January 2010

valueplus
presents
05 Juniper
09 HP ProCurve
12 Cisco
the 15 HP Server
Q U A R T E R LY
18 Molex
A SPECIAL PUBLICATION FROM REDINGTON GULF VALUE DIVISION

HIGHLIGHTS:
Building a profitable, productive small
business practice through partner
enablement
The business value of storage
virtualisation
The Big Connect

TIME FOR
ACTION
New business opportunities
ahead mean it’s time to get
organised!
Redington is a Value Added Distributor for the following brands across the Middle East and Africa
 05
FROM THE DIRECTOR:
Dear Partners,
With a new year, it’s easy to be reassured
by newspaper reports of economic
recovery. However, it’s more realistic to
look at hard facts from this region and
realise that return on IT investment is
going to be a key factor for making IT
investment decisions.
Consider this, for example: the
region’s healthcare sector currently
spends some $74b a year and that is
projected to rise by 16% year on year.
Much of that spend is on cutting edge
technology as hospitals shift to joined-up
services, digitised patient records and
cutting edge comms. That one sector
alone provides us with massive market
opportunities, not affected by general
economic conditions – populations
around the region are rising, patient
expectations are increasing, medical
tourism is growing and so on.
But look wider. At the start of last year
a significant survey of senior regional
executives saw just over half of them
believing that IT budgets would climb
back to pre-meltdown levels; a survey of
the same group at the end of last year
15
18
put the number confidently expecting
serious IT spend to over 90%.
Close questioning revealed that
respondents now see clearly the strategic
value of IT – that it should now be viewed
in value rather than cost terms.
For suppliers, whether manufacturers,
distributors or resellers, the message is
clear: opportunity lies all around but,
more than ever, will need a different
mindset. The old cliché of ‘value add’
must now become a central reality, a core
strategy rather than a marketing slogan.
And, as we discuss in this issue, all three
levels of the IT value chain must learn to
understand each other and work together
for the customers’ benefit.
From our part as the Value Division at
Redington Gulf, we’re already addressing
your requirement from us for more value
so that you can better address and meet
the demands of your customers. This
month we’re pleased to announce the
January 2010
CONTENTS
04 Ramkumar’s Blog
05 Focus: Juniper Networks
09 Focus: HP Procurve
12 Small Business: Cisco
15 Feature: HP Server
18 Feature: Molex
22 Spotlight: Big Connect
availability of Infrastructure Solutions
from Molex, which will play nicely
with the wider range of options from
networking, voice, servers, storage,
software and security. We have also
signed Juniper Networks to provide you
more value under our networking and
security portfolio.
And, as the year plays out, look to
us for more in terms of training and
support.
Finally, as a team, we wish your
business a lot more this year - more sales,
more retention and more reach!
Here’s to a successful 2010!
Yours truly
Raj Shankar
Director, Redington Gulf
The ValuePlus Quarterly 3
RAMKUMAR’S BLOG
Distributor - Vendor -
Reseller - Is a symbiotic
relationship possible?
B
y design the relationship
between Vendor
– Distributor – Reseller is
supposed to be a symbiotic
relationship, a perfect triangle
with all the three partners working
smoothly with each other and
adding value to each other on a
continuous basis, but practically
does this happen?
This is a key question that
needs to be answered honestly.
The key stake holders in the
debate are people working for
distribution houses, channel
representatives from vendors and
partners at large. Let’s look at
some common pain points from
each of their perspective.
Some pain points from a
distributor:
