and mobile applications,” said Steve Liddell, president of content delivery and network services for Highwinds. “It was clear we need to rapidly scale our network to not only keep up with global bandwidth needs, but also to build in sufficient headroom to protect our investment. After evaluating all the major networking vendors, we chose Brocade because of its price/performance value, reliability and advanced routing capabilities.”

There are now nearly 30 Brocade NetIron XMR Internet backbone routers in operation connecting 10 of the 18 cities that make up the Highwinds RollingThunder^® network, which serves as the core of the company’s CDN infrastructure. Additional Brocade routers are being deployed in line with Highwinds’ sustained network growth and global expansion. In particular, Highwinds provides CDN services to media companies and content owners worldwide, delivering live and on-demand streaming video and large file downloads for millions of users every day.

Specifically, Highwinds selected the Brocade NetIron XMR Series because of its support for high-density 10 Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) and 100 GbE connections, and its ability to scale to even greater link aggregation capacities through its terabit-scale architecture. The NetIron XMR Series routers enable Highwinds to leverage the full capabilities of its Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS)-based backbone with Quality of Service (QoS) control mechanisms, allowing fast routing of traffic and fine-grained traffic control for multiple classes of content. The control, flexibility and scalability delivered through the NetIron XMR routers help ensure high-quality content delivery for Highwinds’ entire customer base.

Additional Information

Product Details

Brocade NetIron XMR Series Routers: http://www.brocade.com/sites/dotcom/products-solutions/products/ethernet-switches-routers/service-provider/product-details/netiron-xmr-series/index.page
Brocade Network Visibility and Security with sFlow capabilities:http://www.brocade.com/products-solutions/solutions/network-security/sFlow.page

Photos

Brocade NetIron XMR Series Router Photo http://www.flickr.com/photos/33437642@N02/5121612726/

About Brocade

Brocade (Nasdaq:BRCD) develops extraordinary networking solutions that enable today’s complex, data-intensive businesses to optimize information connectivity and maximize the business value of their data. For more information, visit www.brocade.com.

Brocade, the B-wing symbol, BigIron, DCFM, DCX, Fabric OS, FastIron, IronView, NetIron, SAN Health, ServerIron, TurboIron, and Wingspan are registered trademarks, and Brocade Assurance, Brocade NET Health, Brocade One, Extraordinary Networks, MyBrocade, and VCS are trademarks of Brocade Communications Systems, Inc., in the United States and/or in other countries. RollingThunder is a registered trademark of Highwinds Network Group, Inc. Other brands, products, or service names mentioned are or may be trademarks or service marks of their respective owners.