Overview:

Today’s organizations expect their enterprise campus LANs to deliver more services to more users at a lower cost. These services include next-generation business applications as well as anytime, anywhere access for mobile devices. At the same time, campus LANs must be able to scale easily to meet future demands and efficiently evolve within dynamic business environments.

Brocade ICX 6430 and 6450 Switches provide enterprise-class stackable LAN switching solutions to meet the growing demands of campus networks. Designed for small to medium-size enterprises, branch offices, and distributed campuses, these intelligent, scalable edge switches deliver enterprise-class functionality at an affordable price—without compromising performance and reliability. The Brocade ICX 6430 and 6450 are available in 12-, 24-, and 48-port 10/100/1000 Mbps models and 1 Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) or 10 GbE dual-purpose uplink/stacking ports—with or without IEEE 802.3af Power over Ethernet (PoE) and 802.3at Power over Ethernet Plus (PoE+)—to support enterprise edge networking, wireless mobility, and IP communications.

• Offers enterprise-class stackable switching at an entry-level price, allowing organizations to buy what they need now and easily scale as demand grows and new technologies emerge
• Delivers unprecedented feature/price value for enterprise applications, including Unified Communications (UC) and mobility, with 10 Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) and PoE/PoE+
• Provides unmatched availability for low-cost switching with redundant uplink/ stacking ports, hitless stacking failover, and configurable power redundancy
• Simplifies network operations and protects investments with the Brocade HyperEdge Architecture, enabling consolidated network management and advanced services-sharing across heterogeneous switches
• Offers attractive 12-port, compact, and enterpriseclass fanless switch models for deployments outside of the wiring closet
• Includes the Brocade Assurance Limited Lifetime Warranty and three years of technical support

Built for Maximum Cost-Efficiency and Investment Protection

With Brocade ICX 6430 and 6450 Switches, organizations can buy only what they need today and easily scale user ports and services as their network requirements evolve. RUCKUS offers maximum investment protection through flexible software licensing options that bring advanced services and performance to lower-cost ports. The RUCKUS HyperEdge Architecture, for example, allows premium switch features and services to be shared with entry-level switches (Brocade ICX 6450 only).

Brocade ICX 6430 and 6450 Switches come with three years of technical support from the RUCKUS Technical Assistance Center and software maintenance updates. With these capabilities, organizations gain peace of mind while freeing up IT budget and resources to grow their businesses.

Automated Deployment and Management

Brocade ICX 6430 and 6450 Switches help simplify network deployment and management by enabling auto-discovery of new Brocade ICX switches within the stack. IT organizations can autoconfigure switches using pre-set instructions on the network. To further simplify management, these stacked switches collectively utilize only a single IP address and offer transparent forwarding across the stack.

By embedding sFlow capabilities into the Brocade ICX 6450, RUCKUS delivers an “always-on” monitoring technology that operates with wire-speed performance. sFlow dramatically reduces implementation complexity compared to traditional network monitoring solutions that rely on mirrored ports, probes, and line-tap technologies.

High Availability and Resiliency

RUCKUS Ethernet switch stacking technology helps IT organizations meet growing user demand by delivering high availability through realtime state synchronization across the stack and instantaneous hitless failover support. In addition, organizations can use hot-insertion and removal of stack members to avoid interrupting network service when adding or replacing a switch. High-performance Link Aggregation Groups (LAGs) increase 10 GbE uplink bandwidth and redundancy to the core, giving users uninterrupted high performance to support the most demanding applications. Brocade ICX 6430 and 6450 Switches also offer an external power supply for added resiliency and increased PoE/PoE+ port availability (see Figure 1).

Figure 1: The optional Brocade ICX 6400-EPS1500 is an external power supply source to provide additional power to the Brocade ICX switches (except the Brocade ICX 6430-C, 6450-C, and 6430-24). It also can be used for system power redundancy and increased PoE/PoE+ power budget to enable additional PoE/PoE+ ports. Each Brocade ICX 6400-EPS1500 can connect up to three Brocade ICX 6430 and 6450 Switches.