• Vendor is not supportive and
does not look at things from
our perspective
• Vendor is more supportive
towards another distributor!
(Why would he do that? The
vendor might as well not have
you as distributor!!!)
•This vendor does not understand
distribution - he is only looking at
sell in, with no sell out focus at all
• This vendor expects us to
develop his market, but does not
understand that we need to earn
something before we invest – the
old chicken and egg story!!!
Common complaints from a
vendor perspective:
• This distributor is just a fulfillment
house and does not focus on any
market development
4 The ValuePlus Quarterly January 2010
•This distributor is far too
conservative and is not willing to
invest in the business!!!
• This distributor does not have
reach!!! (Didn’t he discover this
before appointing the distributor?)
• This distributor does not
understand value add !!
Some common voices of concern
from a reseller’s perspective
(Imagine a typical 2 tier medium
size reseller, who depends
almost entirely on supplier credit
from the distributor and backing
of the vendor to close business):
• The vendor is trying to control
everything including our margins!!!
• The vendor is not transparent
and always playing between
different resellers!!!
• The distributor is not proactive!!!
• The distributor is very
conservative in giving credit
• We prefer to work with all the
distributors!!! (No loyalty)
The above statements are very
prevalent in the industry whenever
there is a closed door discussion.
Most people in the industry are
aware about it, acknowledge it but
avoid being quoted.
As a professional associated
with the distribution industry for a
fairly long time, I have experienced
the above and have heard from
colleagues within the ecosystem
experience the same. There have
also been tremendously successful
relationships between resellers/
vendors/distributors and there
are individuals who have been
extremely successful in building
businesses which have used this
Ramkumar B, GM, Value Division, Redington Gulf
triangle to the hilt. It is important
to understand what works and,
in cases it has not worked, to
learn what has not worked so
that for the industry at large, this
can be some form of a pointer
to avoid pitfalls in forming these
relationships to start with.
Following are some very
broad lessons that I have
had during my journey
in distribution and may
be useful as pointers to
overcome some of the issues
discussed above:
Get the expectations right
from Day 1- When forming a
relationship, be as transparent
as possible and get the
expectations set realistic on
both sides from the start. Do
not make the mistake of setting
either too low or too high
expectations from both sides.
Learn to say NO and walk
away if it does not make sense
to be in a relationship.
Understand the importance
of joint business planning-
Understand the business
goals of both sides clearly.
The joint business plan should
make the goals of both sides
possible – it has to be a WIN
– WIN relationship. Understand
the compensation and reward
plans for the employees
involved on both sides.
Remember: at the end of the
day, it’s a people business!
Communicate every day-
Communication or lack of it is
the SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT
reason that many relationships
don’t work. Weekly, monthly and
quarterly reviews at different
levels are a MUST. Proactive
communication is necessary,
so always communicate as if
in a partnership, not as if it is
between two different parties.
Call it off when joint vision
not possible- Remember that
every relationship does not last
forever. When a joint vision is
not possible, call it off and do
not PROCRASTINATE. Finally,
being in a relationship and not
seeing a joint vision is the worst
possible situation.
I hope the above would help
each of us to maximize productivity
with our business partners.

