Marking the debut product in Brocade’s new Data Center Fabric architecture is DCX. “At 230 pounds, the Brocade DCX Backbone would be on the lighter end of middle linebackers in the NFL, but it’s well-built to fill the middle of a storage network,” senior analyst Mario Apicella begins. Apicella had the chance to visit Brocade’s labs to put the DCX through its paces. “As impressive as the raw specs of the DCX may be, the DCX’s most innovative features are software functions that provide better control of bandwidth allocation, let you restrict access to specific ports according to security policies, and allow you to create independent domains to separately manage different areas of the fabric.” That said, Apicella most appreciated the effort to bring more intelligence to the fabric. “As impressed as I was by my first experience with the DCX, it would be deceiving to think that future requirements would be satisfied by the cocktail of networking muscle and smart management tools that Brocade injected into this debut version.” Read the full review.