HP unveils unified FlexNetwork architecture from datacentre to endpoint

HP is to build new networks capable of handling the data and security needs of hybrid cloud and virtualised systems, in order to handle traffic loads expected in the future.

The FlexNetwork architecture is built around three integrated core units: FlexFabric, for the efficient running and managing of virtual and physical systems in the datacentre; FlexCampus, which mixes wired and wireless access to network securely within a facility; and FlexBranch, designed to allow outlying offices to interact efficiently with the network within consistent security policies.

The company has also developed FlexManagement, a single management framework which allows all these systems to be optimised and controlled from a single IT administrator's panel.

"To ensure success and a competitive advantage, enterprises need to shift resources from the maintenance of complex legacy networks to innovation," said Marius Haas, senior vice president and general manager for networking at HP.

"With HP's FlexNetwork architecture, we deliver standards-based solutions that allow clients to bring existing network investments forward, reducing total cost of ownership today while preparing organisations to embrace the future."

HP argued that current network architectures are not suited to operate in the hybrid cloud/installed environments in which they are being forced to run, and that the problem will only get worse over time.

Increases in multimedia content, which HP estimates will make up a quarter of all enterprise network traffic by 2014, and the presence of around two billion internet-enabled devices in operation, will present unprecedented data and device management challenges, the firm said.

The FlexFabric module is designed to provide a single system for operating virtual machines and shifting them between computing environments within the datacentre.

Within three years, increases in virtualisation will see around 80 per cent of data movement solely between servers, with only a fifth of traffic actually leaving the facility. This seamless movement of resources within servers farms will become a major bottleneck, according to HP.

Accessing datacentre resources within an enterprise is the role of FlexCampus systems, which are designed for fast switching and data flow across a business from wired and wireless data points.

To support this, HP is launching three new hardware systems. For switching, the new A10500 series is designed from the ground up for multimedia content and comes with 128 wire-speed 10GbE ports and a claimed three-microsecond latency.

The platform is 40GbE and 100GbE ready, and future systems will support up to 1,500 ports per switch.