HP 2424M - Manual (Page 5)

HP ProCurve Switch 4000M / 8000M / 2424M / 1600M Reviewer’s Guide
1. Background
This Switch Reviewer’s Guide will help network testing engineers at computer trade publications,
resellers and end-user sites evaluate the merits of the HP ProCurve Switches. Hewlett-Packard
Company created this guide to help reviewers understand the benefits of the HP ProCurve Switches.
1.1 HP’s Proactive Networking
HP proactive networking is an extensible line of products working together to provide the control
network administrators need to deliver the network uptime and performance that their organizations
require. This guide describes one part of HP proactive networking: the HP ProCurve Switch 4000M,
HP ProCurve Switch 8000M, the HP ProCurve Switch 2424M and HP ProCurve Switch 1600M products.
The HP ProCurve Switches 4000M/8000M/2424M and 1600M have been designed from the start to
provide not only a low cost, high performance, scalable switched environment, but to do so with
minimal configuration requirements. This, combined with the industry-leading lifetime 1 warranty and
network management designed to easily help the network administrator proactively provide network
optimization, leads to a switched environment that is easy to implement, maintain and grow.
1.2 What is a Switch?
In their simplest form, switches are multi-port bridges. With the technology that now exists, switches
can operate at or near media-speed on all their ports simultaneously, allowing data flow to different
segments on the switch to appear to occur simultaneously. It is this simultaneity that provides the main
benefits of a switch, lowering or eliminating traffic bottlenecks that might be present in a shared
environment.
1.3 Hewlett-Packard Switch Products
1.3.1 ProCurve Switches Covered in this Guide
This guide covers the following Hewlett-Packard switch products:
HP ProCurve Switch 4000M
The HP ProCurve Switch 4000M is a modular wiring closet switch that comes standard with forty
fully-switched 10/100 Base-T UTP autosensing ports, with five open slots for additional modules.
The HP ProCurve Switch can support up to eighty 10/100 autosensing 10/100Base-T ports, and is
ideal for scaleable/expandable low-cost 10/100 desktop switching for smaller groups of users. The
switch includes embedded Web-based management and HP TopTools for Hubs and Switches.
Modules available for the HP ProCurve Switch 4000M are:
• HP Switch 10/100Base-T module provides (8) autosensing 10/100 Ethernet UTP ports
• HP Switch Gigabit-SX module provides (1) 1000Mbps multi-mode fiber optic port
• HP Switch Gigabit-LX module provides (1) 1000Mbps multi-mode or single-mode fiber optic
port. Fully adheres to the IEEE 802.3z specification. 2
• HP Switch 100/1000Base-T module provides (1) autosensing 100/1000Mbps Category 5 UTP
connection at up to 100m. Implements autosensing Auto MDI/MDI-X, allowing either
straight-through or crossover cabling to be used for interconnections between switches or
switch-to-server.
• HP Switch 100Base-FL module provides (4) 100Mbps multi-mode fiber optic ports
1 For as long as you own the product.
2 Mode conditioning cable (not included) may be needed with multi-mode fiber cable per IEEE 802.3z specs.
©1998, 1999, 2000 Hewlett-Packard Co Revision 3.2b – 1/15/2000 Page 5 of 36