Hewlett-Packard s ProCurve 1810 Series Switches were evaluated

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1 Lab Testing Summary Report January 2010 Report Product Category: Power Efficient Ethernet Switches Vendor Tested: Products Tested: 1810G-8 Switch and 1810G-24 Switch Key Findings and Conclusions: 1810 Switch Series with up to 24 ports consumed 59% less power than the Industry Average of comparable switching products Energy efficient design and features include a per port LED shut off and automatic low power mode setting Dual personality ports for optional fiber uplinks are available for the 1810G-24 Switch 1810G-8 switch design incorporates fanless cooling which provides silent operation and requires considerably less power Hewlett-Packard s ProCurve 1810 Series Switches were evaluated by Miercom under the Certified Green Test Program for power consumption and product efficiency. We analyzed the overall environmental impact and business enabling green benefits that the HP ProCurve 1810G-8 and 1810G-24 Switches provided. In hands-on testing and by audit, the 1810 Series Switches proved to afford customers a highly flexible, manageable and energy efficient switching solution. Its standards based, power efficient design will help customers save on energy and improve ROI (Return on Investment) Series Switches have Locator LEDs which allows for easy access for trouble shooting. Per port LEDs provide a view of status, activity, speed and full duplex operation. An Energy Saving mode on all 1810 Series Switches features automatic low power mode, when the port does not have link, and LED power down mode to conserve energy. The 1810 Series Switches internal components can operate at higher temperatures eliminating the need for a cooling fan. This increases power savings and enables silent operation for deployment in open areas. (Continued on page 3) Figure 1: 1810 Switch Series Annual Cost $40 $40 $37 Dollars Dollars $35 $35 $30 $30 $25 $25 $20 $20 $15 $15 $10 $10 $5 $5 $0 $0 $8 $8 $13 $13 $22 $37 $22 ProCurve ProCurve Annual Annual Cost Cost Industry Industry Average Average Annual Cost Annual Cost 1810G-8 Switch 1810G-24 Switch 1810G-8 Switch 1810G-24 Switch Source: Miercom, January 2010 Annual cost for the 1810 Series Switches is $8 for 8-port and $22 for 24-port compared to the Industry Average of $13 and $37 respectively. These results are based on typical usage cost, 12.5 cents per kwh. For more details see Business Case on page 6.

2 Test Bed Diagram IP Load Generators Switch Under Testing: 1810G-8 port and 1810G-24 port switch Environmental Measurement Tools Dranetz Encore Power Analyzer Ixia 1600T and XM2 1810G-8 Switch 1810G-24 Switch Green Calculator ` How We Did It The Hewlett-Packard ProCurve 1810 Series Switches 1810G-8 port switch and 1810G-24 port switch were evaluated for environmental impact by looking at the individual components as well as features and capabilities. Testing focused on the power consumption and efficiency of the product. A full audit was conducted to analyze the overall product-specific environmental impact. Lab testing of each device was conducted for power consumption under load as well as measurements and audit results verified with site survey assessments. The 1810G-8 port switch was configured and tested using the 8 10/100/1000 Base-T ports. The 1810G-24 port switch was tested utilizing 22 10/100/1000 Base-T ports and 2 dual personality ports, a RJ45 10/100/1000 port or a mini GBIC slot. We measured additional power consumed with mini GBIC transceivers installed and linked up as well as the power consumed with all port link and LED activity light turned off, a new green feature available on the 1810 Series Switches. Measuring Power Consumption: The power consumption of 1810 Series Switches was measured at varying network and link loads that the switch would typically experience in a real world deployment. Power consumption was measured using a Dranetz Encore Power Analyzer from Dranetz-BMI ( The SUT was loaded with traffic at various rates and packet sizes in accordance with RFC 2544 Benchmarking Methodology for Network Interconnect Development. Power consumption measurements were taken during system boot-up, idle, and with 70% and 100% load. Power consumption was measured, while running Layer 2 traffic with an XM2 and 1600T traffic generators from Ixia ( Traffic was applied to each of the 1 Gbps ports while stressing the product with the features it supports. All power measurements were taken at 110 volts and 60 Hz frequency. Miercom recognizes Ixia as an industry leader in energy efficiency testing of networking equipment. Ixia s unique approach utilizes coordination of energy measurements with network traffic load allowing energy consumption to be graphed against network traffic volume. Real-world traffic is generated by Ixia s test platform and test applications, principally IxNetwork for layer 2-3 routing and switching traffic and IxLoad for layer 4-7 application traffic. Environmental Analysis: Miercom's environmental review of the 1810 Series Switches also entailed an examination of the HP company-wide and product-specific environmental impact reduction efforts. We visited the Sacramento, CA recycling location and interviewed HP personnel regarding the environmental-related features of the equipment and applications. Analysis includes comparisons to industry averages for competitive products that were also tested. Copyright 2010 Miercom Power Efficient Ethernet Switches Page 2

