HP Procurve

Nov 14 2009   11:13AM GMT

HP buys 3Com for 2.7 Billion Dollars

Posted by: Yasir Irfan
HP, Hp Acquisation, 3Com Corporation, Ethernet, Hewlett-Packard Company, 3Com’s routers, Switches, Security products, TippingPoint, Cisco Systems, HP Procurve

HP has agreed to its plans to buy router and switching gear maker 3Com for $2.7 billion. This deal will see HP expands its infrastructure portfolio range with 3Com’s routers, Switches and Security products as well it will strengthen the HP position in China thanks to 3Com’s strong presence in China. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2010.
The transaction has been sealed at US$7.90 per 3Com share and is yet another example of an acquisition that will present significant competition for Cisco in the networking market, particularly in the data centre space and network convergence.
“Companies are looking for ways to break free from the business limitations imposed by a networking paradigm that has been dominated by a single vendor,” said Dave Donatelli, executive vice president and general manager, enterprise servers and networking at HP, in a statement issued by the vendor.
“By acquiring 3Com, we are accelerating the execution of our converged infrastructure strategy and bringing disruptive change to the networking industry. By combining HP ProCurve offerings with 3Com’s extensive set of solutions, we will enable customers to build a next-generation network infrastructure that supports customer needs from the edge of the network to the heart of the data centre,” he added.
HP points out that the purchase of 3Com will bring strong security capabilities through the vendor’s TippingPoint portfolio. It also states that thanks to extensive testing of 3Com products, it is planning to complete the global roll-out within HP soon after completion of the acquisition.
Let’s see how successful this acquisition will be in terms of capturing the market share from the lead player like Cisco Systems.

Sep 27 2009   4:45AM GMT

How to configure Trunking between a Cisco Catalyst and a 3Com SuperStack?

Posted by: Yasir Irfan
Cisco Switches, Trunking between Cisco and 3 Com Switches, 3-Com 4200 Switch, 3-Com 3300 Switch, Trunking, 802.1q, VLANS, Cisco Catalyst Switch, 802.1 q trunking port, Trunking between a Cisco Catalyst and a 3Com SuperStack, ITKE, tagged, untagged, HP Procurve

 

I am writing this article to answer the question  for establishing the trunking between a Cisco Catalyst Switch and a 3Com Super Stack Switch in ITKE community.

 

The goal of the article is show the user how to configure an inter operable trunk port in both Cisco and 3 Com Switch. As far as trunking concepts are concerned I did posted an article in ITKE blog comparing the HP Procurve and a Cisco Catalyst Switches which help to understand the trunking methodologies applied in 3 Com and Cisco Switches.

In order understand the configuration process easily I present a scenario, based on this scenario we will configure the Cisco and 3 Com Switches to meet the objectives.

 

In this example 

·         A Cisco Catalyst Switch is connected to a 3-Com Super Stack 4200 Switch (3-Com Super stack 3300 configuration is also available as the configuration process defers in a 3300 Switch)) using a port fast /Giga Ethernet 1 in both the Switches.

·         Create two VLANS locally in both the Cisco Catalyst Switch and a 3-Com Super Stack 4200.

1.       VLAN 100 – For Workstations (named PCS).

2.       VLAN 200- For Servers and Management Devices (Named MANG).

·         Configure fast Ethernet 0/1 on both the Cisco Catalyst Switch and a 3-Com Super Stack 4200 as 802.1 q trunking port.

 

Cisco Catalyst Switch Configuration Example

 

Task 1 – Create VLANS

 

ITKE-Cisco#configure t

Enter configuration commands, one per line.  End with CNTL/Z.

ITKE-Cisco(config)#vlan 100

ITKE-Cisco(config-vlan)#name PCS   

ITKE-Cisco(config-vlan)#exit

ITKE-Cisco(config)#vlan 200

ITKE-Cisco(config-vlan)#name MANG

 

Task 2 - Configure the port fastethernet 0/1 as 802.1 q trunk port.

 

ITKE-Cisco(config)#interface fastEthernet 0/1

ITKE-Cisco(config-if)#description Connected to 3-COM Switch

ITKE-Cisco(config-if)#switchport trunk encapsulation dot1q

ITKE-Cisco(config-if)#switchport mode trunk

ITKE-Cisco(config-if)#no shutdown

ITKE-Cisco(config-if)#

 

Task 3 – Configure the ports fastethernet 0/5 for VLAN 100 and fastethernet 0/10 for VLAN 200.

