HP Procurve
For certain environments, a chassis switch is an alternative to consider over stacking modules. Chassis switches offer flexibility because you can add or replace individual modules, or blades, to meet changing requirements over time without replacing the entire switch.
HP supplied its HP Procurve Switch 4108GL mini chassis for testing. This switch provides eight slots for modules that you can mix and match as you need. HP offers standard 24-port 10/100Base-TX modules as well as Gigabit Ethernet modules for copper and fiber. As is typical with chassis switches, the initial per-port cost is high (more than $1000 if you buy the chassis and just one 6-port Gigabit Ethernet module) but goes down as you approach the switch's full capacity.
Switch 4108GL uses HP's Fast Path Technology, which means that each of its modules is an independent switch. Thus, you can upgrade modules without replacing the entire chassis. For example, Switch 4108GL is a Layer 2 switch, but you can replace a module to provide the chassis with Layer 3 functionality. The independent modules can also forward packets between their ports without crossing the central switching fabric of the chassis—an ability that cuts down on traffic.
Switch 4108GL was easy to set up and configure and offers similar management capabilities to the other switches I tested, including full SNMP support and a Web interface. Also included with a switch purchase is HP's Toptools for hubs and switches.
| HP Procurve Switch 4108GL |
Contact: Hewlett-Packard * 970-635-1000 or 800-752-0900
Web: http://www.hp.com
Price: $4239 for chassis switch with eight slots;
$1869 for 6-port Gigabit Ethernet copper module;
$1699 for 24-port Fast Ethernet module
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Installation, Setup, and Configuration
The physical setup of the switches in the Lab test network was as expected. All the desktop switches are 1U (1.75"), as is the Dell aggregation switch. The 3Com and Cisco aggregation switches are 1.5U (2.625"). All the switches use typical rack-mount hardware. The Dell and 3Com switches offer a nice feature called AutoMDI/MDIX, which lets them automatically sense and connect to a cable whether it's wired straight-through or crossover. This feature eliminates the common scenario of an administrator manually assembling a crossover cable and introducing potential faults.
My experiences installing and configuring the Gigabit Ethernet switches were varied. Several aspects of initial setup were common, such as using a PC and terminal program to connect to a terminal port on each switch to configure basic settings for management and remote access. After that point, however, the Cisco switch was definitely more difficult to configure than the Dell, 3Com, or HP switch.
The Dell, 3Com, and HP Gigabit Ethernet switches are easy to install: When you plug them in and connect your network devices to them, they immediately go to work as basic Layer 2 switches. To configure advanced options on these switches, you can connect directly to the switch through the console port or remotely through a Telnet session or Web browser. (The 3Com switch also can automatically get an IP address from a BOOTP server instead of requiring you to use the switch's console port to assign the address.)
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