Brief

HP FlexFabricThe industry’s most complete Software-defined Networks fabric

Simple, scalable, and automated

Data center networks are reaching a breaking point. Cloud, virtualization, mobility, and big data are placing unprecedented demands on the data center and accelerating the evolution of new application architectures.

What is needed is a new solution that reduces network complexity, improves application performance and scale, and increases network and business agility.

This is precisely what HP is delivering with the biggest and most comprehensive data center networking announcement in our history.

We are announcing the future of data center networking—HP FlexFabric—the industry’s most complete software-defined data center network fabric.

HP FlexFabric

HP FlexFabric redefines how customers architect and implement data center network fabrics. The open, standards-based approach of HP FlexFabric delivers three important customer benefits:

• Reduces operational complexity up to 75% compared to legacy solutions1

• Delivers 2x the scale of the leading competitor2

• Accelerates application deployment—cutting provisioning time from months to minutes3

Simplify the data center fabric

HP FlexFabric is focused on reducing complexity in the data center by leveraging a number of different technologies and services.

HP Intelligent Resilient Fabric (IRF)HP FlexFabric allows data center operators to simplify large-scale fabric design and operations by interconnecting multiple core or access layer switches—and managing these devices using a single IP address.

New innovations to HP IRF increase network resiliency, performance, and availability, while reducing operational complexity. In fact, HP FlexFabric with IRF can deliver up to double the fabric scaling of existing solutions, while reducing operational complexity by up to 75 percent.

For those organizations with multiple data centers, HP’s Ethernet Virtual Interconnect (EVI) provides Layer 2 VLAN extensions between data centers. This encapsulation and routing technology simplifies the process of extending geographically dispersed data centers. In addition, when used in conjunction with IRF, these links are load balanced, and Multitenant Device Context ensures true multi-tenancy across multiple data centers.

New HP FlexFabric innovations simplify the data center access layer by unifying the management of virtual and physical fabrics with the new HP FlexFabric Virtual Switch 5900v and HP FlexFabric 5900 physical switch.

HP FlexFabric Virtual Switch 5900vThe HP FlexFabric Virtual Switch 5900v is a software solution designed to integrate with the VMware ESX Hypervisor as a replacement for the standard VMware vSwitch.

Figure 1.

1 HP IRF allows a 4:1 reduction (or 75% less) in design and operational complexity by allowing four core switches to be managed as one.

2 HP FlexFabric design can scale up to 24,000 10GbE ports vs. only 12,000 10GbE ports for Cisco FabricPath.

3 HP internal comparative analysis of traditional CLI configuration vs. using HP Virtual Application Networks provisioning.

Simple

Up to 75% simpler

Scalable

Up to 2x fabric scaling Months to minutes

HP Virtual Application Networks

Automated

2

The Virtual Switch 5900v allows network services to be defined and managed at the virtual machine level, opening the door for future extension of HP Software-defined Networks (SDN) capabilities down to the virtual machine.

The HP FlexFabric Virtual Switch 5900v provides the following benefits:

• Allows you to create and manage standard networking policies to VMs

• Provides you with full visibility of the VM-VM traffic, so that traffic can be monitored, managed, and secured

• Automates the migration of VM policies and profiles with VMs when using vMotion

HP FlexFabric 5900AF Switch Series (EVB/VEPA)The HP FlexFabric 5900AF Switch Series is a high-density 1/10 GbE access layer switch, ideally suited for high-performance, resilient, scalable virtualized environments.

The HP FlexFabric 5900AF Switch Series includes the following benefits:

• Delivers ultra-fast speeds in a diverse portfolio on 1/10 GbE server connectivity and 10/40 GbE uplinks

• Provides high reliability with Comware 7 operating system, and full L2/L3 features with no hidden costs for switch features

• Delivers consistent management across all switches and IRF fabric for higher scalability

Comware version 7 – Operating SystemUnderpinning HP FlexFabric is the HP Comware operating system used across all of the data center switches and routers.

This carrier grade, modular operating system offers:

• Advanced feature consistency with no hidden cost or licensing complexity

• Robust, advanced L2/L3 feature set including ISSU (In Service Software Upgrade)

• Support for advanced features, such as OpenFlow 1.3, protecting the customer's investment

Scaling the data center fabric

As organizations continue to consolidate data centers, there will be fewer locations, but each will be much larger in scale.

To accommodate that scale, the network must support rapid scale. HP FlexFabric was designed to handle today's pressure as well as tomorrow's requirements. New HP FlexFabric innovations deliver 2x the scale of the current leading legacy solutions.

For those organizations running into problems scaling their Layer 2 networks, HP FlexFabric can leverage open industry standards-based Transparent Interconnect of Lots of Links (TRILL) and Shortest Path Bridging (SPB) to help them scale those networks. And both standards are fully interoperable with HP IRF.

We are announcing a host of new HP FlexFabric access and core switches and routers that provide new levels of industry-leading 10GbE and 40 GbE density, scale, and performance.

HP FlexFabric 12900 Switch Series The industry’s first OpenFlow 1.3-enabled data center core switch has been designed to support virtualized data centers and the evolution needs of private and public cloud deployments.

The HP FlexFabric 12900 Switch Series includes the following benefits:

• Delivers unprecedented levels of performance, buffering, scale, and availability with high-density 10/40 GbE today and 100 G in the near future

• Delivers 2x the switching capacity and 3x 40 GbE density4

• Drives down capital and operational expenses with reduced network and management complexity

HP FlexFabric 11900 Switch SeriesThe industry’s first OpenFlow 1.3-enabled data center aggregation provides line-rate, high-density 10GbE and 40 GbE designed for cost-effective End-of-Row (EOR) and small-core deployments.

