In an aggressive move designed to deepen its expertise in software-defined networking (SDN), Brocade will acquire network virtualization startup Vyatta in an all-cash transaction.

Financial terms of the deal, disclosed Monday, weren't provided. Vyatta is an emerging specialist in virtualized networking, with an operating system based on open source software that's portable to standard x86 hardware as well as most virtualization and cloud platforms to offer enterprise-level routing, security and infrastructure features to customers. According to Vyatta, its system has seen more than 1 million downloads.

Mike Klayko, Brocade's outgoing CEO, said Vyatta would complement the investments Brocade has already made in Ethernet fabrics and SDN.

"We are now bolstering these 'build and partner' efforts with this strategic acquisition with the goal of being the innovation and thought leader in the software networking category," Klayko said in a statement.

[Related: Startup Vyatta's Line In The Sand: We Are a Channel Company]

Founded in 2005, Vyatta has taken in about $45 million in venture capital funding, including a $12 million round in November 2011. As of the spring of 2012, it had about 80 channel partners, including well known infrastructure players like Torrey Point and Accuvant. Vyatta's been highly lauded by data center-focused solution providers for embracing the channel early in its existence.

"We couldn't be more proud," wrote Kelly Herrell, Vyatta's CEO, in a post on the Vyatta company blog Monday. "All of this excitement has been in pursuit of the next frontier of IP networking. No longer is networking something that happens only outside the server; now it extends into the server itself, creating a new world of virtual topologies that complement the physical ones surrounding them."

Following the acquisition, which Brocade expects to close by the end of the calendar year, Vyatta will become part of Brocade's Software Networking Business unit reporting into Ken Cheng, vice president, Routing, Application and Software Networking.

"The Vyatta acquisition brings in considerably more software networking technology and expertise to Brocade. We believe software networking to be a critical component in the next phase of network virtualization as enterprises are becoming increasingly virtualized and actively moving workloads to the cloud," Cheng said in a statement.

Herrell added in his blog post that by combining with Brocade, Vyatta gets "the best of both worlds: the solidity of a multi-billion-dollar network infrastructure player with the agility of an innovative software group."

As the major networking and data center vendors mount up for battle against a host of SDN-focused startups, Brocade has been particularly vocal about throwing its support behind the trend. Among other recent moves, it hired away a Cisco distinguished engineer, David Meyer, to evangelize its approach to Ethernet fabrics, advanced routing and SDN concepts.

PUBLISHED NOV. 5, 2012