Enter Juniper
J
uniper Networks delivers
innovative software,
silicon and systems that
transform the experience
and economics of networking
for global service providers,
leading enterprises, and public
sector organizations. Its core
routers, switches, and security
hardware and software run
the world’s largest and most
demanding global networks.
From the start, Juniper saw
the opportunity to help
customers build and accelerate
business value from their IT
infrastructures. Since 1996,
it has helped customers
stay ahead of the demands
posed by the exponential
growth in network users and
endpoints, while meeting the
business imperatives for high
performance, reliability,and
absolute security.
On the Internet’s 40th
anniversary (October 29,2009),
Juniper unveiled its vision
for the next decade – a future
of networking that is open,
scaleable, simple, secure and
automated. Juniper now offers
an expanded portfolio and
go-to-market reach – which
now includes software, silicon
and systems for routing,
switching and security across
enterprise and service provider
markets worldwide. Juniper
also revealed a new ingredient
brand for its Junos Platform,
reflecting the company’s
JUNIPER NETWORKS | FOCUS
expanded software strategy,
portfolio and delivery models
that showcase the value of
running Junos OS as the
‘brains’ behind today’s
best networks.
Today, Juniper remains
uniquely positioned to
maintain industry leadership
based on core competencies
in architecture, silicon
design and an open cross-
network software platform
that includes the popular
Junos operating system, the
new Junos Space network
application platform and new
Junos Pulse integrated network
client. Juniper offers a broad
product portfolio that spans
routing, switching, security,
application acceleration,
identity policy and control,
and management designed to
give customers unmatched
performance, greater choice,
January 2010
and true flexibility while
reducing overall total cost of
ownership (TCO).
In addition, through strong
industry partnerships, Juniper is
fostering a broad ecosystem of
innovation across the network.
Juniper has an exclusive
focus on providing solutions
that solve the toughest and
most complex networking
problems — delivering on the
promise of the ‘New Network’.
Innovative products and
technology
Juniper has a unique and
fundamentally different way
of looking at the challenges
of the global network. It has
developed and productised some
of the industry’s most ground
breaking innovations across
every aspect of networking
technology. This includes a
dedication to developing new
The ValuePlus Quarterly 5
FOCUS | JUNIPER NETWORKS
pure-play IP solutions based on
a unique single architecture,
single operating system and
single release train that ensures
performance, reliability and
security at the scale that
customers demand of their
networks, without compromise.
Infrastructure products
Jupiter’s infrastructure
products are designed to
address the needs of service
providers and enterprises
for core and edge network
capabilities, as well as for
wireless access by combining
high- performance packet
forwarding technology and
robust operating systems into a
network-optimized solution.
• M Series Multiservice Edge Routers:
The M Series Multiservice Edge
Routing portfolio uniquely
combines best-in-class IP/ MPLS
capabilities with unmatched
reliability, stability, security
and service richness. These
multi-service edge routing
Ultra-low latency in action
NYSE Euronext (NYX), the world’s
most diverse exchange group, and
Juniper Networks are working
together to design a state-of-
the-art,ultra-low latency core
network for NYSE Euronext’s new
consolidated global data centres.
Located in the greater New
York and London metropolitan
areas, NYSE Euronext’s two new
data centres will be the primary
operational infrastructure
supporting several billion
daily transactions and quotes
across diverse asset classes and
geographies. They will also be
instrumental in NYSE Euronext’s
effort to consolidate the total
number of its global data centres
from ten to four. Expected to
be operational in 2010, the new
facilities will provide much
greater network scale and
6 The ValuePlus Quarterly January 2010
platforms allow enterprises and
service providers to consolidate
multiple networks into a single
IP/MPLS infrastructure while
simultaneously generating
new revenues with leading-
edge services.
