| Q1. |
What are the differences between the HP 8/80 SAN Switch and the HP 8/80 SAN Switch Power Pack+? |
| A1. |
Both models are based on the same platform. The HP 8/80 SAN Switch Base includes a SAN Switch 8/80 with 48 active ports. The HP 8/80 SAN Switch Power Pack+ includes the 8/80 SAN Switch (Base) with 48 active ports and a full suite of software products. An optional 16 port upgrade license is available to activate additional ports. |
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| Q2. |
Are the HP 8/80 SAN Switch and HP 8/80 Power Pack+ compatible with all other B-Series based switch products? |
| A2. |
The HP 8/80 SAN Switch and HP 8/80 SAN Switch Power Pack+ are compatible with installed B-series switches as well as installed Core Switches and SAN Director. Most customers will not need to upgrade the Fabric OS version on the installed switches. Customers who have not upgraded Fabric OS on their installed switches for over two-years might need to upgrade to a more modern version. Consult the interoperability matrix for more details. |
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| Q3. |
How will customers use 8 Gbit/sec Fibre Channel performance? |
| A3. |
One of the initial use cases for the new 8 Gbit/sec FC switches will be to support server consolidation and virtual server environments. These virtual server environments need the non-blocking performance and scalability, along with the Adaptive Networking services, to ensure optimized performance and meet service levels for virtual applications.
Customers will also use 8 Gbit/sec Fibre Channel for Inter-Switch Links (ISLs) to increase fabric bandwidth or to increase the number of usable ports by reducing the number of ports needed for ISLs. 8 Gbit/sec devices (HBAs, tape devices, RAID systems) are coming to market, and organizations are looking to use 8 Gbit/sec to eliminate I/O bottlenecks in high density, blade server or virtual server environments as well as to provide a high-performance, reliable infrastructure for next generation data centers.
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| Q4. |
What is the difference between Power Pack and Power Pack+ software? |
| A4. |
Power Pack+ software includes Adaptive Networking, a family of technologies previously not available in the Power Pack bundle. Adaptive Networking allows flexible control of traffic movement within the fabric and is ideal for virtualized environments.
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| Q5. |
What is Integrated Routing (IR)? |
| A5. |
Integrated Routing is an optional license for the HP 8/80 SAN Switch and the HP 8/80 SAN Switch Power Pack+. It provides native Fibre Channel Routing (FRC) on a per-port basis, rather than limiting routing ports to those on a dedicated routing blade or router. Just like traditional FCR, Integrated Routing uses EX_Ports to import/export devices between fabrics, enabling selective device sharing while maintaining remote fabric isolation. |
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| Q6. |
What is the value of Integrated Routing? |
| A6. |
Integrated Routing provides architecture flexibility to route on a port-by-port basis, enabling increased scalability and fault isolation. |
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| Q7. |
What SFPs are supported with the HP 8/80 SAN Switch and HP 8/80 SAN Switch Power Pack+? |
| A7. |
Customers must purchase B-series branded SFPs for the HP 8/80 and HP 8/80 SAN Switch Power Pack+. |
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