HP Launches LAN Core, Edge, Switches
Posted on: Tuesday, 4 October 2005, 03:00 CDT
By Hochmuth, Phil
HP this week is expected to launch several Ethernet switch and network access control products targeting businesses looking to deploy advanced security and QoS features at the LAN edge with high- bandwidth pipes in the core.
HP's ProCurve networking group is launching two LAN core switches under its new Interconnect Fabric Switch line, aimed at connecting intelligent switches at the LAN edge with simplified, high-speed pipes at the core, the vendor says. HP also is launching switches for LAN edge connectivity, as well as new software products for controlling and managing how users access a corporate network.
The ProCurve Interconnect Fabric Switch 8100 series includes the 16-slot 8116fl and the eight-slot 8108fl. The boxes are based on switch technology HP acquired last year from carrier Ethernet vendor Riverstone Networks. The switches support single-port 10G and 10- port Gigabit Ethernet modules. Total switching capacity on the 8116fl tops out at 320G bit/sec, while the smaller box supports 160G bit/sec of bandwidth.
HP says the key features on the products don't involve speeds and feeds, as most competitive backbone switches can reach the terabit range in bandwidth. HP says the architecture of the switches differs from competitive boxes in that each connectivity module on the device runs as its own independent packet switch, allowing the box to process packets locally on each blade, instead of passing packets up to a centralized management module for interpreting packet data such as QoS header settings, access control lists and other information beyond IP and media access control addresses.
HP says this makes the switches faster than other boxes that are meant to apply settings to packets in the LAN core instead of quickly reading and passing on packets coming in the edge.
An 8116fl switch is running on the network at the College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences at Oregon State University The box is in beta now and soon will be moved into the production network, connecting clusters of parallel-processing computers running environmental research applications.
"We really like the distributive design of the operating system," says Chuck Sears, manager of research computing at the Corvallis college. "The localized operating system design allows for very efficient communication between management module and control plane. ... It's a nice way to load balance using software to multiple CPUs," when running different kinds of traffic types through the switch.
The 8116fl and 8108fl will be available next month and cost $39,000 and $28,000, respectively Along with the new backbone switches, HP is launching a ProCurve switch for the LAN edge for basic deployments. The ProCurve 2800-8-PWR is an eight 10/100M bit/ sec ports with Power over Ethernet support, and a single Gigabit uplink and costs $900.
For managing LAN end-user connections, HP has an update to its Identity Driven Manager (IDM) software, announced last year, which lets LAN-switch hardware enforce policies, such as when the network can be accessed, enduser authorization and control of access based on end-user identities. IDM Version 2.0 now allows businesses to lock out end users if PCs or laptops do not meet predetermined requirements for antivirus and operating system updates or if connecting machines are infected with malware.
Simple to the core
HP says its IDM 2.0 product uses Trusted Network Connect architecture, as outlined by the Trusted Computing Group, an organization of about 60 vendors that is developing standards for secure network protocols and technologies. Currently IDM 2.0 can work with authenticating and client verification and remediation server products from Funk Software, allowing users running Funk authentication infrastructure to integrate with HP ProCurve switches. This technology is similar to Cisco's Network Access Control architecture. IDM 2.0, a $5,500 plug-in module that works with HP's server-based ProCurve Manager Plus switch management software, is expected to be available in December.
For wireless connectivity security, HP also is releasing ProCurve Mobility Manager 1.0, also an add-on to ProCurve Manager plus. This $2,000 plug-in allows users with HP ProCurve wireless LAN endpoints to push down configuration settings, such as network IDs, radio channel settings and access control lists, to wireless LAN hardware from a centralized console. ProCurve Mobility Manager 1.0 also is expected to be available in December.
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Copyright Network World Inc. Sep 26, 2005
Source: Network World
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