FTC approves Broadcom Brocade buy – if Cisco switch tech is walled off

I have learned ....

I hae learned from a correspondent who must remain anonymous that Brocade design their own ASICs for Fibre Channel switching. The actual chips may have been fabbed by IBM.

Brocade reckoned that having its own custom ASICs enables lower latency, more sophisticated monitoring functions, better power/cooling requirements as well as more reliable kit.

My correspondent suggests that we might think it strange that Cisco is seeking protection when historically it's played catch up with every generation of Brocade kit whilst trying to strangle FC as a technology.

Protected from itself ,but not foreign governments.