Flipping the switch 

A new line of open network switches produced by HP in conjunction with Accton Technologies will enable service providers and Web scale enterprises to regulate data centre networks. This will assist with the management of Big Data, cloud, mobile and social media systems.

“The complexity of Web-scale workloads and increasing customer demands for network services are challenging the scalability and agility of cloud data centers,” Antonio Neri, senior vice president and general manager of HP’s Enterprise Group said in a press release.

“Today’s announcement underpins our commitment to accelerate the adoption of open networks and provide offerings optimized for web-scale deployments that enable faster time to service,” he continued.

Known as “brite box switches,” the new product offers more choices within open network surroundings, which allows for the fine tuning of data centre network functions based on user-specified information.

The release features two types of switches that the facilitate implementation of 10G/40G spine and 10G leaf data centre operations. Designed to be Cumulus Linux OS-compliant, the switches also provide touchless installation for operating systems through an open network install loader.

Future switch releases will include 25, 50 and 100G models for higher-capacity Web scale data centres, and a 1G version that will cater to user-defined needs. In addition, more support will be provided for other hardware and OS software variants.