NEWS BRIEFS

San jose, CA — Brocade Communications Systems, Inc. (Brocade(R)) (Nasdaq: BRCD), the leading provider of Storage Area Networking infrastructure, announced today that it is hosting the first Brocade Fabric Threads Developer Conference this week in San Jose, California. More than 100 Brocade Fabric Access(TM) partners and Fabric Threads(TM) developers will join Brocade executives and technical professionals in the two-day forum designed for developers of SAN applications and technologies that leverage the Brocade SAN infrastructure. Brocade Fabric Access partners include leading application and technology providers such as BMC Software, Commvault, Connex, EMC, HighGround, IBM NUMA-Q, InterSAN, Netreon, Prisa Networks, StorageApps, and VERITAS Software. In addition, BMC and HighGround will be demonstrating SAN-designed management applications during the conference.

Through the use of Fabric Access, the application programming interface (API) to the Brocade Fabric operating system (Fabric OS(TM)), Fabric Access partners can more easily develop applications and products to enhance SAN functionality, simplify SAN management, and further SAN interoperability. Brocade Fabric Threads developers include leading providers of SAN hardware and software solutions that use the Brocade SAN infrastructure to facilitate interoperability in multi-vendor storage environments.

Using Brocade SilkWorm(R) switches, customers can connect servers with storage devices through a SAN, creating a highly reliable and scalable environment for storage applications. Brocade switches are based on the Brocade Fabric OS, which is an intelligent, distributed operating system for Brocade-based SANs. The Fabric OS provides a feature-rich platform for SAN-designed applications and offers advanced features for proactive SAN management and monitoring, enabling applications to dynamically discover physical components in a SAN and monitor SAN fabric resources. Brocade makes the value-added features of the Fabric OS available to its key partners through Fabric Access.

“We are delighted to welcome our developer partners to the first Brocade developer conference. Together with our partners, who are leading the way in delivering new SAN capabilities, we continue to expand the options for Brocade customers,” said Jack Cuthbert, Brocade vice president of Worldwide Sales, Marketing, and Support Services. “By utilizing the Fabric OS and Fabric Access, our partners can leverage the intelligence in Brocade-based SANs and offer new levels of SAN management functionality to their customers.”

About the Brocade Fabric Threads Developer Program

The Brocade Fabric Threads Developer program is designed to provide SAN hardware and software developers with the tools and resources to successfully complete interoperability testing with Brocade SilkWorm Fibre Channel Fabric switches, the Brocade Fabric OS, and Brocade Fabric Services. In addition, ongoing cooperation and access to early product releases will facilitate interoperability as new products are introduced. Developers of SAN applications and products can become Brocade Fabric Threads members after completing rigorous testing in specified SAN configurations. Benefits of the Fabric Threads program include access to technical support, pre-release software, and cooperative marketing programs.

The Fabric Threads program complements the Brocade Fabric Access partner program and the Fabric Aware program, which fosters heterogeneous, end-to-end interoperability of all storage components in an enterprise SAN. Each of these programs is designed to simplify the management of storage area networks and extend interoperability across leading products and services.

About Brocade Communications Systems, Inc.

Brocade is the leading provider of Storage Area Networking infrastructure. The Brocade SilkWorm(R) family of Fibre Channel switches and software is designed to optimize data availability in the storage enterprise. Using Brocade solutions, companies can simplify the implementation of Storage Area Networks (SANs), reduce the total cost of ownership of data storage environments, and improve network and application efficiency and performance.

Brocade is committed to maintaining open, standards-based solutions. Leading systems, applications, and storage vendors have selected Brocade to provide a networking foundation for their SAN solutions, including Amdahl, ATL, CNT, Compaq Computer, Dell Computer, Dot Hill Systems, EMC Corporation, Fujitsu, Ltd., Fujitsu Siemens Computers, Groupe Bull, HP, IBM, Intergraph Computer Systems, MTI Technology Corp., NCR, NEC, Network Appliance, SGI, StorageTek and Unisys. In addition, Brocade counts industry leaders ADVA Optical Networking, BMC Software, Cisco Systems, Computer Associates, Emulex, HighGround Systems, Hitachi Data Systems Inc., JNI Corporation, Legato, LSI Logic, ONI Systems, StorageNetworks, Tivoli Systems and VERITAS Software among its strategic partners. For more information, visit the Brocade website at http://www.Brocade.com or contact the company at [email protected].

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