HP HP ProCurve Series 6600 Installation guide

HP Networking 6600 Switch Series Technical Overview
v1.0
Table of contents
Tableofcontents................................. 1
Tableoffiguresandtables.......................... 5
Executive summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Introduction .................................... 7
HP ProCurve 6600 Switch Series . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Audience..................................... 7
Scope....................................... 7
Productpositioning ............................... 8
Overview..................................... 8
Datacenterusemodels........................... 8
6600 series system overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Chassislayout ................................ 10
Systemelements............................... 10
HP ProCurve 6600 Switch Power Supply (J9269A) . . . . . . 10
HP ProCurve 6600 Switch Fan Tray (J9271A) . . . . . . . . . . .11
6600LEDs ................................. 13
Processor................................... 14
Memory ................................... 14

Consoleport................................ 15
Ethernet out-of-band management (OOBM) port . . . . . . . . 15
Auxiliary (USB) port. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
6600 series system architecture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
HP ProCurve 6600-24G Switch (J9263A) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Description ................................. 16
Ports...................................... 16
Management connectivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
HP ProCurve 6600-24G-4XG Switch (J9264A) . . . . . . . . . . 16
Description ................................. 16
Ports...................................... 17
Management connectivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
HP ProCurve 6600-48G Switch (J9451A) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Description ................................. 18
Ports...................................... 18
Management connectivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
HP ProCurve 6600-48G-4XG Switch (J9452A) . . . . . . . . . . 19
Description ................................. 19
Ports...................................... 20
Management connectivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
HP ProCurve 6600-24XG Switch (J9265A) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Description ................................. 21
Enhanced packet buffers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Ports...................................... 22
Management connectivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
ProVision ASIC architecture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Inside the ProVision ASIC architecture. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Classification and lookup. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Policy Enforcement Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Network switch engine programmability . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Fabricinterfaces.............................. 23
ProVisionASICCPU ........................... 23
FabricASIC................................. 24
Managementsubsystem......................... 24
ProVision hardware resiliency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
6600seriesaccessories........................... 24
HP ProCurve 6600 Switch Premium License (J9305A) . . . . . . 24

HP ProCurve 6600 Switch Power Supply (J9269A). . . . . . . . 24
HP ProCurve 6600 Switch Fan Tray (J9271A) . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Rackmountingoptions........................... 25
2-posttelcoracks............................. 25
4-post racks: HP ProCurve 6600 Series Rack Mount Kit
(J9469A)................................... 25
HP 10000 series server racks: HP 10000 Series Rack
Mount Kit (5070-0145) for 6600 series . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
6600 series air plenums. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
HP ProCurve 6600 Series Air Plenum Kit (J9480A) . . . . . . 26
HP ProCurve 6600-24G/24G-4XG Air Plenum (J9481A). . . 26
Transceivers and direct attach cables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
1-Gb SFP (mini-GBIC) transceivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
10-Gb SFP+ transceivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
10-Gb SFP+ direct attach cables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Overview of features and benefits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Featuresetsummary............................ 30
Datacenteroptimized.......................... 30
Management................................ 30
Connectivity................................. 30
Performance ................................ 31
Resiliency and high availability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Layer2switching............................. 31
Layer3services.............................. 31
Layer3routing............................... 31
Security.................................... 31
Multicastsupport ............................. 32
QualityofService(QoS)........................ 32
Warrantyandsupport.......................... 33
Standardsandprotocols ......................... 33
Capacity, performance, and features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
6600seriescomparison ......................... 33
Routing and forwarding tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Optimizing the 10-GbE port configuration for wire speed . . . 34
Throughput and latency performance data . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
10-Gb performance traffic patterns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Throughputtest............................... 37

Latencymeasurements.......................... 37
Power consumption measurements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
PowerSavemode............................. 38
Servicesandsupport............................. 38
Lifetimewarranty............................... 38
Freetelephonesupport .......................... 38
Optional support services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Appendix A: out-of-band management port. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
OOBMavailability............................. 39
Applications supported with OOBM port . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
OOBMlimitations ............................. 40
Appendix B: Policy Enforcement Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Policy Enforcement Engine benefits. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Granular policy enforcement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Hardware-based performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Works with HP ProCurve Data Center Connection
ManagerONE............................... 40
Wire-speed performance for ACLs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Appendix C: PIM-Sparse Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Appendix D: virus throttle security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Responseoptions .............................. 43
Sensitivity.................................... 43
Connection-rateACL............................ 43
AppendixE:VRRP............................... 43
Appendix F: OSPF Equal Cost Multipath . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Appendix G: troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
LED status indicators for 6600 series . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Appendix H: links to other useful documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Whitepapers................................. 46
Technicalbriefs................................ 46
Documents related to HP ProCurve 6600 Switch Series and
thedatacenter................................ 46

