Brocade Snags Data Acceleration Specialist Silverback

Shared-asset data storage infrastructure provider Brocade announced Jan. 8 that is has acquired privately held Silverback Systems, a provider of network acceleration technologies, headquartered in Campbell, Calif.

The price of the acquisition was not revealed.

"The purchase price is not material, and therefore we are not disclosing the amount at this time," a Brocade spokesperson told eWEEK.

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Silverback, which has 38 employees and maintains design centers in Minnesota and in Netanya, Israel, develops RDMA-based network processors that accelerate the speed and performance of storage traffic in networked storage environments.

RDMA (Remote Direct Memory Access) allows data to move directly from the memory of one computer into that of another without involving either computers operating system. This permits high-throughput, low-latency networking, which is especially useful in massively parallel computer clusters.

"Silverbacks technology and expertise in iSCSI environments will help us to deliver a new set of cost-effective products that broaden the Brocade product portfolio and provide even more options and capabilities to our customers," said Dan Crain, chief technology officer at Brocade.

Through this strategic acquisition, Brocade is obtaining excellent engineering and technology expertise in an area where the company will continue to grow and expand its business, said Arun Taneja, founder and consulting analyst, Taneja Group.

"As data centers expand to include emerging technologies such as 10GbE and high performance IP connectivity, Brocade is demonstrating its commitment to continue to provide customers with a broad range and choice of high-performance networked storage solutions," Taneja said.

The acquisition is the third for Brocade in the past 10 months.

"The Silverback acquisition represents one in a series of steps Brocade will take in the coming months to expand our offerings into new markets," the Brocade spokesperson said.

Click here to read about Brocades pending acquisition of McData.

Brocade has already taken some big steps in the past year in its efforts to diversify.

In March 2006, Brocade acquired NuView, a maker of file management software headquartered in Houston, Texas. In August 2006, Brocade announced a definitive agreement to acquire McData, a maker of SAN (storage area network) hardware and software.

The McData acquisition remains subject to approval of Brocade and McData stockholders, regulatory approval, and other closing conditions.

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