HPE Aruba Networking expands distributed services switch platform
Leading network tech and services provider extends offer with distributed services switches, and expanded wired and wireless portfolio, to meet increasing AI and high-performance computing demands
Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) has broadened the range of its Aruba Networking wired and wireless portfolio, along with new distributed services switches, to offload security and network services to free up resources for complex artificial intelligence (AI) workload processing.
HPE says it’s demonstrating its ongoing commitment to powering enterprises of all sizes and across every industry with services that are designed to exceed industry standards by delivering performance, security and intelligence along with all-inclusive licensing that generates “significant” savings.
The expansions from HPE Aruba Networking include a range of smart switches, campus switches, Wi-Fi 7 access points, application-aware networking, control and analytics facilities.
The HPE Aruba Networking CX 10K distributed services switches feature built-in programmable data processing units (DPUs) from AMD Pensando for security and network optimisation and to deal with the heavier AI processing workloads. With the AMD products, the HPE CX 10040 smart switch is said to be able to double the scale and performance of the HPE Aruba Networking CX 10000 distributed services switch.
While supporting growth in AI-driven computing, it also maintains built-in firewalling, in-line encryption and precision telemetry for what HPE assures is increased security, greater observability and more efficient server operation.
CX 6300 series campus switches are designed to provide encryption protocols, precision timing, and application recognition and control, which enables enterprises to meet multiple types of data security, volume and bandwidth service-level agreements (SLAs) on a single switch. The four new switches also operate within a smaller footprint to provide maximum capacity and performance in demanding environments.
The range of Wi-Fi 7 access points sees the introduction of the indoor HPE Aruba Networking 720 and 740 series and indoor/outdoor 760 series, which feature a unique network slicing capability – dynamic application prioritisation – to deliver what HPE says is the transmission priority and performance required for the real-time computing needs of AI and cloud-delivered applications, delivering “the highest” quality of service for data, voice and video communications. The 760 series is intended for use in AI-driven indoor/outdoor and industrial environments with flexible radio and antenna modes.
Read more about network switches
- Managed vs. unmanaged switches – what are the differences? Managed and unmanaged network switches differ in various ways, including control and cost. Managed switches support more granular control, while unmanaged switches are easier to set up.
- Cisco launches Smart Switches with AMD DPUs for security: Network giant introduces the Smart Switch series, as enterprises refresh networks in preparation for running AI models and applications.
- An introduction to SFP ports on a Gigabit switch: SFP ports enable Gigabit switches to connect to a variety of fibre and Ethernet cables and extend switching functionality throughout the network.
Application-aware networking across campus switches is now available on the HPE Aruba Networking CX 5420 and 6200 series switches, enabling enterprises to apply specific policies more granularly to ensure that AI, the internet of things and high-performance computing data can travel over the entire network based on pre-defined SLAs.
Only weeks ago, HPE made another move to expand its capability to address the growing pressures on business in the AI era, enhancing its Aruba Networking Central AI-powered network management offering, with deployment options including a virtual private cloud (VPC) environment. With this latest deployment, the recently upgraded Networking Central will provide secure, AI-powered network management that scales across campus environments and datacentres.
The launch also sees integration of the Morpheus VM Essentials service, with the Aruba CX 10000 Switch series to help businesses unify the orchestration of virtualised and physical network and security services. These include distributed firewall, micro-segmentation across ESXi, KVM and bare metal hosts, easing migration to an open virtualisation model.
Assessing how his company’s technology could provide benefits through the launch of the new switches, Soni Jiandani, AMD senior vice-president, and general manager of its networking technology and solutions group, said: “As AI and data-driven applications continue to transform every industry, the need for scalable, compliant and high-performance networking has never been greater. Together with HPE, [we’re] enabling secure, scalable services for datacentre and colocation deployments that support the world’s largest enterprises at a fraction of the cost of legacy solutions.”
