QLogic updates FlexSuite adaptor and UAP switch lines

QLogic has updated its network adaptor and switch hardware as part of an initiative to help businesses transition network infrastructures.

The updates include additions to the FlexSuite network adaptor and Universal Access Point (UAP) switches.

The FlexSuite update includes support for 16Gb converged fibre channel and 10Gb Ethernet protocols. The PCIe 3.0-compliant adaptors are designed to support a wide range of network infrastructures.

Keith Grande, product manager for Qlogic's PCI host solutions group, told V3 that QLogic hopes to offer increased flexibility at a time when many companies are adopting new network protocols to accommodate virtualisation and cloud computing.

"We want to help customers consolidate and provide the switch that lets them run whatever traffic they want to run," he said. "We are providing the flexibility to grow and run whatever protocol they want."

This increased flexibility also features in Qlogic's 16Gb fibre channel UAP 5900 switches, which are designed for wide area network and storage area network deployments and sport up to 68 device ports.

Much like the FlexSuite adaptors, Qlogic hopes that the UAP 5900 switches allow companies to move to new protocols without slowing server performance.

"We are trying to take the complexity out of linking the servers to the network fabric," said Craig Alesso, director of product marketing at Qlogic's Network Solutions Group.

"It really eliminates the trade off of having to support today's networks and preparing for the future of the converged environment."