I work at a University and we currently use HPE FlexFabric to connect our core infrastructure at our data center as well as our backup data center. We use it as a higher switching capacity than the Aruba switch it replaced.

Pros and Cons

Switching capacity.
High availability.

3 party Management tools.

Likelihood to Recommend

The switch is intuitive and very simple to configure so I would recommend it to anyone for their data center. It allows for someone who might just be a server expert and not a switching expert to have a far simpler time than would normally be expected.

Most Important Features

Low latency.
High availability.
10GbE internet.

Return on Investment

Performs well under stress, it is the core of our data center for over 3 years without any failures.
Simplified our topology in our data center.

Alternatives Considered

HPE Aruba Ethernet Switches

Aruba line cannot compete with the HPE FlexFabric, we got nowhere close to the performance when using the Aruba and the Aruba had a couple fan failures.

Other Software Used

SolarWinds Security Event Manager (SEM), SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor (npm), SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager (NCM), SolarWinds IP Address Manager (IPAM), Aruba Networks Wireless WAN, HPE MSA

February 28, 2022

Review of HPE FlexFabric

Verified User

Engineer in Information Technology

Education Management Company, 1001-5000 employees

Score 10 out of 10

Vetted Review

Verified User

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use it for our primary and secondary data centers and they are very reliable and support 10GbE which we use. It also supports 40GbE which we are trying to implement.

Pros and Cons

SCSI support.
No additional license to unlock features.
High availability.

Management tools, we use SolarWinds and had some trouble managing the devices.
Interoperability with 3rd party switches had some interface issues with connecting to Juniper switches.

Likelihood to Recommend

It is very easy to configure and we never had an issue with the device in the 3 years we had it. I configured it once and just let it do its things. Could not be happier with that.

Most Important Features

10GbE internet.
40GbE internet.
Low latency.

Return on Investment

Easy to manage as we are an HP shop, so it works well with our other HP blades and switches.
Works well on heavy load, has been working continuously for over 3 years without error.

Alternatives Considered

Cisco Nexus 9000 Series Switches and HPE Aruba Ethernet Switches

Compared to Cisco, HPE was easier to get support contracts and customer service was far more helpful. Aruba is part of HP but the Aruba line cannot stack up to the Flexfabric in a high-performance data center environment.

Other Software Used

SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager (NCM), HPE Aruba Ethernet Switches, SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor (npm)

February 24, 2022

Flex and Relax

Mohammed Javed Mansuri

Sr. Manager Presales

Creative Infotech Solutions Pvt. Ltd. (Computer Networking, 51-200 employees)

Score 8 out of 10

Vetted Review

Reseller

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

I have implemented most of the HPE FlexFabric switches for multiple customers. The primary requirement was higher switching capacity and reliable OS, on top of that IRF stacking technology is excellent to have an error-free configuration and long-lasting reliability.