HPE Aruba Networking CX 10000 Switch Series simplifies operations, enhances AIOps, and integrates security-rich distributed services for scalable, autonomous networking with high-resolution telemetry.
Imagine flying a modern commercial jetliner. While pilots still sit at the controls, no one would expect them to safely fly the aircraft without the help of automation. Modern planes are marvels of complexity, featuring a vast array of systems that manage everything from engine performance to navigation, flight control systems, weather patterns, and air traffic control. These systems don’t yet use artificial intelligence (AI) in a closed feedback loop to fly the plane, but they rely heavily on automation to simplify incredibly complex tasks. A multitude of computers constantly process telemetry—engine data, altitude, speed, and weather conditions, correlating massive amounts of information from various sources, ensuring the plane runs smoothly and you arrive at your destination safely (and often even on time).
Similarly, modern network operations are no longer manageable without automation. Much like pilots rely on telemetry to understand the state of the plane, network operators depend on real-time data from numerous systems to monitor and manage complex infrastructures. Unlike commercial airliners, AI is beginning to successfully pilot the network, and in some cases, even in a closed feedback loop fashion. Automation has become essential to handle the increasing complexity of modern data center networks. These networks, such as an aircraft, require a sophisticated web of systems that work in unison—delivering data, detecting anomalies, and adjusting operations on the fly. Just as no pilot would fly a plane without these systems, no network operator can manage a modern, dynamic infrastructure without automated network management, fueled by high-resolution telemetry and integrated services.
Visionaries at HPE Aruba Networking saw these trends many years ago and implemented a new architecture to address the complexities and take advantage of the AI. In 2022, they launched our Distributed Services Switch Architecture, spearheaded by the HPE Aruba Networking CX 10000 Switch Series line of DPU, enabling smart switches, the first smart switch in the industry. Today, while our competitors are only now recognizing the benefits of this new approach, HPE is extending its leadership position with new products (HPE Aruba Networking CX 10040), many feature enhancements (that is, HPE Morpheus VM Essentials Software integration, and In-band Flow Analyzer Telemetry), and along with greatly enhanced ecosystem partnerships to take advantage of rapid advancements in a diverse environment of AI tools.
The road ahead: Key requirements for advancing AIOps
The path to autonomous networking is clear: the industry must continue to:
- Consolidate and simplify the underlying network infrastructure,
- Develop enhanced AIOps technologies specifically for network automation, and
Address the critical data challenge that has long hindered ML progress (you can’t fly around a storm if you can’t detect it soon enough).
Simplifying network architecture: The role of distributed services switching network architecture
A major leap forward in data center network design came with the introduction of the Distributed Services Switching (DSS) Architecture implemented in the HPE Aruba Networking CX 10000 Switch Series in 2022, which consolidates multiple network operations into a unified stack of integrated services, both physically and logically. Only now, in 2025, have our competitors begun to catch up to the architectural approach, but are well behind in the maturity of their switching platforms and services stack, all while HPE launches new DSS product (including HPE Aruba Networking CX 10040), service features (HPE Morpheus VM Essentials Software integration), and ecosystem partnerships.
At the core of the DSS architecture is the use of the programmable data processing unit (DPU), supplied by HPE technology partner AMD Pensando. The CX 10000 and CX 10040 DPUs enable the delivery of high performance, stateful services, including L4 firewalling, secure segmentation, DDoS protection, NAT, encryption, and deep flow-based telemetry, without the need for additional appliances or agents.
Figure 1. HPE Aruba Networking CX 10000 Switch Series—smart switch
This shift to a distributed services model provides several key benefits: device consolidation, reduced complexity, as well as CapEx and OpEx cost reduction. The DSS architecture, through the high capacity of the on-board DPUs, has the ability to deliver real-time telemetry that fuels the AIOps engines needed for network automation.
AIOps: Catching up to the vision of autonomous networking
The concept of autonomous networking is quickly becoming a reality, thanks to significant progress in AI and machine learning. AI-powered network automation is advancing to integrate specialized domain knowledge, including areas such as networking, micro-segmentation, firewalls, and client-level sessions. Beyond simply detecting anomalies, these technologies are evolving to leverage agentic AI capabilities, enabling predictive analytics, and proactive decision-making.
As highlighted by Gartner, external knowledge bases and event intelligence solutions are vital in enriching AI with the contextual data it needs to make informed decisions. This agentic form of AI can rationalize based on situations and recommend, or if allowed, autonomously take actions to achieve specific goals (closed feedback loop operations).
Gartner’s Market Guide for Event Intelligence Solutions outlines the critical features necessary for modern AIOps platforms, including event correlation, enriched diagnostics, anomaly detection, and predictive insights. These capabilities form the foundation for network automation systems, and several vendors are already offering solutions that align with these requirements, including HPE Aruba Networking Central, OpsRamp, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company, and key ecosystem partners such as Selector, Akamai Guardicore, and Elastic (ELK stack).
Figure 2. High-resolution telemetry and AI for networking
The power of network telemetry: Fueling AI and ML engine
As we move closer to achieving the vision of autonomous networking, the role of network telemetry cannot be overstated. Telemetry acts as the fuel for AI and machine learning engines, providing the data necessary to identify anomalies, predict failures, and automate responses. However, traditional telemetry methods simply do not offer the granularity needed to support these operations. Sampling data at the flow level or relying on limited request–response protocols, such as SNMP, leaves too much room for error, often leading to misdiagnoses and inaccurate actions.
HPE Aruba Networking CX 10000 Switch Series delivers a micro and nanosecond-resolution level of non-sampled telemetry on millions of flows per switch, directly from the data plane. This unique design, paired with the distributed services capabilities, helps ensure that no critical network nor firewall security event is missed, allowing AI engines to operate effectively and make decisions based on complete, real-time data.
The ability to leverage full-stack telemetry, including security logs, application flow data, and latency traces, enables AIOps systems to provide accurate, actionable insights and recommendations. Moreover, with the increasing reliance on AI for network automation, leveraging high-resolution telemetry enables faster issue identification, anomaly detection, and automated remediation, all while reducing operational costs and complexity.
Conclusion: The road to simplified, automated networks
The integration of distributed services architectures and the deployment of smart switches capable of handling high-resolution telemetry are foundational to the future of network automation. The advancements made by HPE in the HPE Aruba Networking CX 10000 Switch Series represent a significant step in simplifying network operations and empowering AIOps systems to reach their full potential. By addressing the data problem, enabling high-resolution telemetry at scale, and embedding key network and security services within the fabric itself, these innovations make it possible to achieve the long-awaited promise of autonomous networking.
Learn more at:
HPE Aruba Networking CX 10000 Switch Series and ElastiFlow
HPE Aruba Networking CX 10000 Switch Series and Selector
Read the Architecting the future of distributed, secure, intelligent networks blog
HPE Aruba Networking CX 10000 Switch Series webpage
Meet the Author:
Jim Capobianco,
Principal Product Manager at HPE Aruba Networking