3 (Continued from page 1) The 1810G-8 port model can be placed on a desktop, or mounted on a wall or under a counter. It is IEEE 802.3af compatible PoE-PD (Power Over Ethernet- Powered Device). With this PoE-PD option, the switch can be placed wherever there is access to an Ethernet cable, without the need for an electrical outlet. The 1810G-24 offers two dual personality mini-gbic slots for optional fiber uplinks. It is rack mountable in a 1U space. The annual cost for the 1810G-8 and 1810G-24 switches is shown in Figure 1. Based on the testing metrics, the 1810G-8 and 1810G-24 switches provide cost savings of 40% and 41%. Power Efficiency Figure 2 illustrates the advantage of the Power Saver Mode in 1810 Series Switches. Testing was performed and power consumption was measured during idle, 70% and 100% load. The 1810 Series Switches can also operate in an energy savings mode, where port LEDs are turned off to increase power savings. Testing included measurements with this green feature enabled. For the 1810G-8 switch the power consumption increased to 7.5 watts as idle state was reached. We considered the switch to be at idle when all ports have link but no traffic is being forwarded. The total power consumption was 7.9 watts at 70% and 100% applied load. For the 1810G-24 switch, power consumption increased to 21.0 watts at idle state. At maximum traffic load, the switch consumed 22.1 watts. When the LED power saver mode was enabled, all link and mode lights were turned off. The switch drew.5 to.8 watts less on the 1810G-8 switch and saved.9 to 1.4 watts on the 1810G-24 switch (see Figure 2). 1810G-8 and 1810G-24 switches are fanless. Hewlett-Packard has installed specific components on the 1810 Series Switches which allows the switches to operate with higher internal temperatures, eliminating the need for cooling fans. Quiet operation and power reduction is the result of this design. Also along with the option to manually turn off port LEDs to conserve energy, the switch automatically places ports in a low power mode, when no link is detected on that specific port Series Switches power consumption was compared to the Industry Average of similar devices; see Figure 3 on page 4. As shown, the 8 port unit consumed 7.2 watts of power at 100% traffic load with LED power saver mode activated. This is a 40% reduction compared to the Industry Average which stands at 12 watts. The 24 port unit with LED power saver mode enabled, consumed 20.7 watts of power at 100% traffic load. This is 41% less than the Industry Average. Since the 1810G-24 switch also offers two dual personality ports for optional fiber uplink, we measured the power drawn for each SFP installed We observed that each SFP installed consumed an additional 0.6 watts of power. Product Efficiency The 1810 Series Switches provides plug and play gigabit switch solutions. The 1810 Series Switches are easily manageable via a web browser interface for switch configuration, Figure 2: 1810 Series Switches Power Profile LED Power Saver Mode on Idle 70% Link Load 100 % Link Load LED LED LED LED Power Power Power Power Saver Saver Saver Saver Mode off Mode on Mode off Mode on LED Power Saver Mode off Watts Watts Watts Watts Watts Watts 1810G G Source: Miercom, January 2010 The Power Profile table illustrates impact of power utilized for the 1810G-8 and 1810G-24 switches, from idle to maximum loads, with and without Power Saver Mode in use. Copyright 2010 Miercom Power Efficient Ethernet Switches Page 3

