HP ProCurve Networking reduces support costs by 15 percent at Fujitsu microelectronicsModernize network with 10Gb core infrastructure, add wireless and unified communications while achieving lower TCO.
FME originally controlled its business and IT operations from an office in Frankfurt where its networking infrastructure had steadily evolved to handle increasing sales, marketing and engineering design activities. Of those who use the network, approximately 60 per cent of users are engineering designers who require constant access to data and complex applications. To cater for growing business demand, FME made a strategic decision to relocate its headquarters to Langen. “Before moving, we were questioning whether our network could cope with current and future business growth,” explains Neil Hare, principal system and network administrator, Fujitsu Microelectronics Europe GmbH.
“But after examining the new building layout, it became apparent we needed a modern network based on a 10 Gb core infrastructure that offered increased performance, reliability, scalability and manageability. We also needed to address wireless technology, our future IP telephony requirements and to achieve a lower Total Cost of Ownership (TCO).”
Deploy HP ProCurve Adaptive Network solution enabling unified wired and wireless, core to edge, unified communications, and single paneof-glass management across the network
Although FME had previously employed Cisco switching technology, it decided to benchmark HP ProCurve partly because FME was already using HP server technology.
“We wanted to link all our engineering departments with good bandwidth but unfortunately, Cisco could not offer a 10 Gb backbone to our workroom switches without resorting to switches costing many thousands of dollars. Cisco’s solution also lacked vital support elements,” comments Hare.
“However, HP ProCurve could offer us a 10 Gb infrastructure, intelligent edge switches with Power over Ethernet (PoE) ports at an attractive price/performance ratio, backed by ProCurve’s comprehensive Lifetime Warranty. It no longer became a question of why we should choose HP ProCurve but why we should not.”
At the centre of the HP ProCurve Adaptive Network solution are two next-generation ProCurve 8212zl series core switches in a redundant configuration located in the main and backup server rooms. Based on the industry-proven HP ProCurve ProVision ASIC™, they suit FME’s requirements well due to their reduced complexity, lower TCO and core-to-edge wireless networking capability. The ProCurve Switch 8212zl is the industry’s first core switch with a lifetime warranty♦.
Twelve highly reliable, award-winning ProCurve 5400zl series switches provide intelligence to the edge of the network, in addition to wireless capability and PoE which powers 300 Siemens IP phones connected to FME’s network. To aid redundancy, trunking links each edge switch to both servers, and 10 Gb Ethernet ports provide connectivity and supplementary redundancy. Each floor of the fivestorey main building is equipped with a ProCurve Radio Port 230 unit to satisfy FME’s mobility requirements.
To aid network management, the solution incorporates ProCurve Manager Plus (PCM+), a software package that allows administrators to configure, update, monitor and troubleshoot the switches centrally and remotely. Moreover, flexible software licensing and free software updates will provide FME with scalability as its network grows.
Today, FME has a reliable, high-performance and manageable network. The 10 Gb architecture provides scalability and the ProCurve 5400zl series edge switches with PoE have enabled the smooth deployment of IP telephony, significantly improving call clarity and reducing call costs .
“Switch manageability and installation is so easy. I did not even open the handbook,” adds Hare. “We also have the flexibility to introduce additional security packages in the future such as ProCurve Identity Manager (IDM).”
FME is already assessing a ProCurve Wireless Edge Services Module (WESM) which once installed will deliver secure, advanced wireless services, simplified management and unified wired and wireless operations across the network.
The ProCurve Adaptive Network solution deployed at FME enables its engineers to handle the large data volumes generated by complex applications more productively as they design new electronic devices to satisfy modern market demands. The solution’s scalability caters for current and future business growth, and the company is already benefiting from lower TCO.
“In the past, we spent a significant part of our support budget on contracts, software updates and, when a switch failed, replacement fees. With HP ProCurve, all these come at no extra cost. I estimate support costs have fallen by 15 per cent,” concludes Hare.
The ProCurve Adaptive Network solution deployed at FME enables its engineers to handle the large data volumes generated by complex applications more productively as they design new electronic devices to satisfy modern market demands. The solution’s scalability caters for current and future business growth, and the company is already benefiting from lower TCO.
“In the past, we spent a significant part of our support budget on contracts, software updates and, when a switch failed, replacement fees. With HP ProCurve, all these come at no extra cost. I estimate support costs have fallen by 15 per cent,” concludes Hare.