Figure 1: Top-of-rack use model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Figure 2: HP ProCurve 6600 Switch Series (power supply
sideview)............................ 10
Figure 3: HP ProCurve 6600 Switch Power Supply
(J9269A)..............................11
Figure 4: Default airflow direction and connectivity side
view of the 6600-24XG switch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Figure 5: HP ProCurve 6600 Switch Fan Tray (J9271A) . . . . 12
Figure 6: Closeup view of the HP ProCurve 6600 Switch
SeriesLEDs........................... 14
Table 1: 6600 buffer memory configurations . . . . . . . . . . 14
Figure 7: HP ProCurve 6600-24G Switch—ProVision ASIC
architecture overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Figure 8: HP ProCurve 6600-24G-4XG Switch—
ProVision ASIC architecture overview. . . . . . . . . . 16
Table 2: 6600-24G/24G-4XG switches vs. 2910al-24G
and 3500yl-24G switches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Figure 9: HP ProCurve 6600-48G Switch—ProVision ASIC
architecture overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Figure 10: HP ProCurve 6600-48G-4XG Switch—
ProVision ASIC architecture overview. . . . . . . . . . 19
Table 3: 6600-48G/48G-4XG switches vs. 2910al-48G
and 3500yl-48G switches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Figure 11: Recommended trunking uplink configuration for
the 6600-48G-4XG switch. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Figure 12: HP ProCurve 6600-24XG Switch—ProVision
ASIC architecture overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Table 4: 6600 series accessories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Figure 13: HP ProCurve 6600 Rack Mount Kit (J9469A) . . . . 25
Figure 14: HP 10000 Series Rack Mount Kit (5070-0145)
for6600series ........................ 25
Figure 15: HP ProCurve 6600 Series Air Plenum . . . . . . . . . 26
Figure 16: HP ProCurve 6600 Series Air Plenum Kit
(J9480A)............................. 26
Figure 17: HP ProCurve 6600-24G/24G-4XG Air Plenum
(J9481A)............................. 27
Table of figures and tables

Table 5: SFP+vs.X2optics ...................... 27
Table 6: Capacity, performance, and features
comparison of the 6600 series products . . . . . . . 33
Figure 18: 4-port 10-GbE blocks showing how ports are
grouped to a 14.4-Gbps channel . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Figure 19: 10-GbE module architecture showing four
ports grouped to a 14.4-Gbps channel . . . . . . . . 34
Figure 20: Approach for providing 10 Gbps on a specific
port................................ 35
Figure 21: Providing equally balanced bandwidth in a
VRRPenvironment....................... 35
Table 7: 6600 series throughput performance. . . . . . . . . . 36
Table 8: 6600 series power consumption measurements . . 37
Table 9: Expected energy savings from 6600 Switch
PowerSavemode....................... 38
Figure A-1: Out-of-band management use model. . . . . . . . . . 39
Figure C-1: PIM: Shared Tree example topology . . . . . . . . . . 41
Figure D-1: Virus throttle example topology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Figure E-1: VRRP example topology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Figure F-1: OSPF ECMP example technology . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Table G-1: LED status indicators for management/system
supportmodule ........................ 45
Table G-2: LED status indicators for ProCurve 6600 Switch
Series Ethernet ports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

7
Executive summary
HP networking has an extensive line of networking products built around the concept of the ProCurve Adaptive
Network vision that provides the security, mobility, and convergence capabilities businesses demand while
giving technology administrators the ability to adapt to the changing needs of their organizations and control
their infrastructure centrally.
This guide describes the HP ProCurve 6600 Switch Series and how it builds upon the HP ProCurve Switch
8200zl, 5400zl, 6200yl, and 3500yl Series and the principles of the Adaptive Network by providing a
platform for delivering intelligence, performance, and affordability to the edge of the enterprise compute
network. Specifically, the HP ProCurve 6600 Switch Series enhances server edge connectivity in the data
center by delivering advanced Layer 2/3/4 capabilities that embody the Adaptive Network architecture, where
intelligence and decisions are made at the edge of the compute network and effective visibility, provisioning,
and automation is provided remotely. With Gigabit and 10-GbE SFP+ options, front-to-back (reversible)
airflow, redundant hot-swappable power supplies, and a hot-swappable fan tray, the 6600 switches offer high
availability, flexibility, and scalability for a highly virtualized server edge. The HP ProCurve 6600 Switch Series
is the industry’s first data center edge switch with a lifetime warranty and free software updates.
Introduction
HP ProCurve 6600 Switch Series
The HP ProCurve 6600 Switch Series enhances data center top-of-rack server connectivity and end-of-row
aggregation by offering Layer 2/3/4 functionality in 1-GbE copper and 10-GbE SFP+ options.
Audience
This guide is written primarily for technical evaluators and product reviewers of networking equipment and
solutions.
Scope
This guide provides detailed information about and specifications for the ProCurve 6600 Switch Series, with
the assumption that details about networking protocols can be referenced externally by those familiar with
general networking. Technologies that are relatively new will be covered in more detail than more familiar and
established technologies.
References to the ProCurve Switch 8200zl, 5400zl, 3500yl, and 6200yl Series are used as they relate to the
architecture and positioning of the 6600 switch series.
For more information regarding the complete line of HP networking products, please visit www.procurve.com.

