New offerings from ProCurve ease network deployment, help protect customer IT investments


Dubai, UAE, June 16, 2004 – ProCurve Networking by HP today announced three complete offerings – combining hardware, software, an extensive information library, service and support – to make it easier for network administrators to develop and deploy secure, mobile, multi-service networks. In addition, ProCurve introduced a series of products to further round out its wireless and switch product lines.
 
To support these new offerings, ProCurve has announced a new framework for its Elite Partner program focusing on exclusive tools for sales and deployment, expanded training content and delivery options, and more opportunities to excel through a new specialisation and certification program. (See today’s news release titled “ProCurve Networking by HP Enhances Channel Programs to Provide More Knowledge, Tools and Support.”)
 
ProCurve enables customers to meet the seemingly incompatible mandate to cut costs while driving business forward and increasing productivity. The ProCurve solutions reduce network complexity, simultaneously addressing corporate demands for security, mobility, IP telephony/convergence and a single view of the network.
 
“By recognising the market drivers behind the current agendas of CIOs, ProCurve has been able to anticipate market need, innovate and lead with our Adaptive EDGE Architecture,” said Ivan Kraemer, Sales and Marketing Director, ProCurve Networking Business for Mediterranean, Middle East and Africa. “Today’s announcements demonstrate how ProCurve enables network managers to focus on initiatives that move business forward rather than continually putting out fires, solving their problems with a future-proof, holistic approach to network design.”
 
Meeting three of the top networking issues – security, mobility and convergence – the ProCurve Access Control Security, Mobility Infrastructure and IP Telephony solutions announced today further support the ProCurve Adaptive EDGE Architecture, providing a unified and comprehensive approach to the development of secure, mobile, multi-service networks.
 
· ProCurve Access Control Security Solution – This offering protects the network by helping ensure that only authorised users are allowed onto wired or wireless networks through centralised policy control. This affordable solution encompasses not only switch products and software applications, but also industry-leading services and support.
 
· ProCurve Mobility Infrastructure Solution – This comprehensive solution delivers secure, persistent, dependable mobile connectivity to resources that allow employee work to proceed uninhibited by physical location, increasing user productivity and return on IT investment.
 
The solution not only includes hardware and software, but also the services, support and tools necessary to enable a simple, successful, cost-effective wireless LAN deployment.
 
· ProCurve IP Telephony Solution – This convergence solution helps customers get more from their networks by allowing them to easily add voice capability to an existing network. This solution combines industry-leading IP switching infrastructure with IP telephony products for true communications convergence.
 
“I don’t want to have to worry about individual products. I want to invest in business solutions. On the other hand, I need the flexibility to choose the right technologies that can fit my unique needs, not cookie cutter offerings. ProCurve Networking by HP provides the best of both worlds with its latest networking solutions,” said Bjørn Tore Paulen, chief technology officer, Eidsiva Broadband Services.
 
“ProCurve’s comprehensive solutions for access control security, mobility infrastructure and standards-based IP telephony dramatically simplify deployment while providing flexibility in meeting individual business needs.”
 
Available worldwide, the solutions include core products, services and support from ProCurve Elite partners. Exact solution configuration varies case by case, depending on customer needs.
 
To support these new solutions and extend the breadth of its product line, ProCurve also introduced a series of wireless and switch product lines, including:
 
· HP ProCurve Manager and HP ProCurve Manager Plus 1.5 network management solution – offering e-mail/pager alerts, sFlow support, increased access point management, more schedulable activities and enhanced group configuration features.
 
· HP ProCurve Switch xl 16-port 10/100/1000 Module – a high-density Gigabit port module with two dual-personality ports for the HP ProCurve Switch 5300 series.
 
· HP ProCurve Switch xl 10/100-TX PoE module – a 24-port 10/100 Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) switch module for the 5300 switch series.
 
· HP ProCurve Switch 5304xl-32G – a bundled offering with 28 10/100/1000 ports and four dual-personality ports.
 
· HP ProCurve Switch 5308xl-48G – a bundled offering with 42 10/100/1000 ports and six dual-personality ports.
 
· HP ProCurve 9300 EP 100Base-FX Module – a 24 100Base-FX port module for the HP ProCurve Switch 9300 series.
 
· HP ProCurve 610 External Power Supply – a 1RU external power supply with four EPS ports providing PoE to connected Switch xl 10/100-TX PoE modules.
 
· Free software updates for:
 
o HP ProCurve Secure Access 700wl series – offering new user interface, rights model, centralised configuration, management and monitoring, failover, bandwidth control, more VLAN support, improved system logging, remote CLI and additional SNMP support.
 
o HP ProCurve Routing Switch 9300m series – offering source IP port security, IP multicast traffic reduction, PIM sparse snooping, link aggregation on 802.1Q ports, link fault signaling on 10GbE ports, dynamic ACLs and MAC filters on 802.1X ports, and support for copper mini-GBIC.
 
· New antennas for use on the HP ProCurve Wireless Access Point 420 and 520wl:
 
o HP ProCurve 2 dBi Indoor Omni-directional Diversity Antenna
 
o HP ProCurve 5 dBi Indoor / Outdoor Omni-directional Antenna
 
o HP ProCurve 6.5 dBi Indoor / Outdoor Directional Diversity Antenna
 
o HP ProCurve 7 dBi Indoor / Outdoor Directional Antenna
 
o HP ProCurve 8 dBi Outdoor Omni-directional Antenna
 
o HP ProCurve 11 dBi Indoor / Outdoor Wide Angle Directional Antenna
 
· HP ProCurve Wireless 802.11g Access Point Card 170wl 11CH – an 11-channel IEEE 802.11g radio card for 520wl Wireless Access Points.
 
· HP ProCurve MC-Card to R-SMA cable and HP ProCurve 14 dBi Yagi Antenna for the Access Point 520wl.
 
More information on today’s announcements from ProCurve is available in an online press kit at www.hp.com/go/procurve2004.
 
-Ends-
 
About ProCurve Networking by HP
The ProCurve Networking business unit of HP is a supplier of enterprise networking solutions comprising wired and wireless enterprise networking products, services and solutions – including Ethernet switches, routing switches and network-management applications – which allow customers to build networks based on open standards that meet current and future needs for security, performance and reliability.
 
More information about ProCurve networking solutions and products is available at www.hp.com/go/hpprocurve.
 
About HP
HP is a technology solutions provider to consumers, businesses and institutions globally. The company’s offerings span IT infrastructure, personal computing and access devices, global services and imaging and printing. For the four fiscal quarters ended April 30, 2004, HP revenue totalled $76.8 billion. More information about HP (NYSE, Nasdaq: HPQ) is available at www.hp.com.
 
About HP Middle East
HP is the largest IT company in the Middle East employing about 500 professionals in the region. HP has been present in the Middle East since 1968, and opened its first regional office in 1994 and has offices in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Riyadh, Jeddah and Khobar, Cairo and Ramallah servicing the GCC, the Levant and Egypt. For more information about HP in the Middle East, please visit www.hp.com/me.

© Press Release 2004