The HP 12500 Switch Series comprises a family of powerful, next-generation routing switches with outstanding capacity for the network core or the data center. Besides innovative Intelligent Resilient Framework (IRF) technology that provides unprecedented levels of performance and high availability, 12500 series switches incorporate the Open Application Architecture (OAA), which enables flexible deployment options for new services. These switches also have energy-efficiency features that drive down operational expenses. The 12500 series is ideal for organizations contemplating large-scale data center or campus consolidations, business continuity and disaster recovery sites, metropolitan area network deployments, and other applications requiring a robust, high-performance switching platform.

Quality of Service (QoS)

• Virtual Output Queue (VOQ): prevents head-of-line (HOL) blocking per port on peak time and distributes it over a period of time, increasing the switch performance


Data center optimized

• Very high performance without compromise: provides 13.32 Tbps, 4320 Mpps (12518 switch), 6.12 Tbps, and 1920 Mpps (12508 switch); leveraging the latest generation of ASICs, the 12500 product family offers outstanding performance and density to build next-generation data centers


Compartmentalization

• Department protection: using network virtualization standards (QinQ, VRF, and MPLS), the 12500 switch allows organizations to isolate different business units with different resources (VRFs); using standard-based mechanisms, the network is completely virtualized, reducing cost and operations


Management

• sFlow: provides scalable, ASIC-based network monitoring and accounting; this allows network operators to gather a variety of sophisticated network statistics and information for capacity planning and real-time network monitoring purposes


Connectivity

• IPv6 native support: IPv6 host: enables switches to be managed and deployed at the IPv6 network's edge. Dual stack (IPv4 and IPv6): transitions from IPv4 to IPv6, supporting connectivity for both protocols. Multicast Listener Discovery (MLD) snooping: forwards IPv6 multicast traffic to the appropriate interface. IPv6 ACL/QoS: supports ACL and QoS for IPv6 network traffic, preventing traffic flooding. IPv6 routing: supports IPv6 static routes and IPv6 versions of RIP and OSPF routing protocols.


Performance

• 13.32 Tbps (12518 switch) and 6.12 Tbps (12508 switch) fully nonblocking CLOS architecture: includes a high-performance switch design with a nonblocking architecture


Resiliency and high availability

• Intelligent Resilient Framework (IRF): creates virtual resilient switching fabrics, where two or more switches perform as a single Layer 2 switch and Layer 3 router; switches do not have to be co-located and can be part of a disaster-recovery system; servers or switches can be attached using standard LACP for automatic load balancing and high availability; simplifies network operation by eliminating the complexity of Spanning Tree Protocol, Equal-Cost Multipath (ECMP), or VRRP