HP counters Cisco with new switches

At Interop this week, HP unveiled products supporting a new architecture that attempts to unify enterprise data center, campus and branch networks in accordance with a common and consistent operating environment.

HP's FlexNetwork architecture is a network-specific subset of HP's Converged Infrastructure plan, a strategy to create virtual pools of server, storage and networking resources to run business operations. FlexNetwork is focused on the network piece of the Converged Infrastructure.

The FlexNetwork architecture proposes implementing protocols consistently across all networked devices throughout an enterprise. It as well proposes consistent management, security and access policies across that infrastructure.

With the plan, HP is looking to disrupt Cisco's Borderless Networks strategy, which in essence proposes the same thing: Use Cisco equipment and protocols across all areas of the enterprise network to gain consistency in performance and management.

HP, even though, claims to adhere more tightly to standards and multivendor acceptance, and admonishes competitors like Cisco for being proprietary and resistant to multivendor support. HP as well claims these competitors propose different technologies at different points in the enterprise network -- campus vs. data center, for instance -- which makes it difficult and costly to roll out new applications and services.

The HP FlexNetwork architecture consists of several elements HP says are unified through a common management layer. They include:

- FlexFabric, which is designed to converge network, compute and storage resources in the data center across virtual and physical environments and accommodate hybrid cloud computing models;

- FlexCampus, which is designed to lower latency and increase security with identity-based access to multimedia content across wired and wireless networks;

- FlexBranch, which attempts to assemble "best-of-breed" network and security technologies at the branch to improve service delivery;

HP says an architecture like FlexNetwork is necessary because legacy networks cannot handle the new demands put on the network by virtualization, mobility and multimedia. In addition, legacy enterprise networks were built as departmental islands specific to certain applications, just as data center, campus, branch, wired and wireless, HP says.

HP says server-to-server traffic in the data center is approaching 80% due to the increase in virtualization, resulting in performance bottlenecks. The company as well says 25% of enterprise network traffic is now video or multimedia content that consumes a lot of bandwidth and challenges enterprise security policies.

By 2013, there will be 3 billion smartphones, and wireless LAN will be the preferred method of network connectivity, requiring wireless performance in other words equal or superior to wired, HP says.

The company is addressing that with FlexNetwork

The company is addressing that with FlexNetwork and its new underpinnings: the A-series 10500 campus core switch, upgraded 5400zl and 8200zl switches, a new network management applications and a new intrusion prevention system.

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