Key Features - Lenovo RackSwitch G8272 Product Manual

Key features

The RackSwitch G8272 is considered particularly suited for the following environments:
10 GbE server connectivity with 40 GbE upstream aggregation
Virtualized environments with VM-aware networking
Converged SAN and LAN network via NAS, iSCSI, or FCoE
Reduced I/O cost (CAPEX) with fewer adapters, cables, and transceivers to purchase
Reduced complexity (OPEX) with fewer components to manage and lower energy cost
Applications demanding better performance and lower latency
Investment protection with 40 Gb Ethernet, Cloud, and SDN
The RackSwitch G8272 offers the following features and benefits:
High performance
The 10 Gb/40 Gb switch provides the best combination of low latency, non-blocking line-rate
switching, and ease of management. It has a throughput of 1.44 Tbps.
Lower power and better cooling
The RackSwitch G8272 uses as little as 123 W of power, which is less than comparable switches
use. The front-to-rear or rear-to-front cooling design of the RackSwitch G8272 reduces data center
air conditioning costs by having airflow match the servers in the rack. In addition, variable speed
fans help to automatically reduce power consumption.
Layer 3 functionality
The RackSwitch G8272 includes Layer 3 functionality, which provides security and performance
benefits, as inter-VLAN traffic stays within the switch. This switch also provides the full range of
Layer 3 protocols from static routes for technologies, such as Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) and
Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) for enterprise customers.
Converged fabric
The RackSwitch G8272 switch supports Converged Enhanced Ethernet (CEE) which helps enable
customers to combine storage, messaging traffic, VoIP, video, and other data on a common data
center lossless Ethernet infrastructure. As a result, clients can deploy a single server interface for
multiple data types, which can simplify the deployment and management of server network
connectivity while maintaining the high availability and robustness that is required for storage
transactions.
Seamless interoperability
RackSwitch switches perform seamlessly with other vendors' upstream switches.
Fault tolerance
The RackSwitch G8272 offers redundant hot-swap hardware components, learns alternate routes
automatically, and performs faster convergence if there is a link, switch, or power failure.
Open Network Install Environment (ONIE) (Requires an optional license key)
The ONIE is a small Linux-based operating system that provides an open install environment for
networking devices without operating systems. ONIE enables a network switch ecosystem for end
users to choose among different Network Operating Systems by discovering NOS installer images
and loading them onto the switch.
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