- Designed for modern data centers, colocation facilities, and collapsed-core enterprise campuses
- Delivers advanced networking and security, timing, telemetry, and automation
- Reduces complexity and costs, and unifies orchestration of virtualized networking services (with VM Essentials integration)
In today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape, networks are no longer passive highways for data. They have become the critical foundation upon which cloud services, AI-driven platforms, 5G ecosystems, edge computing, and digital transformation strategies are built. As demands intensify for higher speeds, embedded security, real-time visibility, precision synchronization, and reduced total cost of ownership (TCO), traditional networking architectures are reaching their limits.
To lead in this era, organizations need a new class of infrastructure — one that simplifies operations, fortifies security, illuminates traffic flows, and scales effortlessly across diverse environments.
Expanding the CX distributed services switch family: Introducing the HPE Aruba Networking CX 10040 switch
HPE Aruba Networking CX 10000 HPE Aruba Networking CX 10040
Our latest switch is a next-generation distributed services switching platform engineered for the modern network fabric, extending across Top-of-Rack (TOR), Data Center Interconnect (DCI), border leaf, and multi-cloud edge deployments. It is purpose-built to meet the demands of modern data centers, colocation facilities, telecom service providers, and collapsed-core enterprise campuses. redefining how high-performance, secure, and intelligent networks are designed, deployed, and operated.
Building on three years of experience of the HPE Aruba Networking CX 10000 switch (the industry’s first distributed services switch, trusted in hundreds of deployments worldwide), the innovative new switch elevates the network fabric to new heights. It delivers fast performance at scale, deeply integrated, near line-rate security, real-time operational insights, and automation-ready simplicity, all critical for powering the next generation of cloud, AI-driven services, and digital infrastructure. Now complexity is no longer the cost of capability.
This next-gen platform collapses networking silos, integrates advanced security deep into the fabric, and offers a new level of real-time visibility into east-west and north-south traffic. Organizations can now orchestrate, protect, and scale their networks with greater agility, transforming infrastructure from a static cost center into a dynamic, strategic advantage.
The new HPE Aruba Networking CX 10040 distributed services switch
Key Innovations of the HPE Aruba Networking CX 10040 switch include:
- Fast throughput: 8 Tbps of non-blocking switching capacity, to support the next wave of AI, 5G, and high-performance workloads.
- Stateful security at scale: 1.6 Tbps of L4 stateful inspection natively integrated, transforming every port into a security checkpoint.
- Precision time synchronization: Built-in PTP Boundary Clock support, critical for financial trading, industrial automation, and time-sensitive edge applications.
- Distributed encryption: 4.8 Tbps encryption engine to support MACsec, flexibly assignable to ports, securing traffic without compromising speed or scalability.
- Operational simplicity: HPE AOS-CX unified platform with intelligent automation, telemetry, and a rich API ecosystem to eliminate configuration drift and reduce operational overhead.
The HPE Aruba Networking CX 10040 switch doesn’t merely keep pace with the future — it shapes it.
Purpose-built for a world where cloud, AI, multi-cloud, and edge converge, the switch offers a powerful platform to reduce growth risk, simplify operations, enhance threat resilience, and provide full visibility into network environments like never before.
Architectural advantages: Rethinking network fabric design
Traditional network architectures, built around rigid hierarchical layers and perimeter-centric security, are increasingly unsuited for the demands of today’s digital enterprises. In an era where agility, security, synchronization, and visibility must be embedded into every layer of the infrastructure, networks must evolve from static systems into intelligent, adaptive fabrics.
The new switch redefines this foundation. It goes beyond conventional three-tier designs, embracing distributed, service-enriched network fabrics that simplify operations while enhancing security and visibility. By integrating L4 stateful inspection, DDoS mitigation, TCP anomaly detection, and precision telemetry directly into the switching infrastructure, the CX 10040 eliminates the need for separate security middleboxes and complex monitoring overlays within the network fabric.
The result is a simplified, intelligent architecture where east-west traffic is secured, anomalies are detected at line speed, and operational insights are native—not bolted on. Whether deployed as Top-of-Rack (TOR) switches in dense cloud data centers, as secure border leaf nodes for multi-cloud connectivity, or as aggregation switches in collapsed-core enterprise campuses, the switch ensures consistency, control, and agility across distributed environments.
Importantly, the HPE Aruba Networking CX 10040 switch’s design philosophy reflects the realities of modern infrastructure:
- Security must be distributed and embedded, not confined to the perimeter only
- Automation must be native, not retrofitted
- Visibility must be real-time and actionable, not delayed, and forensic
- Synchronization must be embedded, not an afterthought
By weaving security, timing, telemetry, and automation into the fabric itself, the new switch transforms networking from a static cost center into a dynamic platform for innovation, resilience, and growth—preparing enterprises for the demands of cloud, AI, and digital ecosystems of tomorrow.
Modern deployment scenarios: Where the HPE Aruba Networking CX 10040 switch shines
The new switch is engineered to meet the evolving demands of digital infrastructure. Its versatility and architectural innovation make it an ideal solution across a wide range of modern deployment scenarios, empowering organizations to scale securely and efficiently wherever the network fabric must extend:
1. Top-of-Rack (TOR) fabric in modern data centers
For cloud-scale and enterprise-grade data centers, the switch delivers both 100G and 400G connectivity to support east-west traffic demands and accelerate application performance. Its intelligent automation, near line-rate security, and deep telemetry make it the perfect choice for TOR deployments where operational simplicity and traffic visibility are critical.
2. Border Leaf and Data Center Interconnect (DCI)
As enterprises and service providers adopt hybrid and multi-cloud strategies, secure, high-performance interconnectivity becomes essential. The switch functions as a border leaf or DCI node, delivering embedded encryption, precision time synchronization, and policy enforcement at scale. This enables secure data transport across clouds, campuses, and edge locations without compromising performance.
3. Colocation and edge data centers
For organizations extending digital services closer to users, the switch offers the agility and security required at colocation facilities and edge sites. Its integrated L4 stateful security and automation-ready platform enable rapid deployment while maintaining robust control and visibility over distributed infrastructure.
4. Collapsed core enterprise campus networks
In large-scale enterprise environments embracing collapsed-core designs, the switch acts as a high-performance aggregation layer. It consolidates services, simplifies network architecture, and enforces security policies natively, reducing complexity and operational cost while ensuring seamless user and application experiences.
5. Precision timing for secure and distributed infrastructure
As modern infrastructures evolve to support increasingly time-sensitive applications, the demand for precision synchronization has intensified. While Network Time Protocol (NTP) has historically been enough for general enterprise needs, leading hyperscale operators have begun transitioning to Precision Time Protocol (PTP) to achieve sub-microsecond accuracy across distributed environments.
The HPE Aruba Networking CX 10040 switch is architected to support environments where timing accuracy, security, and visibility converge, such as 5G transport, industrial automation, financial services, and media distribution — an ideal choice for distributed, time-sensitive infrastructure.
The intelligent, secure network fabric of the future
As digital frontier rapidly expands, so must network fabrics. The HPE Aruba Networking CX10040 switch marks a pivotal step toward a new model: one where security, performance, timing, and operational intelligence are embedded directly into the network fabric itself.
Explore what it means to break free from legacy limitations and build intelligent, secure, synchronized infrastructures that adapt with your business.
For additional information:
- HPE Aruba Networking CX 10000 family white papers, TCO analysis, data sheets, and product details
- Virtual Networking Done Right with HPE Morpheus VM Essentials and HPE Aruba Networking CX 10000
