Hewlett-Packard Canada Ltd.’s recently released ProCurve Switch 3400cl series brings higher Gigabit Ethernet port densities and 10 Gigabit Ethernet uplinks to the company’s stackable line.
The 3400cl is designed as an edge switch. It boasts Layer 3 capabilities, allowing companies to enforce security and application prioritization at the network edge, rather than the network core.
“You don’t walk into a building and get into the middle of it before you get a visitor’s badge,” said Darren Hamilton, category business manager for networking products at Mississauga, Ont.-based Hewlett-Packard (Canada) Co. “You get it at the door. And the network’s much the same. We want to be able to authenticate and authorize at the edge where users log in.”
HP had already offered high Gigabit port densities and 10 Gig uplinks in a chassis-based edge switch and stackable customers were asking for the same capabilities, Hamilton said. HP expects the switch to compete with Cisco’s 3750 line.
The 3400cl comes in 24- and 48-port models. The 3400cl-24G has 20 10/100/1000Mbps RJ-45 ports and four dual- personality ports that can run 10/100/1000 RJ-45 or Gigabit mini-GBIC connections.
The 48-slot model has 44 10/100/1000Mbps RJ-45 ports and four dual-personality ports. Both switches have a slot for a 10 Gigabit Ethernet module.
10 Gigabit Ethernet is a technology more vendors are offering and more customers are investigating, said Alan Freedman, a research manager with IDC Canada Ltd. in Toronto.
“I think it’s something vendors must have to be thought of as viable, leading-edge networking companies,” he said.
While HP certainly doesn’t have the network market share of a Cisco, Freedman believes the company can grow its networking numbers.
“Customers these days are looking for more integrated solutions and dealing with fewer suppliers if possible,” he said. “I think both of those bode well for HP to add in networking gear, even if the sale isn’t lead by networking.”
Both 3400cl models are available immediately.
The 24-port version costs $5,189, while the 48-port model goes for $9,519. A variety of 10 Gigabit Ethernet modules are will be available for the switches, starting in December. They start at $2,499 for the copper version.
