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Frequently asked questions | HP FlexFabric 5900CP Switch Series
General
Q: What is being announced?
A: HP is expanding its data center access offering with the new converged top-of-rack HP FlexFabric 5900CP Switch
Series. The unmatched simplicity and versatility of the new switch series brings true convergence to data centers.
Q. When will the FlexFabric 5900CP be available?
A. It will be available starting February 18, 2014.
HP FlexFabric 5900CP Switch Series
Q: What is the HP FlexFabric solution?
A: The HP FlexFabric solution is the data center component of the HP FlexNetwork architecture. FlexFabric delivers a
simple, scalable, and automated Ethernet fabric for data centers, enabling customers to lower costs, enhance network
performance, and work smarter with automation.
Q: What is the FlexFabric 5900CP Switch Series?
A: The FlexFabric 5900CP comprises next-generation data center switches, designed to support converged networking
and storage environments.
The FlexFabric 5900CP is a 1RU top-of-rack switch that comes standard with 48 converged ports, which support 1/10GbE
and 4/8 Gb/s Fibre Channel (FC) speeds. The switch also provides four QSFP+ uplink ports each, delivering 40GbE of
networking bandwidth.
Q: Can the 40GbE ports be used as 10GbE ports?
A: Yes. All the four QSFP+ ports of the FlexFabric 5900CP switch can be used as 10GbE ports, using breakout cables.
In other words, the FlexFabric 5900CP is capable of delivering up to 64 10GbE ports.
Q: How do the converged ports of the FlexFabric 5900CP differ from standard ports?
A: The difference between the standard and converged port lies in the protocols and corresponding transceivers that
each port supports.
Standard ports are generally dedicated to either supporting Ethernet or storage protocols such as FC. On the other
hand, converged ports of the FlexFabric 5900CP are designed to support 1/10GbE Ethernet protocols and 4/8 FC
protocols. The converged ports can accommodate SFP+ 10GbE transceivers or FC optical transceivers. To simplify things
for customers, HP offers a universal transceiver that is capable of working as an Ethernet or FC transceiver, without
requiring customer intervention.
Figure 1. Converged ports and optics—versatile connectivity
1/10/40GbE LAN
iSCSI or
NAS storage
2
Converged ports
Converged optics
All ports are converged
FC
Connect to LANs & SANs
SAN
Wire-once optics
One OS license for all features
FC
storage
First
to market
FCoE
with converged
storage
optics
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