Energy-efficient Ethernet for SMB networks: Green and ready to go

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Among all the new products and services for SMB, HP announced a new generation of unmanaged Fast-Ethernet switches – the HP V1410 series, designed for the needs of small and growing businesses. So what are those needs? Simply put, the switches have to work right out the box, provide server, PCs, printers and other devices with reliable Ethernet connectivity and enable your company to focus on the business. From my point of view, the V1410 has accomplished this mission. The lifetime warranty that comes with the switch is a proof point for the trust you can have into those devices.

Built-in energy savings

In addition, the new V1410 Fast Ethernet models show the same green handwriting that HP has started to establish with the bigger boxes. Like the HP E5400 blades that were introduced a couple of months ago, they support the “Energy-Efficient-Ethernet” standard (IEEE 802.3az) that was ratified last year.

Unlike data center owners who are painfully aware of equipment energy costs, as a small business you may not have energy efficiency on top of your requirement list when it comes to choosing the product. Nevertheless, I think EEE is a great feature to have  for smaller devices.

Big savings when you look at the big picture

Rick Merrit wrote on his blog in EE Times that in the U.S. alone, the EEE standard could help save $450 million – with $170 million savings just in the offices. That to me is a reason to consider.

So far I have not seen an official report about the power savings in the new HP V1410 devices, but estimates go that the switch alone reduces power consumption by more than 60% during periods of low utilization. Considering that the average Ethernet port is idle 98% of the time, I can follow the logic of cost savings.

But EEE isn’t limited to the switch device. It is a standards-based technology enabling communication between the switch and connected devices supporting EEE. While today the number of end-devices supporting EEE is still limited, I am convinced that EEE is about to be widely adopted in the industry.

Get ready for your EEE network

It might take some time, until EEE is showing its full impact but I am bought in. So, why don’t you check out the HP V1410 family and especially the new models with EEE support.

Read more about new networking technology for SMBs

>>Web page – HP News for SMB

>>Blog post – Networking for SMBs: A smart new switch