• T Series Core Routers: The T
Series Core Routers offer
sophisticated processing
capabilities on a true multi-
service platform. Providers
can reduce operational and
capital expenses while easily
customising the solution set and
user experience. The result is
flexible, powerful and profitable
network service delivery.
• E Series Broadband Services Routers: scale, by processing two to four
The E Series represent a full
featured platform designed
for the network edge with
support for carrier-class
routing, broadband subscriber
management services, and a
comprehensive set of IP services. with 3D Scaling of bandwidth,
The E Series service delivery
architecture enables service
providers to easily deploy
efficiency, with plans to utilise
Juniper’s Data Center Infrastructure
Solutions and advanced data centre
fabric technology to support an
unprecedented internal latency of
50 microseconds roundtrip.
“Juniper’s simplified data
centre approach will allow us
to deploy a complete 10 Gigabit
Ethernet network with ultra-
low latency at a substantial cost
savings,” said Steve Rubinow,
co-global CIO of NYSE Euronext.
“Juniper has developed
truly unique and innovative
technologies that help us to
deploy a very high capacity, low
latency network that meets the
stringent demands of the new
data centre. With Juniper, we
are able to dramatically cut the
cost and complexity of managing
our data centre network today,
innovative revenue-generating
services to their customers. The
E Series offers a full suite of
routing protocols and provides
scalable capacity for tens of
thousands of users.
• MX Series 3D Universal Edge Routers:
The MX Series of routers are
a product family developed
to address emerging Ethernet
network architectures and
services in service provider
and enterprise networks.
Based on the Junos Trio chipset
with revolutionary 3D scaling
technology, the MX Series 3D
Universal Edge Routers enable
quality of experience at massive
times more traffic than the
competition – up to 2.6 terabits
per second – while using half
as much power per gigabit.
The MX Series will offer the
industry’s first ‘universal edge’
subscribers and services for the
delivery of business, residential
and mobile services at massive
while continuing to enhance
our competitive position with
a next-generation data centre
fabric that will enable us to scale
to tens of thousands of 10GbE
ports. With such an elastic and
efficient infrastructure, we can
provide enhanced functionality
to our customers at unmatched
scale while minimising total cost
of ownership.”
Leveraging the high-
performance switching and
routing technologies of the
Juniper Networks EX Series
Ethernet Switches and MX Series
Ethernet Services Routers, the
NYSE Euronext trading platform
is being designed to enable the
total network performance,
reliability, security and
throughput essential to ensuring
that the world’s largest and most
liquid cash exchange provides
its clients with the technology
scale on a single network.
• BX Series Multi-Access Gateways:
The BX7000 Multi-Access
Gateway represents a new
approach to mobile backhaul,
offering a solution that
is scalable, flexible, cost
effective and ensures a
smooth migration to future
technologies.
• Circuit Emulation PICs: Juniper
Circuit Emulation PICs for
the M Series routers provide
channelised and clear-channel
OC-3/ STM-1 and T1/E1
interfaces for the flexible,
reliable transport of TDM over
IP/MPLS using pseudo-wire
technology, enabling service
providers to cost effectively
transform their legacy voice
and TDM data transport
networks to next generation
packet based infrastructure.
• CTP Series Circuit to Packet
Platforms: The CTP Series
provides the advanced
technology and features
required to reliably transport
to succeed in the low latency,
highfrequency trading market.
According to Kevin
Johnson, Juniper’s CEO, “The
NYSE Euronext technology
vision is in alignment with
Juniper’s next generation
data centre roadmap, which
will lead to the creation
of a single data centre
fabric that will deliver a
quantum advance in scale,
performance and simplicity,
while lowering energy
consumption and reducing
overall operating costs.”
Juniper Networks Data
Center Infrastructure Solutions
can significantly reduce network
complexity and total cost of
ownership by up to 52% in
capital expenditures, up to 44%
in power, up to 44% in cooling
and up to 55% in data centre
rack space.

