Dell has released a 40Gb blade server switch for its PowerEdge M1000e blade system –the first of its kind – and new management capabilities for monitoring Dell Distributed Core deployments.

The Layer 2 and 3 MXL 10/40GbE switch – part of Dell’s Virtual Network Architecture - has been optimized for heavy workloads and high performance needs.

Based on the Force10 operating system, it is designed specifically for the PowerEdge M100e blade system to handle some of the most demanding data center environments dealing with virtual, public and private cloud workloads.

The switch includes built-in Ethernet stacking technology for the consolidation of ports and scalable rollout and allows for the delivery of East-to-West traffic, bringing the low latency option into the blade enclosure.

The switch will be available in US Summer 2012.

Dell has also boosted its management capabilities for its Virtual Network Architecture with the release of its fifth version of Open Manage Network Manager, this time using switches through a web-based graphic user interface and including a traffic flow analysis tool and support for Dell’s full product line of switches.

It also introduced its Fabric Manager – designed for configuring, managing and monitoring Dell Distributed Core deployments with a system-level view into deployments of any size.