Foundry Networks this week announced support for Microsoft's Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V virtualization software.  

Interoperability between Foundry's data center routers and switches with Microsoft's Hyper-V is intended to offer Foundry customers lower operational costs and improved ROI through virtualization that extends from the application platform to network infrastructure. (See our slideshow of the latest virtualization gear.)  

The combined Foundry/Microsoft virtualization package will also compete more directly against Cisco's data center routers and switches in virtualized environments. Cisco has a $150 million stake in server virtualization software vendor VMware,  and develops an appliance for coordination and delivering of virtualized server, storage, application and network resources.

Foundry, meanwhile, is being acquired by storage-area network switch maker Brocade in an effort for both companies to compete more effectively in the virtualized data center market.

Foundry has also been awarded the Best of Interop Green Award for reducing power consumption, the company says. Its BigIron RX-32 L2/3 backbone switch is up to 50% more efficient in watts per 10 gigabit Ethernet than three major competing products, Foundry claims.