The HP FlexFabric 11900 Switch Series includes the following benefits:

• Simplifies data center complexity with flatter Layer 2 network architectures

• Reduces footprint, power, and cost with converged network and storage infrastructure

• Provides energy-efficiency and ultra-low latency with front-to-rear airflow, redundant and hot-swappable management, and power, fabric, and cooling modules

Brief | HP FlexFabric Interop 2013 Launch

4 HP FlexFabric 12916 has 2x the switching capacity and 3x 40 GbE density of Cisco Nexus 7018.

Figure 2. HP FlexFabric 12910

Figure 3. HP FlexFabric 11908

3

HP HSR 6800 Router SeriesThe HP HSR 6800 is the industry’s first aggregation router to support network virtualization, improving performance and availability while reducing operational complexity and cost. These routers are built with a multicore distributed processing architecture and 2 Tbps switch capacity.

The HP HSR 6800 Router Series includes the following benefits:

• Enables you to provide high-performance service securely that can scale to hundreds of thousands of users

• Ensures high-speed delivery of cloud services and applications across the WAN

• Minimizes impact from network or device failures with very fast convergence time in milliseconds compared to seconds

HP Virtual Services RouterThe HP Virtual Services Router (VSR) is the industry’s first carrier-class, software-based Network Function Virtualization (NFV) router. The VSR is designed for cloud data centers and enables enterprises to automate secure connectivity across the WAN to public cloud networks.

The HP VSR includes the following benefits:

• Flexible deployment across branch, data center, and cloud

• Agile services delivery for faster time to revenue

• Virtualized router for multi-tenant, hosted public clouds

• Reduced footprint, power and cost, and OPEX for managing and deploying the services

Automate the data center fabric

With so many demands being placed upon the network, it’s critical to have a networking foundation that’s able to transition to SDN.

To enable organizations to deploy and manage a network capable of supporting these demands, the HP FlexFabric architecture provides the industry’s most comprehensive software-defined management solution.

HP’s unique single-pane-of-glass management automates accelerated application and service delivery for SDN-enabled and traditional network devices from the data center to the campus and branch.

HP IMC VAN Resource Automation ManagerThe HP IMC VAN Resource Automation Manager provides a data center fabric orchestration tool intended to deploy an intelligent, virtualized, on-demand fabric for end-to-end HP Converged Infrastructure and traditional tier network architecture.

HP IMC Resource Automation Manager includes the following benefits:

• Simplifies planning, provisioning, monitoring, and troubleshooting, and completely segregates and secures the application

• Service profiles define connectivity, policies, and L4 to L7 services integration to remove complexity of statically configured networks

• Extends the policy-driven provisioning from the edge, which was initiated with the release of IMC VAN Connection Manager to the rest of the fabric

HP IMC SDN ManagerThe HP IMC SDN Manager automates the management of SDN and traditional network infrastructure operations, providing monitoring and policy management that spans campus, branch, and data center networks.

The HP IMC SDN Manager provides full fault, configuration, accounting, performance, and security management for HP-enabled SDN domains and includes the following benefits:

• Enables deployment, monitoring, and management of HP OpenFlow-enabled switches

• Allows visualization of traffic flow and performance monitoring in HP SDN domains

Brief | HP FlexFabric Interop 2013 Launch

Figure 5. IMC VAN Resource Automation Manager

App 1

IPS Accessswitch

Firewall

Load balancer

Coreswitch

Corerouter

App 2

App 3

Figure 4. HP HSR 6808

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Brief | HP FlexFabric Interop 2013 Launch

• Enables backup and restoration of configurations and software of HP SDN controllers

• Provides graphical OpenFlow troubleshooting with path analysis

HP Data Center servicesHelping organizations make the transition from today’s rigid legacy networks to tomorrow’s agile networks is a set of new HP Data Center services.

These services focus on data center transformation that encompasses people, process, and technology change, offering a holistic approach to support.

Connectivity Transformation Workshop The new HP Connectivity Transformation Workshop focuses on helping customers make the transformation from a current legacy network environment to the future network environment, which is agile and can align with their business goals.

IPv6 Roadmap ServiceThe new IPv6 Roadmap Service provides access to experienced consultants to develop a transition roadmap to IPv6 by considering all six of the domains affected by this transition—the network, security, infrastructure, applications, governance, and finance.

HP Datacenter CareHolistic data center services that allow customers to enter into a new support relationship for their networking environment; these services can be a part of a customer’s overall data center care support.

HP FlexFabric—the Industry’s most complete software-defined network fabric

HP FlexFabric is redefining the way organizations think about their data center network fabric. By helping to remove traditional legacy barriers to innovation and, instead, providing open, standards- based solutions, HP FlexFabric can help customers build simpler, more scalable, and automated networks.

Learn more at hp.com/go/flexfabric

© Copyright 2013 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice. The only warranties for HP products and services are set forth in the express warranty statements accompanying such products and services. Nothing herein should be construed as constituting an additional warranty. HP shall not be liable for technical or editorial errors or omissions contained herein.

4AA4-6561ENW, May 2013

Figure 6. HP SDN architectural framework

Infrastructure SDN

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Control

Application

IMC SDN Manager