4 monitoring and administration. They include LLDP (Link Layer Discovery Protocol) for automated device discovery and easy mapping by network management applications. Integration with HP PCM (ProCurve Manager) provides all basic tools needed to handle a network effectively. PCM has an event driven scriptable interface that provides remote administration of power on a per port basis. Specific ports can be shut down when not in use. All platforms in the 1810 Series Switches are fanless. The energy efficient design of the switches allows higher internal running temperatures. Power is not required to drive cooling fans. In addition all models can turn off per port LEDs when not being monitored. This is accomplished via a Web GUI. LEDs can be reactivated by a command or manually via a mode button on the front of the switch. We observed a marked difference in the amount of power drawn when port LEDs were turned off. On the 1810G-8 port switch a 9% decrease in power consumption was noted at maximum traffic load. A 6% drop was observed on the 1810G-24 port switch. The switches also support a port low power mode; each port that does not have link goes to a low power state for additional power savings. The 1810G-8 port switch has a PoE-Powered Device option. Power can be obtained from a standard PoE device on port 1, making the switch ideal for deployments where an electrical outlet is not available. This adds the flexibility of being able to have a switch anywhere an Ethernet cable can be accessed. New security features are supported including SSL to encrypt all HTTP traffic for secure access to browser based management. The switches also include automatic DoS protection. Quality of Service offerings allows traffic prioritization (IEEE 802.1p) and classification of real time traffic into eight priority levels mapped to eight queues. The new locator LED is settable to blink, turn on or off which simplifies troubleshooting by locating a switch in a rack of similar switches. When a fault occurs the site administrator can remotely administer the network and locate the fault. The LED light indicator reveals the problem switch; the network is diagnosed and administered remotely, reducing energy consumption through more effective use of IT resources. Figure 4 on page 5 compares Watts/Gbps for 1810 Series Switches with the Industry Average. The 1810G-8 port switch offers a switching capacity of 16 Gbps and the 1810G-24 port switch offers a switching capacity of 48 Gbps. Loading the switch with 100% traffic, we measured the power consumed for 1518 byte sized frames. We observed that the 1810 Series Figure 3: 1810 Switch Series Power Consumption Watts Port 24 Port Idle 70% load 100% load Idle 70% load 100% load Power consumption of 1810G-8 port and 1810G-24 port switches was measured under idle-state and with 70%, 100% loads. While applying Layer 2 traffic load, the 1810 Series Switches consumed less power than the Industry Average, achieving a 40% to 41% savings Series Switches Industry Average Source: Miercom, January 2010 Copyright 2010 Miercom Power Efficient Ethernet Switches Page 4

5 Switches draw less power per Gbps, utilizing 40% and 41% fewer Watts per Gb than the Industry Average. Business Processes For best practices, the 1810 Series Switches can be configured to economize the power consumed, allowing customers to apply power saving features as needed. The 1810 Series Switches come with a lifetime guarantee, an excellent example of HP s commitment to the environment. Hewlett- Packard produces products that are designed to last. HP recycles their own products as well as products from other vendors, thereby protecting the environment. HP recycled 1 billion pounds of electronic material globally by 2007 and has announced to recycle another billion pounds by the end of HP plans to reduce the power consumption of their operations, by 20% of the 2005 power usage by And with an aggressive trade-in program, the HP product line is environmentally sustainable, generating less waste in the event of the reconfiguration or replacement of their products. In promoting standards and improving efficiency, HP has consolidated 83 data centers to 6 data centers. In pursuit of environmental goals, HP includes minimal printed information with its products and encourages customers to view or download documentation from the website. Through version 2.3 of PCM+, the network is managed and administered remotely from a single point of access. With the capability to support up to 2,000 devices, PCM+ provides a cost effective telecommuting solution by managing devices remotely. PCM is event driven and allows administration of wattage allocation per port. HP networking gear can also be combined with HP s Halo to allow users to work remotely, preventing carbon emissions. HP s products are designed to improve energy efficiency for business operations, causing lower power usage during inactivity and greater power savings. As green features are implemented in the software, this capability can be utilized in the hardware. The current hardware also supports the green features by using low-power functionality during remote network management and administration. HP is the founding sponsor of Green Grid and is dedicated to developing and promoting energy efficiency standards for data centers. HP participates in joint research and collaboration to shape public policy for recycling, energy consumption and climate change; defines usercentric models, develops standards, and promotes measurement methods and new technologies to improve performance. Green Innovation Hewlett-Packard s well engineered focus to support lifetime warranty of switches helps reduce e-waste, service costs, Figure 4: Power Efficiency Watts/Gbps G G G G-24 Source: Miercom, January 2010 Watts/Gbps HP Watts/Gbps Industry Average Watts/Gbps This chart illustrates the Watts/Gbps, and compares the HP ProCurve 1810G-8 and 1810G-24 port switches to the Industry Average. The 1810G-8 switch uses 40% fewer Watts per Gb than the Industry Average. The 1810G-24 switch uses 41% fewer Watts per Gb than the Industry Average. Copyright 2010 Miercom Power Efficient Ethernet Switches Page 5

