Networks & Security

The ONE

Posted on February 1, 2009 by buu

A recent announcement has got me very excited. Most of you in the enterprise space who run the Cisco 6500 chassis switch I’m sure are aware of the Advanced Integrated Services modules available, giving you additional functions such as Firewall, Wireless, Content Switching, to name a few. There is some great aspects to this like taking advantage of the redundancy you typically have in your 6500. For the most part, other mainstream networking vendors have lacked this and if they did have some modules, they didn’t have nearly as many as Cisco.

However, ProCurve now has the ProCurve Open Network Ecosystem (ONE). This is an initiative that has joined many vendors (other than Cisco) together to test, certify and deliver combined solutions through the use of an Intel-based services module that will fit right into your ProCurve zl series chassis switch (5400 and 8200). This ONE services module already has some big players lined up, several of which I work with a lot. The notable ones for me will be:

• Mitel 3300 IP-PBX
• F5 Local Traffic Manager
• HP NAC
• A variety of firewalls, IPS and antivirus
• Microsoft NAP (Windows Server 2008)
• Riverbed Steelhead
• AirMagnet

While I still have an agnostic view on vendors, I like to have choices when I design a network for a customer and this will be great for all the people who don’t want to pay the big dollars for Cisco but still give you similar module options. Granted, the 5400 and 8200 series ProCurves don’t quite have what it takes to go toe to toe with a Cisco 6500 chassis , most notably lacking stateful management switchover and having lower port capacity. However, if someone isn’t looking for those features, the 8200 chassis switch makes for a great option and the zl series chassis switches in general will be even more appealing with ProCurve ONE. I’m looking forward to getting my hands on a setup and write up an article about the experience.

Cheers

-buu