Marketing description

The HPE FlexFabric 12900 Switch Series is a next-generation modular data center core switch designed to support virtualized data centers and the evolving needs of private and public cloud deployments. The FlexFabric 12900 switch delivers unprecedented levels of performance, buffering, scale, and availability with high density 10GbE, 40GbE and 100GbE. The HPE FlexFabric 12900 Switch Series includes 16-, 10-, 8- and 4-slot chassis. Software-defined networking (SDN) enabled with OpenFlow 1.3, the switch supports full Layer 2 and 3 features, including advanced features such as Virtual Extensible LAN (VxLAN), TRansparent Interconnection of Lots of Links (TRILL) and Intelligent Resilient Fabric (IRF), which provide the ability to build large, resilient switching fabrics. The HPE FlexFabric 12900 Switch Series also supports fully redundant and hot-swappable components to complement its other enterprise-class capabilities.

Key selling points

• Modern scalable system architecture
• Distributed architecture with separation of data and control planes
• Advanced Comware modular operating system
• In-Service Software Upgrade (ISSU)
• Multitenant Device Context (MDC)
• Virtual Extensible LAN (VxLAN)
• Scalable Layer 2 fabrics
• HPE Ethernet Virtual Interconnect (EVI)
• Edge Virtual Bridging (EVB) with Virtual Ethernet Port Aggregator (VEPA)
• Data Center Bridging (DCB) protocols
• Fiber Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) features
• Front-to-back airflow design
• Intelligent Resilient Fabric (IRF)
• Redundant/load-sharing fabrics, management, fan assemblies, and power supplies
• Hot-swappable modules
• Graceful restart
• Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol (VRRP)
• Device Link Detection Protocol (DLDP)
• Hitless patch upgrades
• IEEE 802.3ad Link Aggregation Control Protocol (LACP)
• Passive design system

Product features

• Modern scalable system architecture
  Provides nonblocking, lossless Clos architecture with VOQs and large buffers with the flexibility and scalability for future growth.
• Distributed architecture with separation of data and control planes
  Delivers enhanced fault tolerance and facilitates continuous operation and zero service disruption during planned or unplanned control-plane events.
• Advanced Comware modular operating system
  Brings native high stability, independent process monitoring, and restart through the modular design and multiple processes of HPE Comware v7 software; supports enhanced serviceability functions.
• In-Service Software Upgrade (ISSU)
  Provides an upgrade of the entire chassis, or an individual task or process, with zero packet loss.
• Multitenant Device Context (MDC)
  Virtualizes a physical switch into multiple logical devices, with each logical switch having its own processes, configuration, and administration.
• Virtual Extensible LAN (VxLAN)
  Provides wire-rate support for seamless Layer 2 connectivity across Layer 3 networks enabling virtual machine mobility and cloud deployments.
• Scalable Layer 2 fabrics
  Builds flexible, resilient, and scalable Layer 2 fabrics with TRILL and HPE IRF.
• HPE Ethernet Virtual Interconnect (EVI)
  Is an HPE Virtual Application Network innovation that provides a Layer 2 extension across the data center to simplify the interconnectivity of geographically disperse data centers.
• Edge Virtual Bridging (EVB) with Virtual Ethernet Port Aggregator (VEPA)
  Provides connectivity into the virtualization-ready data center environment.
• Data Center Bridging (DCB) protocols
  Provides support for IEEE 802.1Qaz Data Center Bridging Exchange (DCBX), Enhanced Transmission Selection (ETS), and IEEE 802.1Qbb Priority Flow Control (PFC) for converged fabrics.
• Fiber Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) features
  Deliver support for FCoE, including expansion, fabric, trunk VF and N ports, and aggregation of E-port and N-port virtualization.
• Front-to-back airflow design
  Accommodates deployment in data centers utilizing hot-cold aisles.
• Intelligent Resilient Fabric (IRF)
  Creates virtual resilient switching fabrics, where two or more switches perform as a single L2 switch and L3 router; switches do not have to be co-located and can be part of a disaster-recovery system; servers or switches can be attached using standard LACP for automatic load balancing and high availability; can eliminate the need for complex protocols like Spanning Tree Protocol, Equal-Cost Multipath (ECMP), or VRRP, thereby simplifying network operation.
• Redundant/load-sharing fabrics, management, fan assemblies, and power supplies
  Increase total performance and power availability while providing hitless, stateful failover.
• Hot-swappable modules
  Allows replacement of modules without any impact on other modules.
• Graceful restart
  Allows routers to indicate to others their capability to maintain a routing table during a temporary shutdown, which significantly reduces convergence times upon recovery; supports OSPF, BGP, and IS-IS.
• Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol (VRRP)
  Allows groups of two routers to dynamically back each other up to create highly available routed environments.
• Device Link Detection Protocol (DLDP)
  Monitors link connectivity and shuts down ports at both ends if unidirectional traffic is detected, preventing loops in STPbased networks.
• Hitless patch upgrades
  Allows patches and new service features to be installed without restarting the equipment, increasing network uptime and facilitating maintenance.
• IEEE 802.3ad Link Aggregation Control Protocol (LACP)
  Supports up to 1024 trunk groups and up to 16 members per trunk; supports static or dynamic groups and a userselectable hashing algorithm.
• Passive design system
  Delivers increased system reliability as the backplane has no active components.