HP ProCurve 2910AL-48G Switch: Why it’s recommended?

- Posted by Author: alex in Category: Network Switches |

Networking is the backbone of any organization today. It’s important to invest in network infrastructure that can grow with your business. The HP ProCurve 2910AL-48G Switch is designed to meet the needs of businesses that require a reliable and cost-effective solution for their network. In this blog post, we will explore why the HP ProCurve 2910AL-48G Switch is recommended as an ideal networking switch for businesses. From its features to its performance, read on to learn more about why investing in this particular switch could be a wise decision for your organization.

What is a networking switch?

A networking switch is a hardware device that allows you to connect multiple computers or other devices together on a single network. Switches are used to improve the speed and performance of a network by providing dedicated bandwidth to each device that is connected to it. In addition, switches can also provide security features such as port security and MAC address filtering.

When you’re looking for a networking switch, there are a few things you should keep in mind. First, consider the size of your network and the number of devices that will be connected to the switch. You’ll also want to think about the type of traffic that will be running through the switch and whether you need support for specific protocols. Finally, take a look at the features offered by different switches and choose one that meets your needs.

Why are HP networking switches so popular?

Networking switches are a vital part of any network infrastructure, and HP ProCurve switches are some of the most popular on the market. There are many reasons for their popularity, including their support for a wide range of networking protocols, their robust security features, and their easy-to-use web interface.

HP ProCurve switches also offer excellent value for money, with a wide range of models available to suit any budget. Their low power consumption makes them ideal for use in green IT initiatives, and their support for PoE (Power over Ethernet) means that they can be used to power devices such as IP phones and wireless access points.

Whether you’re looking to build a new network from scratch or upgrade your existing infrastructure, HP ProCurve switches should be at the top of your list.

HP ProCurve 2910AL-48G Switch: Overview

The HP ProCurve 2910al Switch Series consists of four switches: the HP ProCurve 2910al-24G and 2910al-24G-PoE+ Switches with 24 10/100/1000ports, and the HP ProCurve 2910al-48G and 2910al-48G-PoE+ Switches with 48 10/100/1000 ports. Each switch has four dual-personality ports for 10/100/1000 or mini-GBIC connectivity. In addition, the 2910al switch supports up to four optional 10-Gigabit (CX4 and/or SFP+) ports, thereby offering the most flexible and easy-to-deploy uplinks in itsclass. Together with static and RIP IPv4 routing, robust security and management, enterprise-class features, free lifetime warranty, and free software updates, the 2910 series is a cost-effective, scalable solution for customers who are building high-performance networks. These switches can be deployed at enterprise edge and remote branch offices, converged networks, and data center top of rack.


Key features

  • High-performance Gigabit access switch
  • Four optional 10-Gigabit ports (CX4 and/or SFP+)
  • IEEE 802.3af/802.3at functionality ( PoE/PoE+)
  • Layer 2 plus Layer 3 lite (static IP) and RIP 1, 2
  • Lifetime warranty, sFlow, ACLs, and rate limiting

HP ProCurve 2910AL-48G Switch: Features

Connectivity

• 10 Gbps Ethernet connectivity: up to four optional and flexible 10-Gigabit ports (CX4 and/or SFP+), with an optional, interconnect kit for short-distance connectivity
• IPv6:
– IPv6 host: allows the switches to be managed and deployed at the edge of IPv6 networks
– Dual stack (IPv4/IPv6): provides transition mechanism from IPv4 to IPv6; supports connectivity for both protocols
– MLD snooping: forwards IPv6 multicast traffic to the appropriate interface; prevents IPv6 multicast traffic from flooding the network
• IEEE 802.3af Power over Ethernet: provides up to 15.4 W per port to IEEE 802.3af-compliant PoE powered devices such as IP phones, wireless access points, and security cameras
• IEEE 802.3at Power Over Ethernet Plus: provides up to 30 W per port to IEEE 802.3 for PoE/PoE+ powered devices such as video IP phones, IEEE 802.11n wireless access points, and advanced pan/zoom/tilt security cameras
• Pre-standard PoE support: detects and provides power to pre-standard PoE devices; see list of supported devices in the product FAQ at www.procurve.com
• Auto-MDIX: automatically adjusts for straight-through or crossover cables on all 10/100 and 10/100/1000 ports
• Dual-personality functionality: includes four 10/100/1000 ports or SFP slots for optional fiber connectivity such as Gigabit-SX, -LX, -LH, 100-FX, 100-BX, and 1000-BX
• Stacking capability: single IP address management for a virtual stack of up to 16 switches, including the HP ProCurve Switch 2500 Series, 2510 Series, 2600 Series, 2610 Series, 2800 Series, 2810 Series, 2900 Series, 2910al Series, 3400cl Series, 3500yl Series, 4200vl Series, 6108, 6200yl-24G-mGBIC, and 6400cl Series

