Brocade SLX 9240 Layer 3 Switch

As data centers and cloud service providers embrace new highperformance servers and distributed applications, they increasingly need dense 100/40 GbE switches for leaf-and-spine topologies. Traditionally, infrastructure has been slow to evolve, and it can be a barrier to innovation. With flexibility at all layers of the data center stack, IT teams can drive agility. The Brocade® SLX® 9240 Switch is designed to help organizations stay ahead of this application- and data-driven network transformation without compromising performance.

Programmable Switching Platform

The Brocade SLX 9240 delivers the high-density 100 GbE connectivity required by high-end enterprise and cloud data centers. The underlying hardware is programmable, enabling a faster transition to emerging protocols and new technologies. Workload visibility combined with end-to-end network visibility helps infrastructure teams continue to improve SLAs as they increase network virtualization. In addition, the Brocade SLX 9240, coupled with Brocade Workflow Composer™ and Brocade Workflow Composer Automation Suites, simplifies end-to-end network management, including turnkey provisioning, validation, and troubleshooting of workflows.

Brocade SLX 9240 Overview

The Brocade SLX 9240 is a fixed 100/40 GbE spine switch in a 1U form factor that supports 24 MB of dynamically shared packet buffer and an overall throughput of 3.2 Tbps/1.3 Bpps. It can connect to either 40 GbE or 100 GbE uplinks from leaf switches, such as the Brocade SLX 9140. By leveraging this high-density switch, data center networks can dramatically improve power, space, and cooling efficiencies, even at scale. A programmable ASIC enables the adoption of new protocols and technologies through an OS, rather than a forklift upgrade. Payload timestamping improves the accuracy of performance SLA setting and measurement.

Modular, Virtualized Operating System

The Brocade SLX 9240 runs Brocade SLX-OS, a fully virtualized Linux-based operating system that delivers processlevel resiliency and fault isolation. Brocade SLX-OS supports advanced switching features and is highly programmable with support for REST API with the YANG data model, Python, and NETCONF- enabling full lifecycle automation with Brocade Workflow Composer. It is based on Ubuntu Linux, which offers all the advantages of open source and access to commonly used Linux tools.

Brocade SLX-OS runs in a virtualized environment over a KVM hypervisor, with the operating system compartmentalized and abstracted from the underlying hardware. The core operating system functions for the Brocade SLX 9240 are hosted in the system VM.

This approach provides clean failure domain isolation for the switch operating system while leveraging the x86 ecosystem-thereby removing single-vendor lock-in for system tools development and delivery. In addition, it supports a guest VM, which is an open KVM environment for running third-party and customized monitoring, troubleshooting, and analytics applications.
Product Type: Layer 3 Switch
Interfaces/Ports
Uplink Port: No
Modular: Yes
Stack Port: No
Port/Expansion Slot Details: 32 x 100 Gigabit Ethernet Uplink
Media & Performance
Media Type Supported: Optical Fiber
Ethernet Technology:

• 100 Gigabit Ethernet
• 40 Gigabit Ethernet

Network Technology:

• 100GBase-X
• 40GBase-X

I/O Expansions
Number of Total Expansion Slots: 32
Expansion Slot Type:

• QSFP28
• QSFP+

Shared SFP Slot: No
Network & Communication
Layer Supported: 2
Management & Protocols
Manageable: Yes
Power Description
Power Source: Power Supply
Redundant Power Supply Supported: Yes
Physical Characteristics
Compatible Rack Unit: 1U
Form Factor:

• Rack-mountable
• Desktop

Height: 1.7″
Width: 17.3″
Depth: 17.5″
Weight (Approximate): 20 lb