Stacking Technology for the Most Demanding Campus LAN Environments

RUCKUS Ethernet switch stacking technology makes it possible to stack up to eight Brocade ICX 6450 Switches into a single logical switch (except the Brocade ICX 6450-C), providing simple and robust expandability for future growth at the network edge. This stacked switch has only a single IP address to simplify management and offers transparent forwarding across a pool of up to 384 1 GbE ports and 32 10 GbE ports. When new switches join the stack, they automatically inherit the stack’s existing configuration file, enabling true plug-and-play network expansion. Flexible licensing of 1 GbE to 10 GbE ports for uplink and stacking allows organizations to optimize network performance based on specific requirements. RUCKUS stacking technology also delivers high availability, enabling instantaneous hitless failover to a standby stack controller if the master stack controller fails. In addition, organizations can use hot-insertion and removal of stack members to avoid interrupting network services.

For networks with lower bandwidth requirements, the Brocade ICX 6430 offers the same rugged stacking capability (except the Brocade ICX 6430-C) at a reduced price, providing a lower-density solution of up to 192 1 GbE access ports with 16 1 GbE uplink and stacking ports, and a maximum stack height of four switches.

Built to Power Next-Generation Edge Devices
The Brocade ICX 6430 and 6450 can deliver both PoE power and data across network connections, providing a single-cable solution for the latest edge devices. Brocade ICX switches are compatible with industry-standard Voice over IP (VoIP) equipment as well as legacy IP phones. In addition, they support the PoE+ standard (IEEE 802.3at) to provide up to Class 4 (30 watts) power to each device. This highpowered solution simplifies wiring for next-generation edge devices, such as video conferencing and VoIP phones, surveillance cameras, and 802.11ac wireless Access Points (APs). The PoE capability reduces the number of power receptacles and power adapters while increasing reliability and wiring flexibility. The Brocade ICX 6450 can provide PoE power to all ports and PoE+ (30 watts) to all ports when an external power supply is deployed.

Plug-and-Play Operations for Powered Devices
Brocade ICX switches support the IEEE 802.1AB Link Layer Discovery Protocol (LLDP) and ANSI TIA 1057 Link Layer Discovery Protocol-Media Endpoint Discovery (LLDP-MED) standards that enable organizations to deploy interoperable multivendor solutions for Unified Communications (UC). Configuring IP endpoints such as VoIP phones can be a complex task, requiring manual and time-consuming configuration. LLDP and LLDP-MED provide a standard, open method for configuring, discovering, and managing network infrastructure.

The LLDP protocols also reduce operational costs by simplifying and automating network operations. For example, LLDP-MED provides an open protocol for configuring Quality of Service (QoS), security policies, Virtual LAN (VLAN) assignments, PoE power levels, and service priorities.

Compact Switch Solution for Deployment Outside the Wiring Closet
Brocade ICX 6430-C and 6450-C Compact Switches offer enterprise-class LAN switching capabilities, performance, reliability, security, and manageability in a small form factor with fanless operation for deployment outside the wiring closet. It is ideal for deployment in classrooms, retail locations, factories, small offices, workgroup, and space-constrained environments. The Brocade ICX 6430-C and 6450-C are available in a 12-port 10/100/1000 Mbps model with IEEE 802.3af PoE and 802.3at PoE+ support on four ports plus four additional 1 GbE uplink ports. Additionally, the Brocade ICX 6450-C can be powered either from its internal AC power supply or with PoE/ PoE+ power, coming from one or both of its two RJ45 uplink ports, providing increased deployment flexibility by enabling the switch to be deployed in areas where no AC power outlet is present.

In the enterprise, Brocade ICX 6430-C and 6450-C Compact Switches can be used to extend the reach of the network outside the wiring closet, bringing connectivity to more users and supporting additional wireless AP deployment without running more wires. Additionally, the Brocade ICX 6450-C offers Layer 3 routing and GRE support, enabling secure and flexible deployment in remote areas. To simplify deployment in-situ, Brocade ICX 6430-C and 6450- C Compact Switches offer flexible mounting options, such as wall brackets and a magnetic mount kit.

