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Campus Switches: major announcements for wired edge
Aruba has just announced the very interesting improvements to the Aruba switches portfolio:
· Stacking for the 2930F Switch series
· A new IoT-ready and cloud manageable access layer offer with Aruba 2540 switch series
Get familiar with these as they largely improve our wired edge solutions and competitiveness.
Adding stacking to 2930F series
Stacking is often required from our customers. While we already have a “backplane stacking” solution (through additional hardware module in the switch) on our 2920 or 3810 series, we are now offering a very cost effective “front-plane stacking” with VSF ((Virtual Switching Framework), on our recently introduced Aruba 2930F switch series.
The benefits of VSF are wired edge virtualization, simplified network deployment and operation, improved performance. VSF provides simplicity, flexibility and scalability at no additional cost. Up to 4 switches in one stack.
VSF stacking will be supported with ArubaOS-Switch 16.03 software release coming in December 2016 - free software update for all 2930F units shipped so far. This complements the already rich feature set of the broad Aruba 2930F switch family, making this series the ideal solution for most wired access needs.
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Aruba new 2540 switch series: IoT-ready and cloud manageable
The sweet spot for the 2540 Switch Series is network access in SMBs, branch offices and small enterprises with a mobile workforce. It is ideal for customers looking for a cost-effective price-performance fixed port access switching solution and who are also looking for cloud-based management options.
Less featured than the 2930F series but still based on the latest ProVision ASIC, 2540 delivers entry level features for the enterprise campus, SMB and branch offices such as Zero Touch Provisioning, built-in 10GbE uplinks and up to 370W PoE+ and limited lifetime warranty.
The Aruba 2540 Switch Series includes 4 models: 24 and 48 port access switches with 4 fixed 10GbE uplinks and PoE+ or non-PoE models.
Ø Good blog on the 2540 series: Cloud manageable and IoT-ready campus switch
New Licensing Model for Aruba Central
From December 5th, a new range of licenses for Aruba Central will replace the existing license model over time.
The current model consists of an “all-inclusive” license with separate SKUs for APs and Switches. The new model will differentiate between Network Management and additional services such as Guest Captive Portal and Presence Analytics.
Under the new model, you have a mandatory Management Token per device in Central. This token is the same across APs, Switches and Controllers.
To enable services you will need to activate an optional Cloud Services Token per service per device in central. This token is the same across all Services. Current Services are Guest Captive Portal and Presence Analytics, more services will be added in the future.
For more information, contact your Partner or Aruba sales or technical representative.
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