New CX Series Switches with Cloud-Native Operating System Integrate Closed-Loop Automation and Analytics to Simplify the Operator Experience

HONG KONG, CHINA - Media OutReach - January 14, 2020 - Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company (NYSE: HPE), today announced that it is changing the rules of networking with the introduction of switching and software innovations designed to address the unique needs of today's modern enterprise campus, branch and data center. The Aruba CX Switching Portfolio now includes the Aruba CX 6300 Series fixed configuration and CX 6400 Series modular access, aggregation and core switches, while delivering the latest advancements in the AOS-CX operating system. This gives network operators one simple, end-to-end switching platform to dramatically improve business outcomes today and into the future.

Aruba is the first company to offer a single switching platform that runs on a modern network operating system -- AOS-CX -- from the enterprise edge to the core to the data center. This unique, cloud-native platform is further optimized by Aruba's powerful Network Analytics Engine (NAE), which utilizes embedded analytics and automation to simplify management, accelerate troubleshooting of application performance issues and remediate common network problems. 

Gartner states, "As update speed increases, it is no longer viable to manually plan for and deploy tens, hundreds or thousands of network changes each time an application change occurs. Making these changes manually is not only impractical, but is likely to result in significant errors."[i] Manual processes can significantly hinder an organization's ability to move quickly, innovate and thrive in a competitive marketplace. Moreover, many of these hurdles can be overcome with a cloud-native infrastructure. According to Gartner, a "cloud-native infrastructure exhibits the following characteristics:  

•  Modularity - It provides abstractions for independent packaging of services (such as containers or serverless functions).
• Programmability - It supports provisioning and management via declarative APIs and policies.
• Elasticity - Resources can be scaled up and down dynamically in an automated and policy-driven manner using orchestrators.
• Resiliency - Services are loosely coupled units that are independent and fault-tolerant.[ii]"

One OS. One ASIC Architecture. One Operating Model.

Stemming from the breakthrough innovation and success of its CX 8400 Series core switches running the AOS-CX operating system -- as evidenced by significant momentum with winning new core customers -- Aruba is addressing these challenges with a modern switching portfolio that delivers a single operating model from the enterprise campus and branch access layer to the data center, greatly simplifying network operations. The new platforms in the Aruba CX Switching Portfolio incorporate the key elements of a modern networking infrastructure and include:

• Aruba CX 6300 and CX 6400 Series switches featuring Aruba's 7^th Generation ASIC architecture: The Aruba CX 6300 Series is a family of stackable switches that offers flexible growth via a 10-member virtual switching framework (VSF) and provides built-in 10/25/50 gigabit uplinks to meet the bandwidth needs of today and the future. The Aruba CX 6400 Series modular switches offer both a 5-slot chassis and a 10-slot chassis with a non-blocking fabric that scales from Gigabit POE access to 100G core, allowing customers to standardize on one platform across the enterprise, including hybrid use cases.
• AOS-CX 10.4: The new version of AOS-CX introduces rich access features to the OS while extending CX differentiators to the access layer of the network. These include Aruba Dynamic Segmentation to provide secure, unified policy across wired and wireless down to every user and IoT device, Ethernet VPN (EVPN) over VxLAN for simplified and secure connectivity from enterprises to data centers, and Virtual Switching Extension (VSX) live upgrades for no downtime during maintenance cycles.
• Aruba NetEdit 2.0 with Network Analytics Engine (NAE): The significantly enhanced version of Aruba's NetEdit software now integrates with Aruba's NAE. This advancement enables centralized visualization of network health leveraging NAE distributed analytics across every switch in the network to reduce troubleshooting cycles from days to minutes. New automation capabilities simplify common tasks such as implementing configuration changes or initial system set-up which can now be completed via the CX Mobile app.

"AI-powered automation must be at the heart of a modern, edge-to-cloud architecture," said Kenneth Ma, director and general manager of Hong Kong and Macau at Aruba, a Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Company. "We believe that AI is the key to analyzing data, providing actionable insights, and automation at scale to optimize network operators' ability to quickly troubleshoot, remediate and proactively resolve some of IT's most pressing challenges. We are thrilled to introduce this valuable new solution to enterprise customers across Hong Kong and Macau. This innovative solution will help customer focus on their business mission and avoid wasting time on their bottlenecks."

Supporting Quotes

"The new Aruba CX Switching Portfolio comes to market as demands on the enterprise network continue to increase, with more users, devices and things requiring higher speeds and lower latencies. Enterprises are looking for powerful platforms with simplified operations to keep up with the current and future needs of the business. Aruba's CX switching portfolio allows customers to use a single platform for Ethernet switching from the datacenter to the access layer, providing a consistent, cloud-native OS, helping enterprises achieve easier management, more consistent operator experience and higher levels of quality assurance."

- Brandon Butler, senior research analyst, Network Infrastructure at IDC

"I believe Aruba's new CX switching portfolio holds tremendous promise, especially for modern healthcare organizations where so many aspects of improving patient care involve the network, such as connected medical devices and transmission of electronic patient data. Seattle Children's selected Aruba technology for its research facility, Building Cure, based on the AOS-CX operating system and its ability to deliver non-stop networking that's future-proof."

- Dr. Zafar Chaudry, senior vice president and chief information officer at Seattle Children's

Availability

The CX Switching Portfolio, including the Aruba CX 6300 and CX 6400 Series switches, the new version of AOS-CX and Aruba NetEdit 2.0 are available now.

Additional Resources

• View the webcast
• Read the Moor Insights & Strategy Report: HPE Aruba CX Switching Portfolio
• Learn more about the Aruba CX Switching Portfolio
• Blog: Now's the Time to Switch to a Next-Gen Network
• Blog: Break Free from Legacy Network Constraints with Aruba CX Switching

About Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company

Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company, is a leading providerof secure, intelligent networks that enable customers to thrive and deliveramazing digital experiences in the mobile, IoT and cloud era. We are changingthe rules of networking to make it simple for IT and organizations to bridgethe physical and digital worlds at the Edge.

To learn more, visit Aruba at https://www.arubanetworks.com.For real-time news updates, follow Aruba on Twitter and Facebook,and for the latest technical discussions on mobility and Aruba products, visitthe Airheads Community at https://community.arubanetworks.com.