circuit-based applications
across a new generation of
IP networks. These products
deliver field-proven flexibility,
performance and reliability for
circuit applications.
• JCS 1200 Control System: The
JCS 1200 Control System
brings independent scale of
control and forwarding plane
resources to help maximise
service growth, operational
efficiencies and control that
enables service providers
to accelerate the roll out
of high-value services and
reduce capital and operating
expenditures.
• IP Service PICs: The Service
PICs enable high-performing
services such as IPsec, NAT,
Firewall, J-Flow, and link
services on M Series and T
Series routers. These services
can help providers manage
their own network or offer
revenue-generating services to
their customers. Enterprises
can leverage service PICs in
M7i or M10i to provide high-
speed services at the edge of
their network.
• SBR Series Steel-Belted
Radius Servers: The SBR
Series Steel- Belted Radius
Servers is a carrier-grade
RADIUS/AAA server that
provides high-quality network
access for subscribers, offers
differentiated services tailored
to an organisation’s customer
base, and helps to better
manage network resources.
• SRC Series Session and
Resource Control Modules:
The SRC Series consists of
advanced hardware and
sophisticated software that
extend Juniper’s network layer
expertise to the policy and
control layer. The portfolio
includes the widely deployed
SDX-300 Service Deployment
System, as well as
the SRC Software Module
family and the high
performance C Series
Controllers.
Fabric and switching
technologies
Juniper’s robust Ethernet
switching and data centre
networking solutions improve
the economics of networking,
based on carrier-class, high-
density hardware that reduces
operational and capital
expenses for branch, campus
and data centre network
environments, including:
• EX Series Ethernet Switches:
The EX Series use Juniper’s
Virtual Chassis technology
to enable up to 10 Juniper
Networks EX4200 Ethernet
Switches to be interconnected
and managed as a single
logical device. EX Series
Ethernet Switches occupy up
to 80% less space and consume
up to 53% less power than
competing solutions offering
similar port densities.
• Cloud-Ready Data Center
Solution: Today, Juniper offers
a dramatically simplified
network architecture for a
cloud-ready data centre that
lowers operational, capital,
and environmental costs,
while reducing complexity and
improving efficiencies.
• Project Stratus: Juniper has
also embarked on a major
initiative to create a single data
centre fabric that will deliver
a quantum jump in scale,
performance and simplicity,
with the flexibility to support
fully converged and virtualised
data centre environments.
Service Layer Technologies
Juniper’s service layer
technologies are high-
performance solutions
that empower network
connectivity, yielding
increased productivity
to service providers and
enterprises through safe,
JUNIPER NETWORKS | FOCUS
Around the region
Gert-Jan Schenk joined Juniper
Networks in 2002 as VP Channels
for Europe, Middle East and Africa.
In January 2006 he was promoted
to his current role, where he has
responsibility for the sales execution
(enterprise and service provider) and
performance of Juniper throughout
the region, including ultimate
responsibility for the company’s one-
and two-tier channel. Following a
recent visit to the UAE, here are some
of his thoughts on the region.
“I spent time with customers and general activity level around
the network was picking up - in particular service providers are
more and more aware of the need to build CDNs (Content Delivery
Networks) that can easily handle multiplay services. I saw evidence
of movement towards 100G requirements and consideration for
domestic networks of Terabit PoPs. These meetings underlined
for me that Juniper has its strategy well-aligned with customer
expectations and requirements in this space.
There was also a focus on mobile services - wireless operators
seem to be experiencing for real the kind of exponential growth in
data traffic that the analysts have been tracking. My discussions with
them suggest that their biggest strategic focus is scale for the future
- they all want to ensure they can meet demand in each dimension,
performance, subscribers and bandwidth.
My meetings with several mobile operators seemed to highlight
another interesting trend - they are much more focused on network
security than their wireline counterparts. When you think this
through, it’s not so surprising - wireline operators do take security
seriously, but for wireless operators it’s a different issue they’re
dealing with. Securing users who don’t stay in one place for long, and
whose connection device itself is arguably more vulnerable to theft,
does create quite a challenge, a user base that’s constantly in flux.
Again, I felt Juniper has a good proposition for our customers in this
space with our portfolio.”
smart access. Solutions include: identifies, mitigates and fully
• Application Acceleration reports on most sophisticated
Platforms: Juniper Networks threats, These solutions
WXC Series Application include:
Acceleration Platforms improve Intrusion Prevention Systems:
the performance of business Juniper Networks IDP Series