8
Product positioning
Overview
The intelligence, throughput, scalability, and physical connectivity options of the 6600 series make them
suitable for applications at the server edge or aggregation/distribution layer of a compute network. The 6600
switch series leverages the same ProVision ASIC and software found in the widely deployed 8200zl, 5400zl,
6200yl, and 3500yl products. Enhanced for the data center, the 6600 series provides front-to-back (reversible)
airflow, redundant hot-swappable power supplies, hot-swappable fan trays, expanded 10-Gb port buffering for
demanding high-availability applications.
The foundation for all of these switches is the purpose-built, programmable ProVision ASIC that allows the most
demanding networking features to be implemented in a scalable yet granular fashion. The 6600, 8200zl,
5400zl, 6200yl, and 3500yl series switches have been designed as a continuum of products that utilize a
common code image that enables consistency and scalability throughout the portfolio from data center core to
edge. The ProVision ASICs are aimed at achieving several technology and business imperatives:
•Providing superior feature capabilities and performance without sacrificing affordability
•Allowing sophisticated control features in both campus and data center networks
•Enabling programmatic capabilities to safeguard future needs and requirements
Data center use models
The HP ProCurve 6600 Switch Series includes one of the most advanced routing switches in the HP networking
product line. The 6600 switch series is targeted at both top-of-rack server access and end-of-row aggregation/
distribution for enterprise data centers and midmarket compute rooms. The 6600 series products ship standard
with the Intelligent Edge feature group, and offer an optional Premium License feature group that includes
advanced protocols such as Q-in-Q, PIM-SM, PIM-DM, OSPFv2, OSPFv3, and VRRP to support end-of-row use
models (RIP and static routing features are included in the standard Intelligent Edge feature group).
The 6600 series was specifically designed to support top-of-rack use models with the intent of supporting highly
virtualized server edge deployments for large Layer 2 scale-out systems. The advantages of top-of-rack use
models are effectively fourfold:
•Lower-cost design: Fixed configuration products offer significant per-port savings over modular-based
products. Additionally, top-of-rack products designed to support front-to-back airflow better support hot-aisle
and cold-aisle separation to reduce cooling expenses.
•Enhanced multi-tier network: Virtualized data centers require expansive Layer 2 footprints to allow for
adequate mobility between hypervisors and application scalability. The 6600 series supports 64K MAC
addresses for enhanced mobility and scale in the data center.
•Reduced cabling costs: With the eventual adoption of 10-Gb at the server edge, direct attach copper cables
from the server NIC to the top-of-rack switch significantly reduce the cost per connection versus expensive
fiber-optic connections.
•Easier edge network refresh: When networking becomes integrated in the rack with servers, technology
refreshes become easier to manage as the compute and networking building blocks are effectively deployed
in tandem.

