3Com, Spirent Showcase High-Speed Networking For Cloud-Based Data Centers 
3Com Corp. and Spirent Communications are getting 2010 off to a bang for those cloud advocates looking for mission-critical features, as company execs are showcasing a high-speed network designed to power a cloud-based high performance data center.
3Com Corp. and Spirent Communications are showcasing high-speed data networking technologies that could prove a boon to those looking for ways to support a cloud-based high performance data center.
The new cloud-friendly networks are built around 3Com’s 100 Gbps-ready H3C S12500 core switch and the H3C S5820X 10 GbE top-of-rack access switch. The offering is designed to deliver twice the performance and scale, faster recovery times and lower operations cost and energy usage compared with legacy systems, according to company executives. 
“H3C S12500 is raising the bar on data center networking, transforming the way next generation data centers are built and run,” said Saar Gillai, 3Com’s senior vice president for worldwide products and solutions, in a statement. “H3C data center solutions help customers cost-effectively accelerate the deployment of new services such as video streaming, virtualization and cloud computing.”
In addition, 3Com’s H3C-based data center networking sport Intelligent Resilient Framework (IRF) technology, which enables multiple interconnected and stackable Layer 3 switches to actively share routing intelligence and network loads. This IRF architecture eliminates wasted bandwidth and avoids added expense of a passive standby unit, according to 3Com.
IRF Could Power Mission-Critical Cloud Data Centers
IRF technology coupled with Spirent’s could provide valuable benefits for cloud-based data center configurations, including:
- Support for rapid failover recovery, which automatically redistributes traffic among the other active units if a switch becomes disconnected or fails. If there is a disruption in the network it will recover in under 50 milliseconds
- Ability to guarantee network and business continuity by network-based In-Service-Software-Upgrades (ISSS), which extend the switch fabric control plane across multiple active switches.
- Improved performance and scalability via IRF’s distributed architecture, which can leverage high-performance, non-blocking switching capacity of each switch in a Distributed Fabric. The result is aggregate forwarding capacity in excess of 70 Mpps across the 48 switched Gigabit ports.
- Easy manageability via plug-and-play setup, single IP address management, and fabric-wide configuration of all management, system and port features.
The 3Com/Spirent demonstration is being held at the Spirent Proof of Concept (SPoC) Lab in Sunnyvale, Calif. through January 2010. At the lab, data center operators can visualize the design and performance capabilities of a next generation multi-terabit data center, the companies said. The Spirent TestCenter HyperMetrics test module also tests the performance, latency and resiliency of the H3C data center network design under various traffic and protocol conditions including layer 2 and layer 3 switching, IPv4, IPv6, Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS), Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) routing, streaming video, and other advanced multicast services.
Spirent Communications is a provider of integrated performance analysis and service assurance systems that enable the development and deployment of next-generation networking technologies in data center, enterprises, and broadband and wireless services.
3Com has three global brands—H3C, 3Com, and TippingPoint—that offer high-performance networking and security solutions to enterprises large and small. HP reached agreement in November 2009 to purchase 3Com for some $2.7 billion. The terms of the transaction have been approved by the HP and 3Com boards of directors.