Cost-Optimized Cooling Options
The Brocade ICX 6430 48-port and Brocade ICX 6450 24- and 48-port switches offer industry-standard side-to-back airflow with quiet fans at less than 40 dB (except the Brocade ICX 6450-48P). Brocade ICX 6430-C, 6450-C, and 6430-24 Switches are available in a fanless configuration, helping to minimize sound and costs for deployments where users are present, such as classrooms and open office environments.

Basic Layer 3 Capabilities
Brocade ICX 6450/6450-C Switches offer an upgrade option to bring Layer 3 capabilities to the network edge, reducing complexity and enhancing the reliability of enterprise networks.

Data Center ToR Server Connectivity
The Brocade ICX 6430 and 6450 are designed to fit in server racks by consuming only one rack unit. In data center environments where most servers are 1 GbE-capable, the Brocade ICX 6430 and 6450 provide a compact and cost-effective 1 GbE Top-of-Rack (ToR) switch by simply connecting the 1 GbE Network Interface Cards (NICs) in the servers to the Brocade ICX 6430 and 6450 1 GbE ports (see Figure 4). This configuration uses 10 GbE links (Brocade ICX 6450) or 1 GbE links (Brocade ICX 6430) to connect to Brocade ICX data center aggregation switches.

Simplified, Secure Standards-Based Management and Monitoring

Brocade ICX 6430 and 6450 Switches provide simplified, standardsbased management capabilities that help organizations reduce administrative time and effort while securing their networks.

sFlow-based “Always-On” Network Monitoring
sFlow is a standards-based network export protocol (RFC 3176) that addresses many of the challenges that network managers face today. By embedding sFlow into the Brocade ICX 6450/6450-C Switches, RUCKUS delivers an “always-on” technology that operates with wirespeed performance. sFlow dramatically reduces implementation costs compared to traditional network monitoring solutions that rely on mirrored ports, probes, and line-tap technologies. Moreover, sFlow gives organizations a full, enterprise-wide monitoring capability for every port in the network.

Simplified Deployment with Auto-Configuration
Brocade ICX 6430 and 6450 Switches support auto-configuration, simplifying deployment with a truly plug-and-play experience. Organizations can use this feature to automate IP address and feature configuration without requiring a highly trained network engineer onsite. When the switches power up, they automatically receive an IP address and configuration from DHCP and Trivial File Transport Protocol (TFTP) servers. At this time, the switches can also automatically receive a software update to be at the same code revision as currently installed switches.

Open-Standards Management
Brocade ICX 6430 and 6450 Switches include an industry-standard Command Line Interface (CLI) and support Secure Shell (SSHv2), Secure Copy (SCP), and SNMPv3 to restrict and encrypt management communications to the system. In addition, support for Terminal Access Controller Access Control System (TACACS/TACACS+) and RADIUS authentication helps ensure secure operator access. Embedded Web management is also provided through a GUI-based device interface, and organizations can use Brocade Network Advisor to achieve full device and network management visibility.

Out-of-Band Management
Brocade ICX 6430 and 6450 Switches include a 10/100/1000 Mbps RJ-45 Ethernet port dedicated for out-of-band management, providing a remote path to manage the switches, regardless of the status or configuration of the data ports.

Unified Wire/Wireless Network Management with Brocade Network Advisor

Managing enterprise campus networks continues to become more complex due to the growth in services that rely on wired and wireless networks. Services such as Internet, e-mail, video conferencing, realtime collaboration, and distance learning all have specific configuration and management requirements. At the same time, organizations face increasing demand to provide uninterrupted services for highquality voice and Unified Communications (UC), wireless mobility, and multimedia applications.

To reduce complexity and the time spent managing these environments, the easy-to-use Brocade Network Advisor discovers, manages, and deploys configurations to groups of IP devices. By using Brocade Network Advisor, organizations can configure Virtual LANs (VLANs) within the network, manage wireless access points, and execute commands on specific IP devices or groups of IP devices. sFlow-based proactive monitoring is ideal for performing network-wide troubleshooting, generating traffic reports, and gaining visibility into network activity from the edge to the core. Brocade Network Advisor centralizes management of the entire family of RUCKUS wired products.