Wired Intelligent Edge

Check out the news from yesterdays announcement. Key takeaway for me is, AOS-CX enabled from data center to edge access. What part of the announcement peaked your interest? Do you have any questions? Drop them in below and we will do our best to get them answered.

 

If you missed the event you can check it out here.

 

Now onto the switches.

 

Aruba CX 6400- The Aruba CX 6400 Switch Series is a modern, flexible and intelligent family of high availability modular switches ideal for use from access to core and into the data center.

Aruba CX 6300 - The Aruba CX 6300 Switch Series is a modern, flexible and intelligent family of stackable switches ideal for enterprise access, aggregation and core deployments.

 

KEY BENEFITS
• Simplified operations with a single operating model
A single operating system from edge access to data center delivers consistency and ease of management.
• Time savings via smart automation
Smoothly, safely and quickly coordinate switch provisioning and changes using intelligent automation to search, edit, validate, deploy, and audit configurations.
• Proactive troubleshooting and resolution
Enhance troubleshooting with real-time, networkwide visibility via distributed, embedded analytics in each switch to help detect and resolve issues before operations and users are impacted.
• Secure and easy enforcement of unified policies
Deploy unified wired and wireless role-based policies to keep traffic segmented and ensure security.
• Reliable, always-on networking
A microservices architecture provides full programmability and automation to create an always-on high availability network, even during upgrades.
• A world class user experience
An enterprise network that scales to deliver nonblocking performance from edge to data center for the best user experience possible.

 

When will 10.04 (aka "10.4" per announcement) be available for download for the current AOS-CX platforms?

 

--N

 

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10.4 will be shipping with the products and will be ready for download 11/4.

 

The warranty covers the lifetime of the product +5 years. So once the product is "end of sale" you will have 5years of remaining warranty coverage. The RMA process is next business day.

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@../smb/air wrote: When will 10.04 (aka "10.4" per announcement) be available for download for the current AOS-CX platforms?

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Probably after November, 1st which should be the first day of availability of new switch series...

I can not find any summary documentation that compares the 83xx models to the CX 63xx/64xx versions.  Any helps?

 

Thanks.

Please clarify the included warranties and any advanced replacement services that are included with the inital CX 6300/6400 purchases.

Wonder what happens with 2930 series... Though it would be nice to see 2530 getting dropped and 2930 being the first model. Dynamic segmentation for everyone :)

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@pubjohndoe wrote:

Wonder what happens with 2930 series... Though it would be nice to see 2530 getting dropped and 2930 being the first model.

Well...to see the Aruba 2930F becoming the new "entry level" in a unified switching portfolio...Aruba should drop at least three things:

 

1. Aruba 2530 Switch series
2. Aruba 2540 Switch series
3. Aruba 2930F Switch series price (to be near to - at worst - to the Aruba 2540 Switch series price figures)

Nearly impossible. For what then? ah...no portfolio overlapping?

 

I see some technology approaches overlapping instead: will VSF deployed on ArubaOS-CX be exactly as the VSF deployed on Aruba 2930F?

 

I don't believe it will.

 

Just consider that actually VSF on ArubaOS-Switch shows its own peculiarities: VSF deployed on Aruba 2930F has neither the very same set of features - absence of FSU recalls you nothing? - nor the very same set of restrictions/requirements - the 2 VSF Members limits recalls you nothing? - the VSF deployed on Aruba 5400R zl2 has...that's to say that VSF on ArubaOS-Switch - due to Hardware differences (only?) between platforms - shows its own flavours.

 

The fact is that we will deal with three flavours of VSF Virtual Switching Framework implementations where instead VSX is - AFAIK - VSX sic et simpliciter (no matter if deployed on Aruba 8320, 8325 or 8400...and probably nothing will change on Aruba CX 6400 too):

 

On ArubaOS-Switch NOS:

 

1. VSF on Aruba 2930F Switch series ONLY (up to 8 VSF Members if > 16.06 software is used, up to 4 if < 16.06)
2. VSF on Aruba 5400R zl2 Switch series ONLY (2 members only + various other requirements)

On ArubaOS-CX NOS:

 

1. VSF on Aruba CX 6300 Switch series ONLY (up to 10 VSF Members)

There is IMHO overlapping.

 

Haven't seen Aruba CX 6300 documentation yet...so I'm currently not able to compare VSF on ArubaOS-Switch versus VSF on ArubaOS-CX as an educated guess...but I feel the flavouring listed above will be reflected by the fact that underlying NOSes and platforms' hardwares are really totally differents so VSF requirements, restrictions and probably features on Aruba CX 6300 will necessarily differentiate.

 

A note about Aruba CX 6300M naming:

 

Here I see a relationship with existing Aruba 2930M and Aruba 3810M Switch series ..for my line of reasoning here I suppose we all were used to associate the M suffix of 2930 and 3810 not only to their modularity features but also to their Backplane Stacking capabilities (so it was easy to know who is run what in a VSF versus Backplane comparison): now think about a customer who know them and will approach the new Aruba 6300 Switch series...he/she will be inducted to think that Aruba CX 6300 models with M suffix will be charecterized by using a similar stacking technology approach (backplane versus frontplane) where instead, running on the same ArubaOS-CX NOS, the M suffix on their names merely means simply Modular (Fan/PS) from the Hardware standpoint and it has nothing to do with stacking technology approach they really support...OK that's not overlapping...but it is just naming confusion that could have been avoided.

