As organizations drive to transform and virtualize their IT infrastructures to reduce costs, and manage risk, networking is pivotal to success. Optimizing network performance, availability, adaptability, security, and cost is essential to achieving the maximum benefit from your infrastructure.

In this IBM® Redbooks® publication, we address these requirements:

• Expertise to plan and design networks with holistic consideration of servers, storage, application performance, and manageability

• Networking solutions that enable investment protection with performance and cost options that match your environment

• Technology and expertise to design and implement and manage network security and resiliency

• Robust network management software for integrated, simplified management that lowers operating costs of complex networks

IBM and Brocade have entered into an agreement to provide expanded network technology choices with the new IBM b-type Ethernet Switches and Routers, to provide an integrated end-to-end resiliency and security framework.

Combined with the IBM vast data center design experience and the Brocade networking expertise, this portfolio represents the ideal convergence of strength and intelligence. For organizations striving to transform and virtualize their IT infrastructure, such a combination can help you reduce costs, manage risks, and prepare for the future. This book is meant to be used along with "IBM b-type Data Center Networking: Product Introduction and Initial Setup," SG24-7785.

Chapter 1. Smarter data center

Chapter 2. Product introduction

Chapter 3. Networking introduction

Chapter 4. Making the network highly available

Chapter 5. Quality of Service

Chapter 6. Data Center Virtualization

Chapter 7. Security

Chapter 8. Management

Chapter 9. IP Storage Area Networks

Chapter 10. Data center network design

Chapter 11. Network design for the enterprise

Chapter 12. Voice over IP

Chapter 13. Network design for high performance computing

Chapter 14. IBM networking and systems solutions

Appendix A. IBM Ethernet in the green data center

Appendix B. Introduction to the IBM b-type g-series Ethernet Switch