critical applications across Intrusion Detection and
the WAN. This translates Prevention Appliances use
into a better user experience advanced methods to detect
and more efficient use of and prevent network attacks,
application servers. while providing fast and
• Security Solutions: Juniper efficient traffic processing and
security solutions provide fine- alarm collection, presentation,
grained access control that and forwarding.
January 2010 The ValuePlus Quarterly 7
FOCUS | JUNIPER NETWORKS
Integrated Firewall and VPN Solutions:
Our firewall and VPN systems
and appliances are designed
to provide integrated firewall,
VPN, and denial of service
(DoS) protection capabilities.
The Juniper Networks SRX
Series Services Gateways
offer unrivaled firewall/VPN
performance and scaleability.
The SRX Series is designed
to meet the network and
security requirements for
data center consolidation,
rapid managed services
deployments, and aggregation
of security services.
SSL VPN Appliances: Juniper
Networks SA Series SSL VPN
Appliances extend clientless
access to remote and mobile
users, partners and customers,
ensuring fast, reliable and
secure remote access to
applications and services
for even the most complex
and demanding secure
environments.
Access Control: Juniper Networks
Unified Access Control combines
user identity, device security
states, and network location
data to create a unique, dynamic
access control policy for each
8 The ValuePlus Quarterly January 2010
individual user and session.
Integrated Security Gateways:
Juniper Networks ISG Series
are a purpose-built, high-
performance integrated
security gateways designed to
deliver scalable network and
application security for large
enterprise, carrier and data
centre networks.
Secure Services Gateways: Juniper
Networks SSG Series Secure
Services Gateways deliver an
ideal blend of performance and
security with flexible LAN and
WAN connectivity options for
remote branch, regional offices,
and small to large enterprises
Network Security Management:
Juniper Networks STRM
Security Threat Response
Manager provides a scaleable
network security management
solution that offers full
correlation, collection, analysis
and reporting. Juniper’s
Network and Security Manager
(NSM) is a unified device
management solution for
Juniper’s routing, switching
and security devices that
provides centralised, end-to-end
device lifecycle management,
granular policy configuration
and comprehensive
monitoring, reporting and
investigative tools to improve
IT management and cost
efficiencies, maximising the
security of your network.
Enterprise Routing: The J Series
Services Routers offer a variety
of flexible interfaces that
deliver secure, reliable network
routing to remote, branch, and
regional offices. The J Series
runs Junos OS with MPLS, IP4/
v6, QoS, multicast, firewall and
IPsec VPN.
Wireless LAN: Juniper Networks
AX Series is a dual-band,
dual- radio 802.11n wireless
LAN access point and when
combined with and managed by
the SRX Series for the branch,
the solution delivers integrated
management and category-
leading security performance.
Junos Platform
Deployed in the world’s most
demanding service provider,
enterprise, and public sector
networking environments, the
Junos Platform drives Juniper
Networks’ leadership in high-
performance networking. The
extended software portfolio,
known as Junos Platform,
includes Junos Space network
application platform and
Junos Pulse integrated, multi-
service network client, which
have been built with the
same core design principles,
integration approach and
development discipline.
The Junos Platform enables
Juniper’s customers to expand
network software into the
application space, deploy
software clients to control
delivery, and accelerate the
pace of innovation with an
ecosystem of developers.
At the heart of the Junos
Platform is the power
of one operating system
– Junos operating system – to
reduce complexity, achieve
operational excellence,
and dynamically deliver
services with lower total cost
ownership. The consistent
operating environment of
Junos OS streamlines network
operations, increasing
productivity and reducing the
risks of change.
Junos OS is different from
competitive approaches
in both its design and
development. Junos OS
modular architecture and
single code source provides
a proven foundation for
delivering best-in- class
performance, reliability,
security, scale, and TCO.
Junos OS runs across Juniper
Networks portfolio of routers,
switches, and security devices,
scaling from customer premise
equipment to multi-terabit
core routers.
Junos One Family
A key competitive
differentiator for Juniper is
the new Junos One family of
processors that represent an
unprecedented integration
of silicon and software
to push the boundaries
of high-performance
networking. The Junos One
family combines Juniper’s
experience and investments
in silicon, software, systems
and architecture to deliver
industry-first ‘network
instruction sets’ that are
purpose- built to meet the
needs of networking at
massive scale in multiple
dimensions. Kicking off the
new family, the Junos Trio
chipset offers revolutionary
3D Scaling technology
that enables networks to
scale dynamically for more
bandwidth, subscribers and
services – all at the same time
without compromise.

