Abstract

Today’s enterprise networks are facing growing demands for rich media applications like voice and video over IP, which require higher port-density and throughput. Stackable switches, when properly architected, can offer network managers a solution that can be scaled as the needs of the network grow over time. In this report, the HP 2920 switch series was compared against Cisco’s Catalyst 2960-S and Catalyst 3750-X series switches.

HP commissioned Tolly to evaluate the performance, power consumption, Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) of their 2920 series switches against the Cisco Catalyst 2960-S and 3750-X series switches.

The performance of the stacking technology used by the HP 2920 Switch Series was compared against the Cisco Catalyst 2960-S and 3750-X series switches. Tolly tests show that the HP 2920 series delivers significantly higher throughput at lower latency in a four-switch stack configuration.

Furthermore, the HP switches implement Energy Efficient Ethernet features, that provide additional savings in long-term power and cooling costs. When fully loaded, the HP 2920 is more power efficient than the the Cisco 2960-S in the TEER test. In addition, the HP 2920 costs, on average 29% less in a 5,000 port deployment than the Cisco 2960-S.

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