Hewlett Packard has launched new campus networking solutions and services with software-defined capabilities to support mobility and productivity. The new campus networking solutions — which include the HP 5400R zl2 Switch Series v3 Modules and the HP Network Visualizer SDN App — lay the foundation for simplified enterprise networks optimised for performance, security, visibility, and optimisation of the mobile enterprise.
Software-defined networking (SDN) capabilities allow IT to easily administer network operations and troubleshooting, as well as enforce security policies in a rapid, simplified, agile manner. The new solutions lay the groundwork for a mobile-centric infrastructure that leverages application specific integrated circuite technology innovation and SDN to address challenges such as security, application performance and network monitoring. The new HP 5400R zl2 Switch Series v3 modules are powered by the 6th generation HP Networking ASIC, purpose built for SDN, allowing it to deliver more than four times the performance of competitive solutions and three times lower latency, according to a company statement.
Its two terabits per second backplane supports increased bandwidth and performance requirements including high speed wireless connectivity.
The 5400R v3 fully supports OpenFlow and can process up to 24 times more flows than its main competitor,(3) allowing multiple concurrent apps with service insertion.
Programmable OpenFlow processing pipelines and ten parallel Advanced Packet Processor engines with dedicated resources provide scalability and flexibility to support the new wave of SDN applications. With HP Smart Rate multi-gigabit ports, the 5400R v3 modules are ready to support the next wave of high-speed 802.11 ac Wave 2 access points.
The HP Smart Rate technology offers simple self-negotiating and flexible capacity from 1GbE, 2.5 GbE, 5 GbE to 10GbE with Power over Ethernet +, without requiring customers to rip-and-replace an existing cabling system. The new HP Network Visualizer SDN application provides IT administrators with real-time detailed visibility of the network to monitor traffic flow and investigate issues. In addition to network visibility challenges, more connected devices bring increased security risk.
To help prevent malicious threats from entering the network via employee devices, HP announced enhancements to its HP Network Protector SDN application, which provides zero-touch dynamic threat protection at the edge of the network for securing BYOD.
The application now includes Intrusion Prevention System as a service, and provides consistent business level policy across the wired and wireless network. HP also announced enhancements to its HP Network Optimizer SDN application, which offers automated provisioning of network policy and Quality of Service to ensure an enhanced user experience.
