Modular appliances that collapse compute and storage into a single resource tier are taking the enterprise data center by storm, but QLogic doesn’t see hyperconvergence vendors like the recently funded Nutanix disrupting its traditional revenue streams any time soon. The network equipment maker announced this morning that it has joined forces with Brocade to develop and market “next generation” storage-area network (SAN) solutions based on 16Gbps Gen 5 Fibre Channel.

“QLogic and Brocade are in a unique position in the industry. Between our two companies, we have the ability to innovate on server, fabric and storage connectivity to deliver end-to-end optimized solutions for our customers,” noted Amit Vashi, the vice president of products and technology development at QLogic.

Despite disappointing financial performance, QLogic is dominating the FC space, with a massive 54 percent share of the market as of September 2013. The company is hoping to further its lead in through today’s partnership, which builds on its recent acquisition of Brocade’s network adapter business. No financial terms were disclosed.

The pair didn’t provide any details about their upcoming solutions, but a release noted that they will work to gain a head start on the sixth-generation industry standard for Fibre Channel, which is set to be released later this quarter and provides twice as much bandwidth as the current iteration. The push will see QLogic and Broadcom “align on product plans” for Gen 6 and jointly invest in accelerating the adoption of the technology among customers.

“Both companies have a long history of delivering innovative, high-performance connectivity solutions to address enterprise IT needs, and with this agreement we will accelerate innovation for the next generation of storage networking,” commented Brocade product development head Jack Rondoni.

image credit: Charlotte Bartlett