ProCurve Launches New Switch For Converged Networks

The ProCurve Switch 2610 Series comprises five new switches; two with Power over Ethernet (PoE), two without PoE and a hybrid option.

"This helps us tell our story of enabling converged networks," said Rich Horsley, a ProCurve product manager.

The 2610 Series includes several features to enable that convergence, Horsley said, including multicast traffic control, QoS, 802.3af standard PoE and support for pre-standard legacy PoE equipment such as older access points to enable wired and wireless deployments of unified communications, VoIP and streaming video.

The 2610 line features five models, 24- and 48-port non-PoE; 24- and 48-port PoE; and a 24-port with 12-port PoE hybrid, Horsley said. The PoE models are 14 inches deep, while the non-PoE models are nine inches deep, saving room in the wiring closet. The PoE models provide up to 15.4W for 12, 24 and 48 ports. The hybrid 2610-24/12PWR has 24 10/100 ports and provides 12 ports of PoE.

According to ProCurve, all 2610 switches include two 10/100/1000BASE-T ports and two mini-GBIC slots for Gigabit uplink connectivity. There is also an optional redundant external power supply available for redundancy in the event of a power failure. Horsley said the 2610-24 is fanless, making it ideal of deployment in open spaces and to ensure quite operation.

The addition of the 2610 and the eventual phasing out of the 2600 will help VARs offer their clients additional features that weren't available before, while also sticking in line with ProCurve's "more for less" mantra that includes a lifetime warranty and free software upgrades.

New security features include Access Control Lists (ACL), which allow network administrators to control both inbound and outbound traffic. The 2610 also features sFlow traffic sampling technology to ease traffic management and network monitoring to detect and prevent threats when coupled with ProCurve's Network Immunity Manager. The 2610 series also supports 802.1x for multiple role authentication.

The new switching family will pit ProCurve directly against San Jose, Calif.-based Cisco Systems Inc.'s Catalyst 2960 switch series and Marlborough, Mass.-based 3Com Corp.'s 4500 switch family in the edge switching market.

Horsley said the sweet spot for the new switching line will be in retail, education and finance, or any industry with remote and branch locations. For resellers, the new features and functions can help them sell into customers looking at convergence.

"These are features resellers want to improve their convergence and security stories," Horsley said. "We're brining technologies that were in the Gigabit Power over Ethernet space down to the 10/100.

The 2610 series began shipping February 1. Pricing starts at $629 for the ProCurve Switch 2610-24; $969 for the 2610-24/12PWR hybrid; $1579 for the 2610-24-PWR; $1079 for the 2610-48; and $2699 for the 2610-48-PWR.