ITKE-Cisco(config)#interface fastEthernet 0/5

ITKE-Cisco(config-if)#description Connected to PC

 

ITKE-Cisco(config-if)#switchport mode access

ITKE-Cisco(config-if)#switchport access vlan 100

 

ITKE-Cisco(config)#interface fastEthernet 0/10

ITKE-Cisco(config-if)#description Connected to SERVER

ITKE-Cisco(config-if)#switchport mode access

ITKE-Cisco(config-if)#switchport access vlan 200

 

3-Com Super Stack 4200 Switch Configuration Example (Configuration steps are as per the 3-Com Advance configuration manual – not tested).

Task 1 – Create VLANS and add ports Giga Ethernet 0/5 for VLAN 100 and Giga Ethernet 0/10 for VLAN 200

 

<SwitchB> system-view

[SwitchB] vlan 100

[SwitchB-vlan100] description PCS

[SwitchB-vlan100] port GigabitEthernet 1/0/5

[SwitchB-vlan100] quit

 

Create VLAN 200, and add GigabitEthernet1/0/10 to VLAN 200.

[SwitchB] vlan 200

[SwitchB-vlan200] description MANG

[SwitchB-vlan200] port GigabitEthernet 1/0/10

[SwitchB-vlan200] quit

 

 

Task 2 - Configure the port Gigaethernet 1/0/1 as a trunk port.

 

[SwitchB] interface GigabitEthernet 1/0/1

[SwitchB-GigabitEthernet1/0/1] port link-type trunk

 

3-Com Super Stack 3300 Switch Configuration Example.

Task 1 – Create VLANS

Select menu option (bridge/vlan): create

Select VLAN ID (2-4094)[3]: 100

Enter VLAN Name [VLAN 10]: PCS

 

Select menu option (bridge/vlan): create

Select VLAN ID (2-4094)[3]: 200

Enter VLAN Name [VLAN 11]: MANG

 

 

Task 2 - Configure the port fastethernet 0/1 as 802.1 q trunk port

Select VLAN ID (1-2,) [1]: 100 - 200

Select bridge ports (AL1-AL4,unit:port…,?): 1:1

Enter tag type (untagged,tagged): tagged

 

Task 3 – Configure the ports Giga Ethernet 0/5 for VLAN 100 and Giga Ethernet 0/10 for VLAN 200

 

Select menu option (bridge/vlan/modify): add

Select VLAN ID (1-2,)[1]: 100

Select bridge ports (AL1-AL4,unit:port…,?): 1:5

Enter tag type (untagged, tagged): untagged

 

Select menu option (bridge/vlan/modify): add

Select VLAN ID (1-2,)[1]: 200

Select bridge ports (AL1-AL4,unit:port…,?): 1:10

Enter tag type (untagged, tagged): untagged

Aug 8 2009   6:18AM GMT

Configuring Multiple SSIDs in Cisco 1250 Access Points Series 1

Posted by: Yasir Irfan
Multiple SSID, Configuring Multiple SSID in Cisco Access Point, Cisco Aironet 1250 Series Access Points, configuring multiple SSIDs, VLANS, Cisco Configurations, Wireless, Cisco Wireless, Cisco Access Points, Cisco Aironet 1250, Cisco Aironet 1250 Access Point, Sample Configurations, HP Procurve, HP 503 Access Points, HP 420 Access Point, Wirless LAN Controllers, configuration scenarios

 

Recently we purchased plenty of Cisco Aironet 1250 Series Access Points, unfortunately we don’t have any Wireless LAN controllers to manage the Cisco Aironet 1250 Series Access Points.  Previously we were using HP Procurve 503 and 420 access points with multiple SSIDs with different VLANS, which was quite simple and easy to manage.

Whereas with the Cisco Aironet 1250 Series Access Points, configuring multiple SSIDs was an uphill task. As there was no proper documentation or configuration scenarios available particularly for Cisco Aironet 1250 Series Access Points in the Cisco Web Site.   I did some research and  tried few things and finally managed to configure the Cisco Aironet 1250 Series Access Points, with multiple SSIDs. In my next post I will come up the scenario and sample configuration which can be used to create multiple SSIDs in a Cisco Aironet 1250 Series Access Point.