HP acquires 3Com
H
P is to purchase
3Com, a leading
provider of networking
switching, routing and
security solutions, at a price of
approximately US$2.7b.
This combination will
transform the networking
industry and underscore HP’s next-
generation data centre strategy
built on the convergence of servers,
storage, networking, management,
facilities and services.
The resulting business outcome
will help customers simplify
the network, deploy a unique
and innovative edge-to-core
network fabric for the enterprise
and improve IT service delivery
capabilities, all delivered with
best-in-class price-performance.
“Companies are looking for
ways to break free from the
business limitations imposed by
a networking paradigm that has
been dominated by a single
vendor,” said Dave Donatelli,
GM, Enterprise Servers and
Networking, HP. “By acquiring
3Com, we are accelerating the
execution of our Converged
Infrastructure strategy and
bringing disruptive change
to the networking industry.
By combining HP ProCurve
offerings with 3Com’s
extensive set of solutions, we
will enable customers to build
a next-generation network
infrastructure that supports
customer needs from the edge
of the network to the heart of
the data centre.”
“Our extensive product line
and innovative technology
together with HP’s breadth
and scale will expand our
global opportunity,” said Bob
Mao, 3Com’s CEO. “3Com’s
networking products are based
HP PROCURVE | FOCUS
dramatically expand HP’s
Ethernet switching offerings
and add routing solutions
and significantly strengthen
the company. In addition, the
combination will add a large
and talented research and
development team in China that
will drive the acceleration of
innovations to HP’s
networking solutions.
3Com also brings to HP best-of-
breed network security capabilities
through its TippingPoint
portfolio. For the past four years,
TippingPoint has been the leader
in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant in
its evaluation of leading network
security products. Approximately
30% of Fortune 1000 companies
have already deployed TippingPoint
intrusion prevention systems.
“We are confident that we can
run our entire global business of
300,000-plus employees, including
our next-generation data centres,
entirely on the new HP networking
solutions,” said Randy Mott, HP’s
CIO. “Based on our experience
and extensive testing of 3Com’s
on a modern architecture which products, we are planning to
has been designed to offer better undertake a global rollout within
performance, require less power HP as soon as possible after the
and eliminate administrative completion of the acquisition.”
complexity when compared against The acquisition is subject to
current network offerings. Our customary closing conditions,
products are enterprise proven including the receipt of domestic
and widely deployed in the world’s and foreign regulatory approvals
largest banks, manufacturers, and the approval of 3Com’s
Internet service providers, public stockholders. The transaction is
utilities and retailers.” expected to close in the first half of
The acquisition of 3Com will calendar 2010.
About 3Com
3Com Corporation is a $1.3b global enterprise networking solutions
provider that sets a new price-performance standard for customers.
3Com has three global brands – H3C, 3Com and TippingPoint
– that offer high-performance networking and security solutions
to enterprises large and small. The H3C enterprise networking
portfolio includes products that span from the data centre to
the edge of the network, while TippingPoint network-based
intrusion prevention systems and network access control solutions
deliver in-depth, no-compromise application, infrastructure and
performance protection.
January 2010 The ValuePlus Quarterly 9
PRODUCT FOCUS | HP PROCURVE

