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HP PS1810-8G Ethernet Switch

Published : Sunday, February 9, 2014, 5:50 pm
ACROFAN=Yong-Man Kwon | yongman.kwon@acrofan.com | SNS
The ‘Simplified Network structure’ of today’s enterprise infrastructure that too much twisted and complexed physically and logically is most important things in modern companies. That problem is not new, and all of IT infrastructure companies talk that the flexibility and convenience of configuration and management is most important things of their products. And the next-generation network technology try to solve the problems of expand limitation in legacy networks.

HP already introduce the concept of ‘Converged Infrastructure’, and converged all management point of company’s IT resources is one of important things in this concept. The physically right and efficient form factor for installation and minimize their management point in small, distributed network environment such as remote office, workgroup networks affects management efficient of whole resources in company.

HP PS1810-8G Ethernet switch is the managed L2 switch for IT manager in company that suggested to solve the management problem in small networks. This switch can make simplest small network in physically and logically with HP Microserver Gen8, and suggest the efficient way to expand and integrated the small network to entire networks. The HP’s switch has physically form factor compatibility with HP Microserver Gen8, and can integrate configure with HP iLO contact-point.

■ Closely Integration with HP Microserver Gen8

 
▲ HP PS1810-8G Ethernet switch optimized with small networks.

HP PS1810-8G ethernet switch is for small networking such as office with 8 port gigabit ethernet connection support. Especially this switch has special-purpose design for stacking up with HP proliant microserver Gen8. This switch can stacking over or under the HP Microserver Gen8, whole system looks like a one box system.

This switch has almost 1U height, and it is higher than other 8-port ethernet switch. But actual logic board is only used half of the case area, and maybe this switch only used height just little over the ethernet ports. Additionally about height, height of this switch is almost 1U and similar to 24-port rack-mounted switch, so this switch wasted some spaces if this switch using in rack or standalone switch.

But the reason that HP using this kind of special form factor in this switch is consider to use with HP Microserver Gen8. This switch has well-fitted when stacking with HP Microserver Gen8 and looks like only one-box converged system. And HP provide special package of Microserver that Microserver and this switch packaged in one-box.

 
▲ The 1st port support PoE and can operation without other external power supply

Front of PS1810-8G is only power LED without cooling hole and all physical ports, power supply plug and LED is located in backside of the switch. Maybe that kind of design considering most of use case is with microserver or standalone then rack-mounted. And design of cooling holes at the front is matched with bezel of Microserver Gen8.

Port activity LED is integrated with physical RJ45 ports and that kinds of design is more intuitive in small size configuration. And the switch detecting the kind of cables and configuring automatically with auto MDI/MDIX detecting function, so don't require to users need to check and replace their legacy cables.

The first ethernet port in backside support PoE, and this switch can operating without any external power supply when wiring with PoE-support switch and ports. This option is very convenient when very hard to make or connect with external power outlet, or want to make simplest wiring. Also, this switch provide flexible mounting option such as wall-mounting or mounting under the tables.

 
▲ Provide server monitoring option integrate with iLO of HP server product series.

One of special things about this switch is interworking with management tools of HP’s ProLiant server series. Management interface of PS1810-8G is based on web technology and provide controls of functions and interworking with iLO that is the management tools of HP ProLiant server series. This interworking function can integrating many distributed management points by PS1810-8G and make simplify in large infra with many sub-networks.

PS1810-8G switch identify the information of iLO in HP ProLiant server, and provide basic monitoring and link of connecting to server’s iLO. Users can register server’s iLO address by automatic search or manual, but I recommend to use manual register because automatic search is not perfect to use. PS1810 series switch support to maximum 10 server to register and monitoring.

HP PS1810-8G switch also support SNMP, 802.11AB LLDP protocols for management and integrated with other standard-based enterprise infrastructure management tools. That kind of function supports to reduce management point and understand overall network and infrastructure even very complex structure with many silos.

