There’s some interesting information floating around about HP’s Virtual Connect. They say that it simplifies server management and eliminates barriers to change. Wow, that’s a stretch! The Virtual Connect switches still need provisioned uplinks. Perhaps a better idea is Dell’s FlexIO (with FlexAddress), which enables automated deployment configuration in advance, network stacking (making a number of switches appear as a single virtual switch), supports industry leading Cisco switches that can be managed using existing Cisco network management frameworks and tools, and of course it all comes from Dell as a single integrated solution.
Also remember that although HP tries to position VirtualConnect Ethernet products as not being an Ethernet switch, they truly are. In fact, the heart of the HP VirtualConnect Ethernet switch is the same family of Broadcom switch ASIC used in the Dell PowerConnect M6220 (actually HP uses a lower end version with fewer 10GbE ports). They put some software on top to hide that, but at the core it’s a commodity switch. So they can’t be managed by network tools in a Cisco network infrastructure: they must be managed separately using HP’s proprietary management interface. In fact, to manage more than one chassis of VirtualConnect switches, HP requires you to buy VirtualConnect Enterprise Manager at $9,000 per chassis! Dell Cisco blade switches are managed like any other Cisco switch in a network infrastructure, which we think is easier.
HP promotes persistent WWN/MAC with VirtualConnect, but Dell’s implementation (FlexAddress) doesn’t require costly proprietary switches. In fact, because Dell’s FlexAddress is enabled through the Chassis Management Controller it can be used to deliver the advantage of persistent WWN/MAC with any IO module, including Cisco, Brocade, PowerConnect, and even pass-throughs. It’s not only more flexible, but also a much simpler and lower cost way to deliver this important functionality. Finally, to get persistent WWN functionality with VirtualConnect, HP requires customers to buy BOTH a VirtualConnect Ethernet AND VirtualConnect Fibre Channel switch. So, if you don’t want to go down the proprietary switch route for Ethernet, HP has no way to deliver persistent WWNs for Fibre Channel.
Dell’s FlexIO technology is fully compatible with a Cisco infrastructure and enables Cisco stacking functionality (known as Virtual Blade Switch). This reduces cabling, internal cross charges for networking, and the use of distribution layer ports. It also allows the switches internal to the blade enclosure to be managed using the same knowledge and tools as customers use to manage the rest of their network environment. So who is working to simplify IT? It isn’t HP. If you disagree, let me know.