6 minimizes landfills and extends the useful life of networking products. In the unlikely event the product cannot be redeployed, the innovative HP product design allows product components to be effectively recycled. In addition to this, as a part of product replacement/refresh program, HP offers to recycle not only their own products, but also products from other vendors. HP designs products with features to save power consumption. The 1810 Series Switches employ features to shut down LED link and mode lights to conserve energy. The switches also place ports in low power mode when no link is detected. All 1810 Series Switches are fanless. This enables quiet operation for deployment in open spaces and eliminates additional power required to drive cooling fans. An audit confirmed through power consumption that designs products with environmental impact minimization and efficiency in mind. All 1810 Series Switches use highly integrated system design to minimize components, increase reliability and reduce power consumption. Affiliations and Standards HP is an active member of Energy Efficient Ethernet and driving the standards for a more energy efficient design and development. HP is the founding sponsor and member of Green Grid. HP is a strong proponent of standards based design, utilizing standards based Link Layer Discovery Protocol (LLDP), supporting dynamic power allocation, resulting in increased energy efficiency. Hewlett-Packard products are compliant with RoHS and exceed the international standards. The affiliations mentioned help HP to innovate based on standards based design and point to the credibility HP products and solutions have in the industry. Business Case From Figure 1, we observed an annual savings of $5 for 1810G-8 port switch and $15 for the 1810G-24 port switch when compared to other vendor switches included in the Industry Average. The 1810G-8 port and 1810G-24 port switches annual running costs were compared to typical switch utilization at a range varying from idle to the maximum line rate. The annual usage is based on the switch being used 12 hours per day each week. During those 60 hours approximately 10 hours will be running at 100% load while the remaining 50 hours will run at 70% load. Weekends and the remaining 12 hours per day are considered as idle/ready for a total of 108 hours per week. To calculate the annual cost, multiply the kilowatts by total yearly hours; and multiply this result by the annual cost factor of 12.5 cents per kwh. HP s Green Business Technology initiative ties in with their Adaptive Network Vision, which is based on developing network applications and solutions that can adapt to the changing business needs. Strong product innovation, coupled with the business benefits of Lifetime Warranty, free firmware updates and standards based design helps customers to choose from the best available options in the market, making a leading networking vendor. Certified for Green Miercom conducts environmental analysis on products using holistic view, considering power efficiency, manufacturing, and other factors which are part of the product and its lifecycle. Power consumption and power efficiency are very important metrics for comparing products and are typically all that are discussed in other organizations green reports. We believe a more comprehensive approach, which reveals true business case savings to customers for the other environmental benefits a vendor s product may afford, is a better approach. Competitive indexing with industry average is achieved by comparing measured results from products in a given class. The significance of this comparison is that it allows a single view of the annual cost for power consumption of a product, and comparison information that will help the consumer understand if the evaluated product affords an overall advantage for power efficiency. Vendors with competing products that we considered in this review include 3Com, Extreme Networks, Foundry Networks, Juniper Networks, Cisco Systems, Netgear and others. Copyright 2010 Miercom Power Efficient Ethernet Switches Page 6

7 Miercom Certified Green The energy-saving attributes of the 1810G-8 and 1810G-24 switches were evaluated by Miercom in accordance with the Certified Green Testing Methodology. Based on our hands-on testing and the verified representations made by, Miercom confirms that the 1810G-8 and 1810G-24 switches are designed to provide effective and environmentally sound networking solutions. This product has earned the Miercom Certified Green Award. Networking 8000 Foothills Blvd Roseville, CA Series Switches About Miercom s Product Testing Services Hundreds of product-comparison analyses have been published over the years in such leading network trade periodicals as Network World, Business Communications Review - NoJitter, Communications News, xchange, Internet Telephony and other leading publications. Miercom s reputation as the leading, independent product test center is unquestioned. Miercom s private test services include competitive product analyses, as well as individual product evaluations. Miercom features comprehensive certification and test programs including: Certified Interoperable, Certified Reliable, Certified Secure and Certified Green. Products may also be evaluated under the NetWORKS As Advertised program, the industry s most thorough and trusted assessment for product usability and performance. Report reviews@miercom.com Before printing, please consider electronic distribution Product names or services mentioned in this report are registered trademarks of their respective owners. Miercom makes every effort to ensure that information contained within our reports is accurate and complete, but it is not liable for any errors, inaccuracies or omissions. Miercom is not liable for damages arising out of or related to the information contained within this report. Consult with professional services such as Miercom consulting for specific customer needs analysis. Copyright 2010 Miercom Power Efficient Ethernet Switches Page 7