■ Faithful features and performance for enterprise level infrastructure

 
▲ Provide various features by enough performance based on hardware

HP PS1810-8G switch has faithful features and performance for enough to use in enterprise level IT environment even this switch has only 8-port GbE and for small networks. For performance, PS1810-8G using same hardware component and performance with 128MB of RAM, 512KB of packet buffer. It’s really enough performance for 8-port Ethernet switch.

PS1810-8G switch provide maximum 11.9 Million PPS, 16Gbps switching capacity on eight gigabit Ethernet ports. And this switch supports some kind of features and technologies for energy efficient operating such as 802.3az EEE(Energy Efficient Ethernet), automatic power saving mode per ports when ports not used. Typically 7.2W maximum power consumption is enough to operating by PoE for power supply.

HP PS1810-8G has many features for enterprise level networks. This switch has VLAN and tagging functions for security, support jumbo packet for performance optimization, STP(Spanning tree protocol) and Link aggregation for network performance and availability, broadcast control for QoS and cut down on unwanted traffic.

 
▲ Maximum using 4 link aggregation groups

For link availability, PS1810-8G switch supports STP and link aggregation (Trunking or bonding) for network link redundancy. In the STP supports include 802.1D STP and 802.1W rapid STP make network links with redundancy and avoid to network loop.

Link aggregation that using 2 or more network interface together as a group, can get higher bandwidth and availability, easy to repair link problems. Many servers include HP Microserver Gen8 has 2 or more Ethernet interface and use this functions. PS1810-8G supports maximum 4 link aggregation groups and maximum 4 ports per group.

Making link aggregation groups supports by automatic using LACP (Link Aggregation Control Protocol) or manual setting in administration page. Use maximum configuration in STP or Link aggregation is difficult because this switch has only 8 ports, but it represent that enough to margin of performance and features.

 
▲ Maximum 64 VLAN supports with tagging features

VLAN supports on switch is maximum 64 port-based VLAN and security configuration by dynamic setting based on IEEE 802.1Q VLAN tagging. 64 VLAN supports are absolutely adequate on 8 ports L2 switch and give flexibility for better availability to use in big sized network with complicated logical structure.

By the product information documents, QoS supports in this switch is included 802.1p standard and DSCP(Differentiated Services Code Point) based real-time traffic mapping and classification and broadcast traffic control of cut down or forwarding to specific port for avoid overload in multicast environments. But I can’t find setting pages in administration tools of switch we reviewed and maybe can’t use this function on this switch standalone configuration.

Port mirroring for management is useful option when have dedicated network security or control unit or analyzing the network problems. And some kind of protection features provides more stable environments such as traffic control functions and overload protection for unwanted broadcast, multicast or unicast traffic, automatic protection for some of DoS attack pattern.

■ Best combination with HP Microserver Gen8

 
▲ Product specification of HP PS1810-8G

HP PS1810 series has two different form factor. PS1810-24G has rack mount optimized form factor and provide 24 Gigabit Ethernet and 2 SFP ports. But PS1810-8G has optimized for special form factor and design with HP Microserver Gen8 even not for rack mount optimized or small, slim form factor and has simular features and performance as PS1810-24G.

Because of concept and optimization, PS1810-8G is the best with HP Microserver Gen8 and it’s different to other L2 managed switch. This switch’s special things are almost all functions such as link administrtion tools to iLO administrator page, Link aggregaton, VLAN and STP, PoE for make simple to installation optimized to infrastructure with Microserver than standalone.

This switch also have some advantages that management tool integration and minimize user support contact points because ‘same vender’ if you using this switch with HP Proliant Gen8 include Microserver Gen8. If your infrastructure builded by HP server based, HP networking portfolio has advantage of technical support when other products has same level of features, performance and even same price. And HP networking portfolio’s ‘Lifetime warranty’ and strong technical support is additional value for users.

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