Sep 24 2008   11:21AM GMT

HP to Acquire Colubris Networks to Expand, HP ProCurve’s Wireless Technology Offerings

Posted by: Yasir Irfan
Wireless, HP Procurve, HP switches, Colubris Networks, Acuization

HP  announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Colubris Networks Inc., a Waltham, Mass.-based, privately-held global provider of intelligent wireless networks for enterprises and service providers.HP plans to integrate Colubris’ extensive product line into its ProCurve Networking product portfolio. This will expand HP ProCurve’s reach into vertical markets such as hospitality, transportation, healthcare, manufacturing, service provider and education.

The award-winning Colubris Networks Intelligent Mobility Solution delivers wireless integrated access, management and security products as well as 802.11n capability – all of which help enterprises and service providers broaden the reach and impact of voice, data and multimedia applications.

“The acquisition of Colubris Networks will strengthen ProCurve’s hardware, management platform and services, significantly improving the overall performance capabilities of both wired and wireless networks, and will deliver even more best-in-class choices for our customers worldwide,” said Marius Haas, senior vice president and general manager, HP ProCurve. “With our vision and continued support from HP leadership, I am convinced that ProCurve’s impressive growth and market leadership is unlimited.”

The acquisition is subject to certain closing conditions and is expected to close by the end of HP’s fiscal year 2008. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Sep 24 2008   8:27AM GMT

How to configure intervlan routing between Cisco Catalyst Switches and HP Procurve Switches Series 2

Posted by: Yasir Irfan
Networking, Switches, Cisco, HP Procurve, Cisco Tips, Cisco 3560, Cisco Learning, Cisco 3560-E, Intervlan routing, IP Address, IOS commands, HP switches

In my previous post I did discussed about the how common terminologies are applied by both Cisco & HP, now it’s time  proceed further , in this example we will create two VLANs and make intervlan communication between HP Procurve Switches  and Cisco Catalyst Switches.

 

 

We will create 2 VLANS in both Switches, as shown in the below table

 

Now let’s see what configuration commands required to create a VLAN, and enable intervlan communication between HP Procurve Switches  and Cisco Catalyst Switches.

Sep 22 2008   6:53AM GMT

How to configure intervlan routing between Cisco Catalyst Switches and HP Procurve Switches Series 1.

Posted by: Yasir Irfan
Networking, Switches, Cisco, HP Procurve, Cisco 6500, Cisco Tips, Intervlan routing, IOS commands, HP switches, Trunking

In this series of article you are going to experience how to configure VLAN trunking between HP Procurve Switches  and Cisco Catalyst Switches.

Before proceeding further lest understand the basic terminoly applied by both Cisco and HP for the following things

When it comes to VLANs in Cisco every one thinks of the term TRUKING.

HP applies trunking for ether channel where as in Cisco it applies for VLANs

Let’s compare how both vendors define Trunking

Source:HP

VLAN Terminologies applied by Both Cisco & HP

 

to be continued in next series

Aug 16 2008   11:12AM GMT

How to change an IP address in a HP Procurve Switch

Posted by: Yasir Irfan
Switches, HP Procurve, IP Address, HP switches

Changing an IP address in a Cisco Switch is quite simple, where as in HP Procurve Switches if you try to change an IP address for any existing vlan you get an error message  The IP address (or subnet) 10.0.0.122/23 already exists.. 

I will demonstrate how to change an IP address for an existing VLAN. In this example we have a VLAN 100 assigned with an IP address 10.0.0.99/23 in a HP Procurve Switch.

vlan 100

   name “VLAN100″

   ip address 10.0.0.97 255.255.248.0

   tagged 25-26

   exit

We will try to change the IP address in a normal way as we do in a Cisco Catalyst Switch.

ICU(config)# vlan 100

ICU(vlan-100)# ip address 10.0.0.122 255.255.254.0

The IP address (or subnet) 10.0.0.122/23 already exists.. 

The moment you enter the IP address command you will get an error message mentioned above.

In order to change an IP address do the following things

Log in to the Switch thro a console port.

Then from the global parameters use the following commands

vlan 100

 name “VLAN100″

 no ip address 10.0.0.97 255.255.248.0

 ip address 10.0.0.122  255.255.248.0

However, you can’t do that if you connect to the switch remotely. As soon as the “no ip address” command is received and processed by the switch, your session will be disconnected and you won’t be able to get to the switch.The trick to get around this issue is to make this IP address change through the switch’s built-in menu system instead of using the plain old CLI.

1. Type “menu”, hit Enter
2. Select “Switch Configuration”
3. Select “IP Configuration”
4. Navigate to Edit, hit Enter
5. Change the IP and then Save

you will be disconnected once you save it but you will be able to reconnect using the new IP.