9
Figure 1 provides an example of a three-tiered networking model with top-of-rack networking components.
Data center
network
Core
Server and network “packs”
All applications have standard server deployment
Distribution
Top of rack: enables standard
server edge/edge networking racks
ProCurve edge switches deployed
as part of a standard solution
Standard
servers
Standard
server edge
Server edge
Top-of-rack advantages:
• Lower-cost design
• Enhanced multi-tier network designs
• Reduced cabling costs—copper
connections from server edge for 10-Gb
via direct attach
• Edge network can be refreshed more
easily and frequently without disturbing
distribution or core layers
–› Network can begin to match server
deployment requirements and processes
Figure 1: Top-of-rack use model
The 6600 series (specifically the 6600-24XG switch) is also ideal for end-of-row Layer 2 and Layer 3
aggregation, as the 6600-24XG switch provides the highest-density 10-Gb per rack unit in HP networking’s
product line. The advanced Layer 3 features provided in the Premium License make the 6600-24XG switch an
ideal candidate for aggregation and distribution in the data center. Key features of the ProCurve 6600 series to
support both top-of-rack and end-of-row use models include the following:
•Front-to-back (reversible) airflow—Enables highly virtualized compute environments where connectivity
ports face the hot aisle for use at top of rack. In addition, airflow can be reversed to support end-of-row
aggregation and distribution use models where users want data ports facing forward toward the cold aisle.
•Redundant, hot-swappable power supplies and fans—Power and fan resiliency as well as replaceable in
rack to increase availability.
•64K MAC address scalability—Supports best-in-class 64K MAC addresses to enable data center scale-outs of
highly virtualized server environments.
•Out-of-band management port—Isolated Ethernet management port provides robust access to the
management plane that is truly isolated from in-band data ports (available on 6600-48G, 6600-48G-4XG,
and 6600-24XG switches).
•sFlow for enhanced network visibility—Supports sFlow packet sampling to provide real-time visibility to
monitor traffic across all data ports at up to 10-Gb wire speed.
•Upgradability—Premium License option to support advanced Layer 3 functions most commonly needed for
end-of-row use models.
•Performance—High-capacity switch fabrics (from 48-Gbps to 322-Gbps backplane speed), bandwidth
shaping and control, QoS, and Layer 2 and Layer 3 jumbo frames.
•Security—ACLs (per-port or identity-driven), virus throttle, out-of-band Ethernet management, switch CPU
protection, detection of malicious attacks, DHCP protection, BPDU port protection, dynamic ARP protection,
dynamic IP lockdown, IP and MAC lockdown/lockout, IEEE 802.1X/Web/MAC user authentication, and
management access control (SSH, SSL, TACACS+, secure FTP).
•Resiliency—Redundant hot-swappable power supply options, hot-swappable fan tray, MSTP, switch meshing,
VRRP1, OSPF-ECMP1.
•IP Routing—RIPv1/v2, OSPFv2, OSPFv3, PIM-SM/DM, and static routes.
•Diagnostic—Remote intelligent mirroring, loopback interface, UDLD, and sFlow support.
1Requires Premium Software License

10
6600 series system overview
The HP ProCurve 6600 Switch Series was designed to be co-located with data center servers for both top-of-
rack edge access and end-of-row aggregation and distribution deployment models. To support high availability
in a 1U form factor, all 6600 series products allow for redundant hot-swappable power supply options, hot-
swappable fan tray, and front-to-back (reversible) airflow, along with out-of-band Ethernet management ports.
These are key capabilities that separate the 6600 series from other competitive products as well as other
products in the HP networking portfolio and position it well for data center top-of-rack and end-of-row designs.
To allow seamless core-to-edge deployment with HP networking products, the 6600 series shares the same
software and hardware building blocks as the 8200zl, 5400zl, 6200yl, and 3500yl products, thus reducing
complexity and operating expense.
The base configuration for the 6600 series as shipped from the factory includes the following:
•1 system fan tray (J9271A)
−The 6600 ships as a back-to-front direction for ports-rearward installation, but the fan tray is mechanically
reversible to support front-to-back (ports-forward) airflow when positioned as an end-of-row aggregation/
distribution switch.
•1 power supply (J9269A)
−The 6600 series has two power supply bays to support power redundancy.
−The power supplies are hot-swappable and allow for tool-less serviceability.
−The 6600 power supplies leverage the 1200 W ProLiant G6 “common-slot” supply to simplify sparing.
•Rack ears for mounting in a two-post telco rack
−For mounting in a four-post network/server rack, the 6600 rack mount kit (J9469A) that includes telescoping
rails is highly recommended.
•AC power cords
−The system ships with two AC power cords: one is the standard HP line cord using a C13 connector on the
power supply side and a country plug on the source end, while the other is a power distribution unit (PDU)
jumper cord with a C13 connector on the power supply side and a PDU plug on the source end. With either
option, the AC source is: 100 to 120 VAC/200 to 240 VAC; 7.5 A/3.75 A; 50/60 Hz.
Chassis layout
The 6600 switch series are high-density, 1U form factor switches. Figure 2 details the power supply side view
of the 6600 series products.
Internal power supply slots
Fan tray
Figure 2: HP ProCurve 6600 Switch Series (power supply side view)
The 6600 fan tray and power supplies are all hot-swappable so that the switch does not have to be powered
off to remove these serviceable components.
System elements
HP ProCurve 6600 Switch Power Supply (J9269A)
Two power supplies need to be installed to take advantage of the power supply hot-swappable capabilities.
The power supply slots can accommodate the ProLiant G6 “common-slot” supplies. Currently, the 6600 series