Brocade IP Legacy Switching Maintenance
side by side.

MLX series · carrier-class routing

MLX-4 · MLX-8 · MLX-16 · MLX-32 · MLXe-4/8/16/32 · NetIron MLX

VDX series · data center with VCS fabric

VDX 6710 · VDX 6720 · VDX 6730 · VDX 6740 · VDX 8770-4/8770-8

ICX series · campus switching

ICX 7150 · ICX 7250 · ICX 7450 · ICX 7650 · ICX 7750 (today Ruckus)

Components & optics

Line cards · switch fabric modules · power supplies · fan modules · 1/10/40G SFP+/QSFP+

EOSL status of Brocade IP legacy generations

Brocade IP legacy is the special case in the DACH TPM market — the platforms are technically still productive (MLX as carrier router runs 10-15 years, VDX data center switches with stable VCS setup similarly, ICX campus switches are robust), but the service situation has been fragmented after the 2017 spin-off. Ruckus/CommScope has partially continued the lines, partially let them expire. Many DACH customers with MLX/VDX/ICX fleets today receive either no support or only at unattractive conditions. TPM is often the only remaining maintenance option in these cases — and simultaneously the most economical, because OEM costs for EOSL platforms are typically high.

We service Brocade IP legacy platforms with OEM switches, line cards, power supplies and fan modules from our own warehouse and certified refurbishing pools — pool depth is the decisive criterion here because original components are only limitedly available on the free market. Our strategic orientation: active fleet observation in DACH, targeted acquisition during refresh projects of other customers, building refurbishing partnerships. Brocade NetIron-OS (on MLX), Network OS (on VDX) and FastIron (on ICX) continue to work without licensing — all production functions stay active, only code updates to newer OS versions are limited.

The full OEM-vs-TPM matrix (spare parts, SLA tiers, language, sub-outsourcing, compliance docs, reporting) is the same for every Brocade line — see the Brocade battle card.

BAIT/MaRisk documentation package, DORA Art. 28 contract template, ISO 27001 and GDPR-compliant media handling apply identically to every Brocade line — details on the Brocade battle card.

Same four steps for every Brocade line: inventory → fixed-price quote in 48 h → contract (BAIT/MaRisk/DORA hooks) → hand-over with spare-parts provisioning. Details on the Brocade battle card.

Which Brocade IP legacy models do you service?

Complete IP legacy family of all three lines: MLX series (MLX-4, MLX-8, MLX-16, MLX-32, MLXe series and NetIron MLX as carrier-class routers), VDX series (VDX 6710, 6720, 6730, 6740, 6740T and VDX 8770-4/8770-8 as data center switches with VCS Fabric) and ICX series (ICX 7150, 7250, 7450, 7650, 7750 as campus edge/aggregation/core — today Ruckus). Including all line cards, switch fabric modules, power supplies and SFP+/QSFP+ optics.

What does TPM cost for Brocade IP legacy compared to OEM costs?

30 to 70 percent savings, depending on model and EOSL status. For MLX carrier routers, where Ruckus/CommScope barely offers service anymore, we see up to 70 percent — also for an MLX-16, pricing depending on population. VDX data center switches: pricing per switch depending on model and SLA. ICX campus switches in Ruckus service: TechCare roughly 55% below Ruckus support per switch. With complete IP legacy fleets of 20-50 devices, maintenance savings add up noticeably each year.

What about Ruckus/CommScope support for ICX/MLX since the Brocade spin-off?

Brocade IP division was spun off to Arris/Ruckus in 2017 with the Broadcom acquisition of Brocade Communications, then further with the CommScope acquisition of Arris. ICX line was continued by Ruckus with partially new models, MLX line was not further developed and has reached EOSL. VDX line was not continued, EOSL reached. From a service perspective, the situation for DACH customers is inconsistent — many fleets are today practically without OEM service. TPM fills this gap.

Do NetIron, Network OS and FastIron continue to work without an OEM contract?

Yes. Brocade NetIron OS (on MLX), Network OS (on VDX with VCS Fabric) and FastIron (on ICX) continue to work without licensing on the devices — all production functions, BGP, OSPF, MPLS (on MLX), VCS Fabric (on VDX), Spanning Tree, layer 2/3 routing, all campus and data center features stay functionally active. OS code updates to newer versions have been limited since the spin-off anyway — usually uncritical with stable legacy configurations.

When does refresh instead of TPM make sense for IP legacy?

Three criteria favor refresh: (1) MLX carrier routers when bandwidth requirements exceed 100G — modern carrier routers like Juniper MX204 or Cisco ASR 9000 offer significantly higher performance at lower operating costs. (2) VDX data center switches when new workloads (NVMe-over-Fabric, AI/ML, 100/400G requirements) come on the roadmap — refresh to Cisco Nexus, Juniper QFX, Arista or Mellanox/NVIDIA. (3) ICX campus switches when Wi-Fi 6E/Wi-Fi 7 or PoE++ requirements arise — modern campus platforms are more energy efficient. For stable fleets without new workload requirements, TPM is the economical bridge.

Which SLA levels do you recommend for IP legacy?

Strongly depends on the role: MLX carrier routers in productive service provider or enterprise backbone roles need 24×7×4 — outage affects internet or MPLS backbone. VDX data center switches in productive VCS fabrics also 24×7×4. ICX campus switches in edge roles (floor switches): 5×9 NBD or Parts Only sufficient because single switch outage at floor level. ICX campus in aggregation/core: 24×7×4. For EOSL fleets waiting for refresh: Parts Only often sufficient as a bridge.