Performance

• High-performance architecture: 128 Gbps switching fabric with up to 95 Mpps (24-port switches) and 176 Gbps switching fabric with up to 131 Mpps (48-port switches)
• Selectable queue configurations: increase performance by selecting the number of queues and associated memory buffering that best meet the requirements of your network applications 

Resiliency and high availability

• IEEE 802.1s Multiple Spanning Tree: provides high link availability in multiple VLAN environments by allowing multiple spanning trees; provides legacy support for IEEE 802.1d and IEEE 802.1w
• IEEE 802.3ad Link Aggregation Protocol (LACP) and ProCurve trunking: support up to 24 trunks, each with up to 8 links (ports) per trunk
• Optional redundant power supply: supplies backup power in case of power failure (Note: HP ProCurve 620 Redundant/External Power Supply provides only RPS functionality for the 2910al series)

Manageability

• RMON, XRMON, and sFlow: provide advanced monitoring and reporting capabilities for statistics, history, alarms, and events
• Uni-Directional Link Detection (UDLD): monitors a link between two switches and blocks the ports on both ends of the link if the link goes down at any point between the two devices
• Command authorization: leverages RADIUS to link a custom list of CLI commands to individual network administrator’s login; it also provides an audit trail
• Dual flash images: provides independent primary and secondary operating system files for backup while upgrading

Multiple configuration files: allow multiple configuration files to be stored to flash image
• Friendly port names: allow assignment of descriptive names to ports
• Find-Fix-and-Inform: finds and fixes common network problems automatically, then informs the administrator
• Software updates: free downloads from the Web
• Troubleshooting: ingress/egress port monitoring enables network problem-solving

Layer 2 switching

• VLAN support and tagging: supports the IEEE 802.1Q (4,094 VLAN IDs) and 256 VLANs simultaneously
• GARP VLAN Registration Protocol: allows automatic learning and dynamic assignment of VLANs
• Jumbo packet support: supports up to 9,220-byte frame size to improve the performance of large data transfers
• IEEE 802.1v protocol VLANs: isolate select non-IPv4 protocols automatically into their own VLANs

Layer 3 routing

• Static IP routing: provides manually configured routing; including ECMP capability
• RIP: provides RIPv1 and RIPv2 routing

Security

• Multiple user authentication methods:

– IEEE 802.1X: industry-standard method of user authentication using an IEEE 802.1X supplicant on the client in conjunction with a RADIUS server
– Web-based authentication: similar to IEEE 802.1X, it provides a browser-based environment to authenticate clients that do not support the IEEE 802.1X supplicant
– MAC-based authentication: client is authenticated with the RADIUS server based on the client’s MAC address

• Authentication flexibility:

– Multiple IEEE 802.1X users per port: provides authentication of up to eight IEEE 802.1X users per port; prevents user “piggybacking” on another user’s IEEE 802.1X authentication
– Concurrent IEEE 802.1X and Web or MAC authentication schemes per port: switch port will accept any of IEEE 802.1X and either Web or MAC authentications

• Access control lists (ACLs): provide IP Layer 3 filtering based on source/destination IP address/subnet and source/destination TCP/UDP port number
• Identity-driven ACL: enables implementation of a highly granular and flexible access security policy and VLAN assignment specific to each authenticated network user
• Dynamic ARP protection: blocks ARP broadcasts from unauthorized hosts, preventing eavesdropping or theft of network data
• DHCP protection: blocks DHCP packets from unauthorized DHCP servers, preventing denial-of-service attacks
• Port monitoring for network threats: provides sampled port traffic using sFlow technology to the HP ProCurve Network Immunity Manager application for Network Behavior Anomaly Detection (NBAD) analysis to detect threats and mitigate threats at the port where the threat originated
• Source-port filtering: allows only specified ports to communicate with each other
• RADIUS/TACACS+: eases switch management security administration by using a password authentication server
• Secure Shell (SSHv2): encrypts all transmitted data for secure, remote command-line interface (CLI) access over IP networks

Conclusion

In conclusion, HP ProCurve 2910AL-48G Switch is a reliable and cost-efficient network switch that provides superior performance for both large and small networks. This switch delivers high scalability, advanced security features, and easy manageability with its web-based user interface. With its affordable price point and the robust set of features it offers, it’s no wonder why HP ProCurve 2910AL-48G Switch is one of the most recommended switches on the market today.