| Q1. |
What does the HP 2408 FCoE Converged Network Switch consist of and what are the new capabilities? |
| A1. |
The top-of-rack HP 2408 FCoE switch has Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) and Converged Enhanced Ethernet (CEE) capabilities. It has 32 ports: 24 CEE ports with 10 Gigabit Ethernet and eight Fibre Channel supporting 1, 2, 4, and 8 Gbit/sec performance. Key benefits include:
Industry-leading performance: The 2408 FCoE Switch provides high performance for Fibre Channel delivery in a top-of-rack FCoE switch. It features a non-blocking architecture with eight Fibre Channel ports concurrently active at 8 Gbit/sec and 24 CEE ports with 10 Gigabit Ethernet speeds. The 2408 switch utilizes ASIC technology that supports port trunking for Fibre Channel and link aggregation for Ethernet. On the Fibre Channel side, an Inter-Switch Link (ISL) trunk can supply up to 64 Gbit/sec of balanced data throughput. In addition to reducing congestion and increasing bandwidth, ISL Trunking utilizes ISLs more efficiently to preserve the number of usable switch ports. On the Ethernet side, the 2408 switch supports standards-based Link Aggregation Control Protocol (LACP).
Enterprise-class availability for business continuance: The 2408 switch provides a reliable foundation for disaster recovery and business continuance by employing enterprise-class availability features such as hot-swappable, redundant, and integrated fan and power supply assemblies. In conjunction with HP SAN extension products, the 2408 switch enables servers and storage devices to reside remotely—enabling organizations to create highly available environments that support the most sophisticated business continuance and disaster recovery initiatives.
Superior ROI and investment protection: The 2408 switch is built from the same Fabric OS that supports the entire B-series Fibre Channel product family. This helps ensure backward compatibility that enables the 2408 switch to seamlessly integrate with existing Fibre Channel investments.
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| Q2. |
Why would someone choose the HP 2408 FCoE Converged Network Switch? |
| A2. |
The HP 2408 Converged Network Switch offers new FCoE and CEE technologies that integrate easily with existing Fibre Channel environments to protect current investments and extend their value. With FCoE preserving Fibre Channel constructs and management tools, organizations can realize significant savings as they continue to utilize their familiar Fibre Channel management tools. |
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| Q3. |
Does the HP 2408 Converged Network Switch support traditional Fibre Channel features and services? |
| A3. |
Yes. The 2408 FCoE Switch supports most of the HP Fibre Channel fabric features. Features that are not supported include FICONŽ, Extended Fabrics, Adaptive Networking, Access Gateway, and hot code activation. |
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| Q4. |
What optional Fibre Channel licenses are available for the 2408 Converged Network Switch? |
| A4. |
The following optional licenses are available:
ISL Trunking: Provides the ability to aggregate multiple physical links into one logical link for enhanced network performance and fault tolerance.
Advanced Performance Monitoring: Enables performance monitoring of networked storage resources. This license includes the Top Talkers feature.
Fabric Watch: Monitors mission-critical switch operations.
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| Q5. |
Can the CEE ports of the HP 2408 Converged Network Switch connect to traditional Ethernet ports? |
| A5. |
Yes. The 2408 Switch CEE ports can connect to traditional 10 Gigabit Ethernet ports. Upon making such a connection, the system negotiates the services between the two ports and defaults to the traditional Ethernet services. In other words, when connecting a CEE port to a traditional Ethernet port, one loses support for the CEE enhancements
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| Q6. |
What is the main value for deploying FCoE and CEE top-of-rack switches? |
| A6. |
The most visible value proposition for FCoE and CEE deployment in top-of-rack environments is server I/O consolidation. When selecting Converged Network Adapters (CNAs) for server connectivity, organizations can reduce the number of adapters (ports) per server. That in turn results in fewer cables and switch ports used within each server rack. The lower component costs and power consumption all contribute to lower acquisition and operating costs. The lower power consumption and associated cooling costs also contribute to a “greener” data center environment.
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| Q7. |
How many of the 32 ports are active on the HP 2408 Switch when it is shipped? |
| A7. |
All 32 ports are active. Organizations do not need to activate the Fibre Channel or CEE ports. The eight Fibre Channel ports are shipped with optical modules, while the 24 CEE ports require the purchase of either copper or fiber connectors. |
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| Q8. |
What types of connectors does the HP 2408 switch support? |
| A8. |
The HP 2408 Switch supports fiber media for Fibre Channel ports, and both fiber and copper media for CEE ports:
Fibre Channel media type: Hot-pluggable, B-Series Small Form Factor Pluggable (SFP) and B-Series SFP+, LC connector; Short-Wave Laser (SWL) and Long-Wave Laser (LWL); distance depends on fiber optic cable and port speed; supports SFP+ (2, 4, and 8 Gbit/sec) and SFP (1, 2, and 4 Gbit/sec) optical transceivers.
CEE media Type: Hot-pluggable, B-Series 10 Gigabit Ethernet SFP+ supports any combination of Short-Reach (SR) and Long-Reach (LR) optical transceivers, or copper Twinax cables of one, three, or five meters.
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| Q9. |
Who should use HP Data Center Fabric Manager Enterprise and Data Center fabric manager Professional? |
| A9. |
Data Center Fabric Manager Enterprise provides end to end management across 24 SAN fabrics. It is designed for enterprise class director based installations, FICON environments, and fabrics leveraging routing and extensions as well as virtualization. It provides full management of the DC SAN Backbone Director.
Data Center Fabric Manager Professional is designed for IT organizations that use FOS-based fabrics and want a management solution for smaller SANs based on a single SAN fabric.
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| Q10. |
Are B-Series branded SFPs required for the new switches? |
| A10. |
Yes. The HP 2408 switch requires B-Series branded SFPs.
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| Q11. |
Are B-Series branded twinax cables required for the new switches? |
| A11. |
The 2408 FCoE Switch supportes eitehr B-series branded twinax cables or B-series branded Ethernet SFPs for the CEE ports.
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| Q12. |
How is FCoE different from iSCSI? |
| A12. |
FCoE and iSCSI are both encapsulation protocols, but the similarities end there. FCoE encapsulates Fibre Channel frames so they can be transported over Ethernet. In contrast, iSCSI encapsulates SCSI to be transported over TCP/IP. As mentioned earlier, FCoE is not routable over IP, but iSCSI is.
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