HP unveils new high-availability ProCurve switch

HP has launched a new high-availability (HA) ProCurve core switch that is designed to compete with Cisco's 5400 and 6500 Series systems, which currently dominate the market.

The ProCurve 8212zl is a 9U chassis-based switch that has 12 module slots including those for management and power redundancy. The 8212zl can be deployed with up to 288 Power over Ethernet (PoE)-enabled gigabit connections and up to 48 10GbE optical-fibre connections.

HP ProCurve worldwide general manager John McHugh said the target market for the switch is not carriers but enterprise customers with 500 to 5,000 employees. ProCurve said the switch could be deployed as a 10Gbit/s-connected HA pair for a firm's core network infrastructure connected to the datacentre, headquarters and any number of branch-office locations.

The 8212zl uses HP’s ProVision Asic technology and comes with a lifetime warranty. "This is the first high-availability switch with a next-day business, 'spare in the air' warranty," added McHugh.

About 15,000 ports have already been deployed through a soft launch programme and there are four beta customers in Europe, including the University of Westminster.

Figures from research firm Dell'Oro Group for the second quarter of 2007 show Cisco with a European Ethernet market share of 49.1 per cent, while HP's share stood at 15.7 per cent.

According to a recent report by Infonetics, satisfaction with HP ProCurve is improving.

"ProCurve buyer perceptions have improved across the board compared to last year, which explains why they're now a solid second on respondents' vendor short lists," wrote analysts.

The basic 8212zl switch costs about £13,600 + VAT, with Wireless Edge Services (WES) modules costing around £3,050 + VAT and the basic 12 radio port licence £2,170 + VAT.

McHugh said the WES modules have been updated to offer centralised wireless and configuration management, an integrated stateful packet inspection firewall and better wireless intrusion detection.

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