Yep even though the actual hardware with lower end switches doesn't cost anything to manufacture, have to admit it's unlikely Aruba would drop 2530. If 2930F was the first, some people would worry that they pay too much for the features they don't use. Even if the price would be on par with 2530/2540 :)

 

As we're thinking of dynamic segmentation project for next year I can only hope 6300 causes some price drops for 2930F/M series :)

When there will be documentation available? I'm interested in for example how the EVPN part works with 6300

Docs are online now (search "aruba" on support.hpe.com, filter by date and look at any recent guide with references to Aruba 6300 and/or Aruba 6400)...there are, if I'm not mistaken, about 41 guides about ArubaOS-CX 10.04...and, among them, some are specifically about Aruba 6300 and/or Aruba 6400.

 

The EVPN over VXLAN chapter is available on ArubaOS-CX 10.04 IP Routing Guide for Aruba 6300, Aruba 6400, Aruba 8320 and Aruba 8325 Switch Series manual.

Missing 24XGT Switch requirement for this Family. 

Hi!

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@Dinusha Chandrasinghe wrote:

Missing 24XGT Switch requirement for this Family. 

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what do you mean with "missing"? what family exactly?

 

Probably I misunderstood your notice but, as far as I know, the Aruba 6400 24-port 10Gbase-T and 4-port SFP56 Module exists for Aruba 6400 Switch Series and it has R0X42A as SKU...and up to 5 (Aruba 6405) or 10 (Aruba 6410) R0X42A Line Modules are supported on Aruba 6400 Switch Series.

 

On the other end on Aruba 6300 Switch Series you're right...at best there is only the Aruba 6300M 24-port HPE Smart Rate 1/2.5/5GbE Class 6 PoE and 4-port (JL660A) module that is offering >= 1Gbps on Copper...but no Switch model with 24 (or 48) ports with 10Gbps on Copper...SFP+ with Aruba 10GBASE-T SFP+ RJ45 30m Cat6A Transceiver JL563A (or SFP56) seems the way to go.

Yes, I mean in 6300 Series. Something like HPE FF 5700-32XGT Switch. 

Maybe at Aruba marketing/engineering/product management agreed that an Aruba 6300 switch model with 24, 32 or 48 10G-BaseT ports doesn't properly fit within its series (technically shouldn't be an issue to produce one...but, maybe, from marketing standpoint, they are seeing no benefits in having such model <-- maybe I'm wrong here but I see a decline of 10G-BaseT in favour of SFP+ optics and access layer at 10Gbps seems eventually better covered already with SFP+ NIC than with RJ45).

Still, we hope to find replacement FF from this series.OS-CX 6300 series practically not possible to place as TOR switch due to size. In the Server side, easy to design solution using 10GbaseT than Fiber.  Fortunately, still, we have single 5700 switches and 8320 (don't support SFP+).

Expecting the answer to these problems.

Dinusha,

There are 2 solutions available today in a 1RU format that could possibly be a replacement for your FF5700's. First the ARUBA 8320 48P 1G/10GBASE-T AND 6P 40G QSFP+ WITH X472 5 FANS 2 POWER SUPPLY SWITCH BUNDLE (JL581A). This switch will fit his TOR scenario with 40G up links. If the option of SFP/SFP+ is a requirement then ARUBA 8320 48P 10G SFP/SFP+ AND 6P 40G QSFP+ WITH X472 5 FANS 2 POWER SUPPLY SWITCH BUNDLE (JL479A) would be the other solution. Both of these will fit if there is IP connectivity without advanced DC protocols.  Plus if you pair them up in a VSX cluster then you can have a great HA solution with live upgrades for no down time if the servers are dual connected.

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@rob.a.haviland wrote: If the option of SFP/SFP+ is a requirement then ARUBA 8320 48P 10G SFP/SFP+ AND 6P 40G QSFP+ WITH X472 5 FANS 2 POWER SUPPLY SWITCH BUNDLE (JL479A) would be the other solution.

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Hello Rob, just a note: considering that Dinusha asked specifically about a model with plenty of 10GBase-T ports I think that suggesting a model with a lot of SFP/SFP+ ports (to be used for access) isn't probably for him a strict requirement at all (indeed he emphasized his position with the statement "In the Server side, easy to design solution using 10GbaseT than Fiber.")...given that is worth to specify - for the sake of clarity - that an Aruba 8320 JL479A (48 10G SFP/SFP+) is able to support at best twelve Aruba 10GBase-T SFP+ RJ45 Transceivers (JL563A) and only where inserted on its first twelve interfaces (1/0/1-1/0/12)...so in the end, about the scenario he is probably thinking of, the most suitable approach picking an Aruba 8320 switch series model would be for sure to use the JL581A you first suggested instead of the JL479A. Just my two cents here!

 

yes parnassus, 8325 is the best Aruba option for my scenario but the customer also needs SFP+ ports. we have only QSFP+ option for uplink. If at least a few SFP+ ports are better. If not do we have option split QSFP+ into Four SPF+

Hi, yeah the Aruba 8325 will do the job for sure...but its baseline is somewhat higher than the Aruba 8320 one having most of its ports capable of 25Gbps or 100Gbps speeds, depending on SKU (so using it just for SFP+ is like "underusing" it...clearly is more "future proof" since you can upgrade it just upgrading installed transceivers)...if your main requirement is instead just having some SFP+ interfaces and very few QSFP+ (=< 6 ports) I still suggest you the Aruba 8320 (JL479A): it provides 48 10Gbps SFP/SFP+ interfaces and 6 40Gbps QSFP+ interfaces, 5 hot swappable Fans and 2 hot swappable Power Supplies...really a performer.

Is there going to be a SFP56 linecard for 6400 soon? As 6300 switches have SFP56 uplinks it would make sense to have linecard with more SPF56 slots for 6400