HP 2530 series supports Full end stacking

[karim2]

my question is will HP 2530 series can be stackble?

My understanding from cisco stacking is, we can stack switches for increase switching bandwidth/Making multiple  physical switches as one logical switches. When i seen in HP site they wrote virtual stacking ( Manageble with single ip address to multiple switches), Please any one clarify in HP stacking means is that same as Cisco stacking or only for manageble purpose.

Thanks in advance

[parnassus]

The statement on Aruba 2530 (remember: SFP+ equipped models will be EoS on September 2017 --> those models will be replaced by equivalent Aruba 2540) datasheet is:

"Virtual stacking provides single IP address management for up to 16 switches"

That's really only Management Stacking (or Stacking for Management purposes only), indeed it is listed below the Management features. Nothing less, nothing more.

It's clear that that Stacking for Management purposes ISN'T the frontplane/backplane stacking that provides, as Cisco does on some models (think, as example, about Cisco 2960X that supports up to 8 chassis through backplane dedicated Stacking Modules and Stacking Cables, see Cisco FlexStack-Plus technology), the real Virtual Switching you described above.

Actually HPE ArubaOS-Switch OS based Switches provide basically two distinct Virtual Switching technologies/methods [*]: one is software based and it is called with the acronym VSF - Virtual Switching Framework - deployed through switch's 1G/10G/40G (that varies on considered Switch) frontplane Ethernet ports, the other is the classic Hardware Stacking deployed by using proper dedicated Hardware Stacking Modules and Stacking Cables (generally Stacking Module has its specific Slot on the back of the Switch).

HPE Comware OS based Switches instead use another very consolidated technology to deploy Virtual Switching: IRF Intelligent Resilient Framework via frontplane ports.

The Aruba 2530, which is ArubaOS-Switch - as known as AOS-S - based (and, formerly, HP ProCurve 2530 which was HP ProVision OS based) doesn't support VSF and it didn't support Hardware Stacking...so you can only configure Stacking for Management purposes and nothing more. No Virtual Switching technologies/methods are supported.

[*] Actually that means:

• Aruba 2920: Virtual Switching deployed through backplane stacking with dedicated hardware Stacking Modules and dedicated Stacking Cables, up to 4 chassis; Chain or Ring Topologies.
• Aruba 2930F: Virtual Switching deployed through VSF (up to 4 chassis). 2 Units: Chain Topology only; 3 or 4 Units: Ring Topology. 1G/10G links
• Aruba 2930M: as per Aruba 2920, up to 10 chassis.
• Aruba 3810: as per Aruba 2920, up to 10 chassis Chain or Ring Topologies, Up to 5 chassis in Meshed Topology.
• Aruba 5400R zl2: Virtual Switching deployed through VSF (up to 2 chassis). 10G/40G links. Only v3 zl2 Modules. One MM (the other, if equipped, shall be disabled).