United States
Q
What is the HPE FlexFabric 5800 Switch and its primary use cases?
A
The HPE FlexFabric 5800 Switch is a fixed-port, L2/L3 data center and campus switch offering high throughput, low latency, and flexible uplink options; it is ideal for leaf-spine fabrics, aggregation, and top-of-rack deployments.
Q
What port densities and speeds are available on the 5800 Switch?
A
The 5800 Series provides up to 48 SFP+/RJ-45 10 GbE ports and four QSFP28 100 GbE uplinks per chassis, delivering up to 1.92 Tbps of switching capacity to accommodate high-density server and storage connectivity.
Q
How does the HPE FlexFabric 5800 support network virtualization?
A
The 5800 Switch supports VXLAN with EVPN control plane, enabling scalable multi-tenant overlays, automated segmentation, and seamless workload mobility across the data center network.
Q
What management and automation tools are supported?
A
The switch integrates with HPE OneView, Aruba NetEdit, and cloud-native tools via RESTful APIs, Python, and Ansible modules, enabling centralized configuration, real-time monitoring, and automated provisioning.
Q
Can the 5800 Switch be stacked for high availability?
A
Yes. Up to eight 5800 Switches can be stacked using Virtual Connect Stacking, providing single-pane management, active/active resiliency, and 1.6 Tbps interconnect bandwidth for high availability.
Q
What is the power consumption and cooling specification?
A
The switch supports dual hot-swappable 250W AC or 560W DC power supplies and front-to-back airflow, optimizing energy efficiency and cooling in rack environments.
Q
What security features are built into the 5800 Switch?
A
Built-in security includes MACsec encryption, 802.1X port authentication, dynamic ARP inspection, DHCP snooping, and role-based access control to protect data integrity and prevent unauthorized access.
Q
How do I upgrade the firmware on an HPE FlexFabric 5800 Switch?
A
Use the HPE Intelligent Provisioning or CLI with the ‘copy ftp://’, ‘copy tftp://’, or ‘boot system flash’ commands to upload and activate firmware images during maintenance windows.
Q
What licensing options are available for advanced features?
A
The 5800 Switch includes a base license for L2/L3 functionality; optional licenses unlock advanced features such as VXLAN, EVPN, MACsec, and FabricPath for scalable data center fabrics.
Q
How does the switch handle QoS and traffic prioritization?
A
The 5800 offers eight hardware queues per port, DiffServ/802.1p classification, ACL-based forwarding, and per-flow rate limiting to ensure predictable performance and service-level adherence.
Q
What is the switching capacity and packet throughput?
A
Each 5800 Series switch delivers up to 1.92 Tbps of bandwidth and 1.43 Bpps (billion packets per second) forwarding rate for consistent line-rate performance across all ports.
Q
Which operating system does the HPE FlexFabric 5800 run?
A
The switch runs Comware 7, offering a unified CLI, advanced automation, network programmability, and full compatibility with HPE IMC and automation frameworks.
Q
How is redundancy achieved on this switch?
A
Redundancy is provided through dual power supplies, dual fans, and stacking with active/active failover, ensuring uninterrupted operation during component failures.
Q
What warranty and support options are available?
A
HPE offers a standard lifetime warranty with next-business-day advance replacement, plus optional HPE Foundation Care and Proactive Care service packages for 24×7 support and proactive monitoring.
Q
Can I integrate the 5800 Switch with existing HPE network infrastructure?
A
Yes. The 5800 is fully interoperable with HPE Aruba and ProCurve switches, supporting open standards (BGP, OSPF, STP) to seamlessly integrate into heterogeneous networks.
Q
How do I monitor performance and health of the 5800 Switch?
A
Use SNMP, sFlow, RMON, and telemetry streaming to collect real-time metrics; integrate with HPE IMC or third-party NMS for dashboards, alerts, and historical trending.
