Lenovo ThinkSystem NE2572 RackSwitch

The NE2572 RackSwitch runs the Cloud NOS that provides a simple, open and programmable network infrastructure designed to scale for your business needs. Its intelligent, cloud-scale performance delivers a software-defined Ethernet solution that is simple to manage and easy to deploy using common management tools. Cloud NOS is based on open, industry standards for better data center interoperability, and it enables support of automation and orchestration applications for tight integration into the data center ecosystem.

With its high-performance architecture and support for an extensive set of routing protocols, Cloud NOS provides reliable, high-performance fabric for traditional, converged and hyperscale solutions. Cloud NOS can help you consolidate server and storage networks into a single fabric. Converged Enhanced Ethernet delivers value for your iSCSI and NAS enterprise storage environments.

The NE2572 RackSwitch is considered particularly suited for the following environments:

• Mixed 10 GbE and 25 GbE server and storage connectivity with 40 GbE and 100 GbE upstream aggregation
• Cloud and virtualization solutions with VM-aware network automation and integration into Lenovo and third-party IT and cloud infrastructure management tools
• Converged SAN and LAN network via NAS and iSCSI storage connectivity
  • Reduced I/O cost (CAPEX) with fewer adapters and cables to purchase
  • Reduced complexity (OPEX) with fewer components to manage and lower energy cost
• Accelerated communications with lower latency across clustered applications and storage arrays with RDMA over Converged Ethernet (RoCE)
• Web-scale and hyperconverged solutions

The NE2572 RackSwitch offers the following features and benefits:

• High performance

  The 10 Gb/25 Gb Ethernet NE2572 RackSwitch with 40 Gb/100 Gb Ethernet uplinks provides a combination of low latency, non-blocking line-rate switching, and ease of management with 3.6 Tbps throughput.

• Lower power and better cooling

  The front-to-rear or rear-to-front cooling design of the NE2572 RackSwitch reduces data center air conditioning costs by having airflow match the servers in the rack. In addition, variable speed fans help reduce power consumption.

• Layer 3 functionality

  The NE2572 RackSwitch includes Layer 3 functionality, which provides security and performance benefits, as inter-VLAN traffic stays within the switch. This switch also provides the full range of Layer 3 protocols from static routes for technologies, such as Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) and Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) for enterprise customers.

• Network virtualization

  The NE2572 switch supports VXLAN Gateway for VMware NSX integration. VMware NSX is a virtualized network software platform that offers a full set of networking services, such as logical switching, routing, firewall, load balancing, VPN, quality of service (QoS), and monitoring.

• Converged fabric

  The NE2572 RackSwitch supports Converged Enhanced Ethernet (CEE) which helps enable customers to combine storage, messaging traffic, VoIP, video, and other data on a common data center lossless Ethernet infrastructure. As a result, customers can deploy a single server interface for multiple data types, which can simplify the deployment and management of server network connectivity while maintaining the high availability and robustness that is required for storage transactions.

• Fault tolerance

  The NE2572 RackSwitch offers redundant hot-swap hardware components, learns alternate routes automatically, and performs faster convergence if there is a link, switch, or power failure.

• Seamless interoperability

  RackSwitch switches perform seamlessly with other vendors' upstream switches.

• Automated VM-aware network provisioning

  The Lenovo CNOS Network Policy Agent, a ThinkAgile Network Orchestrator feature, gives increased visibility of the Nutanix (AOS version 5.0.2 or higher [excluding 5.1.2]) and VMware vSphere virtual infrastructure, including VM and virtual network information. It provides automated VM-aware provisioning by automatically configuring VLANs in the physical network based on the auto-discovered virtual network topology. The agent also performs ongoing dynamic updates to the physical network configuration in response to new VMs, updated VMs, and deleted VMs and virtual networks, eliminating errors with manual configuration.

• Pro-active congestion monitoring

  Telemetry enables continuous monitoring of networking devices to detect potential congestion problems, such as packets dropped by the switch when ports are being used close to their line rate or switch buffers are being temporarily overflown (for example, in case of microbursts).

• Zero Touch Provisioning

  Zero Touch Provisioning (ZTP) enables a switch to automatically provision itself using the resources available on the network, without manual intervention. ZTP automatically handles the process of upgrading the switch software image and installing configuration files.

• Python Scripting

  Network administrators can create and execute local Python scripts on switches to make small programs that allow a switch to automatically provision itself, perform fault monitoring, upgrade the image files, or auto-generate configuration files. Administrators can also implement version control systems, automatically generate alerts, create custom logging tools, and automate the management of network devices.

• REST API Programming

  The Lenovo REpresentational State Transfer (REST) Application Program Interface (API) enables network administrators to remotely configure and manage a Lenovo switch using REST and HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP). It also allows switch management integration into management applications, such as Lenovo XClarity.