Hewlett-Packard Announces New Architecture For Edge Networks

Hewlett-Packard has announced the ProCurve Adaptive EDGE Architecture, designed to deliver aggregation and core networking functionality for EDGE-enabled networks, which the company claims run at a 25 percent to 30 percent lower cost compared to traditional networks, and with less complexity.

The company's The ProCurve Networking business unit announced three classes of products for the architecture:

The architecture has been designed with the recognition that intelligence and functionality are migrating to the network edge. Hewlett-Packard says that the architecture has been built to offer companies a cost-effective, easy-to-manage strategy for achieving command from the center with control to the edge.

The ProCurve EDGE Fabric, an alternative to traditional core products, is a high-performance, highly resilient interconnect designed to honor decisions made at the edge of the network where users connect.

"Traditional network management strategies have placed all network intelligence and decision-making abilities in the core devices. This core-centric model creates several roadblocks to implementing a secure, mobile, multi-service network," John McHugh, vice president and general manager, ProCurve Networking by HP said in a statement. "Challenges associated with network performance, scalability and security are only the beginning; overall business efficiency suffers as well. With the addition of the EDGE Fabric, ProCurve offers customers the choice of traditional core network design or an EDGE optimized network, along with an affordable migration path from one to the other, enabling enterprises to meet the challenges of current and emerging applications."

The ProCurve EDGE Fabric family is expected to be available in mid-2005. The ProCurve Switch 6400cl series stackables is expected to be available spring 2005. The ProCurve Switch 10G Copper 6400cl-6XG has an estimated U.S. list price of $5,429. The ProCurve Switch 10G X2 6410cl-6XG has an estimated U.S. list price of $8,099.