HP 2424M - Manual (Page 8)

HP ProCurve Switch 4000M / 8000M / 2424M / 1600M Reviewer’s Guide
1.4 HP Switch Positioning
HP identifies three different classifications for switches: node/desktop, top-of-stack (both classified as
wiring closet switches) and backbone switches. These areas are loosely defined by the number of
address table entries a switch supports, the speed at which a switch operates, the flexibility/modularity
provided by a switch, and the number of ports supported by a switch. There are also some specialty
areas, such as being able to handle centralized server farms.
Desktop switches are intended for connecting each end node in a workgroup directly to its own switch
port, usually at 10Mbps, with maybe one or two higher-speed ports for fast server connectivity. Top-of-
stack switches have larger address tables and higher throughput speeds. They are designed to
interconnect smaller workgroup switches or shared hubs. Backbone switches are intended to be placed
centrally in a network. Consequently, they have high port counts with flexible port configurations,
ways of dealing with broadcast and multicast traffic, and the ability to provide Layer 3 functionality.
10/100 Mbps Switches
entry level, unmanaged
HP ProCurve LAN Solution Family
In
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10 Mbps
Hub
Wiring Closet Backbone Office
10/100 Mbps
Switch
10 Mbps Hubs
managed or unmanaged
10 Mbps Switches
with 2 100 Mbps uplinks
10/100 Mbps Hubs
managed or unmanaged
10/100 Mbps Switches
with up to 2 Gigabit links
10/100 Mbps Switches
flexible chassis configuration
Gigabit Switches
fixed, L2, managed
Gigabit Routing
Switches
fixed, L3, managed
10/100/Gigabit
Routing Switches
flexible chassis configuration
HP
Pro
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Switches covered in this guide.
1.4.1 Positioning for the HP ProCurve Switch 4000M/8000M/2424M/1600M
The HP ProCurve Switches 4000M/8000M/2424M/1600M are very flexible wiring closet switches. The
universal slot architecture delivers high port density and media flexibility in a variety of form factors.
The different switches’ form factors are discussed in Section 1.3.1. These switches all have the same
feature set. Features such as Switch Meshing and Port Trunking provide high availability and high
bandwidth capabilities for mission-critical applications. QoS Setting and in-switch tagging allows them
to be 802.1q edge devices to provide end-to-end packet priority setting without requiring the explicit
involvement of end nodes. HP Proactive Networking makes these switches the easiest way to build and
maintain a high-speed network wiring closet.
©1998, 1999, 2000 Hewlett-Packard Co Revision 3.2b – 1/15/2000 Page 8 of 36