PRODUCT FOCUS:

High performance PoE switching

D
Today, small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) require IP-based, esigned to transmit
power and data
converged network infrastructures that provide secure and to VoIP, video
and wireless
reliable connectivity. To meet these needs and offer solutions devices through a single

that reduce the time focused on technology and increase Ethernet connection,
ProCurve’s 2520 switches
growth, HP ProCurve’s new 2520 Switch Series reduces costs expand infrastructure
capabilities and enable
and improves productivity. Simplifying setup, deployment and investment protection,

management, the 2520 series includes a robust Web interface supporting standards-based
interoperability and a truly
and four switches with 8- or 24-ports in both Fast Ethernet converged, cost-effective
network at a price that fits
(2520) and Gigabit speeds (2520G). business needs.
The 2520 switches help
reduce power consumption by
offering variable speed fans

10 The ValuePlus Quarterly January 2010


Certified
Green
Miercom, an independent
testing lab, has given its
Certified Green award
to eight HP ProCurve
Networking switches
– finding they significantly
outperformed the
networking industry
in energy efficiency
and environmental
sustainability. Miercom
said ProCurve switches
“proved in testing and by
analysis to afford customers
a switching solution with
superior value, effectiveness
and energy efficiency.”
To meet Miercom’s
stringent Certified Green
criteria, ProCurve products
had to be in the top 30%
of the industry for energy
efficiency and pass a
thorough audit of green best
practices. The programme
rates networking equipment
based on several criteria
– such as power efficiency,
heat dissipation, cooling
requirements, energy
efficiency and overall
product efficiency.
Miercom found all eight
outperformed the industry,
saying: “HP’s technology
and its holistic approach
to reduce environmental
impact helps its customers
to significantly improve
their ROI (return on
investment).” The HP
ProCurve switches included
a variety of chassis and fixed-
port products.
Your customers need to adopt network solutions that adapt
to economic change. By focusing their investments and
modernising their network, they can gain efficiencies and
drive down costs. A key opportunity for you: difficult times
create opportunities for agile businesses to seize a stronger
competitive advantage.
on the 24-port models and a
fanless design on the eight-
port models. These switches
also help reduce energy
consumption with automatic
settings that place ports and
LEDs in low power mode
when not in use.
Customers can connect
IP phones directly to the
2520 switch series without
needing an additional power
supply with support of
Power Over Ethernet (PoE),
reducing the complexity
of IP phone deployments.
Customers can also deploy
wireless access points and
video surveillance cameras
in areas where a power
outlet is not readily available
by connecting these devices
directly to the 2520 switches.
The switch automatically
protects against denial-of-
service attacks and can be
used with a Kensington lock
for physical theft protection
and flexibility by allowing
the switches to be placed
in any location. And traffic
prioritisation features
ensure the reliability and
enhanced quality of calls
over the network.
The switch family is
a part of HP ProCurve’s
Adaptive Network, which
helps to change the
economics of technology
HP PROCURVE | PRODUCT FOCUS
The HP ProCurve 2520
switch series
The series is ideally suited
for small and medium
businesses looking to
deploy voice, video,
and/or wireless solutions
that require Power over
Ethernet (PoE) connectivity.
The series consists of
four switches: the HP
ProCurve 2520-8-PoE, the
HP ProCurve 2520-24-PoE,
the HP ProCurve 2520G-8-
PoE and the HP ProCurve
2520G-24-PoE Switch.
The four models offer a
and reduce total cost of
ownership by:
• Delivering a choice of
networking solutions that
reduce energy costs as much as
45% below the industry average.
• Backing a wide range
of standards-based
networking solutions with
the HP ProCurve Lifetime
Warranty, eliminating costly
maintenance contracts.
• Delivering data centre
networking solutions for the
HP Adaptive Infrastructure 2.0
for higher server utilisation
rates, automated workflows
and reduced data center power
and space requirements.
January 2010
choice of either Fast Ethernet
or Gigabit connectivity. All
models also include support
for dual-personality Gigabit
ports that can be used
for either copper or fiber
connectivity. All products
are fully managed via SNMP,
command-line interface (CLI),
graphical user interface (GUI)
and offer a Layer 2 feature
set. In addition, the products
provide deployment flexibility
with compact, quiet, and
energy-efficient designs.
• Reducing TCO for wireless
LANs up to $77,000 per 100
users over three years (IDC).
• Building lasting competitive
advantage through the HP
ProCurve Open Network
Ecosystem (ProCurve ONE) –
giving a choice of best-in-class
solutions from an alliance
of technology partners that
includes Microsoft, McAfee,
F5, Avaya and Riverbed.
An Adaptive Network
approach changes the
economics of networking
and builds an infrastructure
that delivers whatever your
business demands – today and
into the future.
The ValuePlus Quarterly 11
SMALL BUSINESS | CISCO

SMALL BUSINESS:

Building a profitable, productive small

business practice through partner
enablement
Even in today’s fiercely competitive marketplace and challenging economic climate,
there is huge opportunity in emerging markets.

T
he evolution of network
services have continued
to drive new sales
— new network solutions
account for approximately 20%
of annual growth, according
to Cisco — and offer partners
big revenue. Innovative
technologies, the need
to manage costs and the
mandate to do more with
less all present opportunities
for technology sales to small
businesses, worldwide.
However, all the potential
in the world doesn’t always
translate into sales. Many
partners are sitting on
opportunities, held back by
a lack of product and market
knowledge. Since each customer
is unique with specific business
goals, partners can get wrapped
up in conversations about
features and price, without
addressing the bigger picture.
The road to success in
small business is for partners
to increase their capabilities
and empower their sales
force to capture the market
opportunity. Partners must

12 The ValuePlus Quarterly January 2010


change the dialogue and address
customers’ needs on a strategic
level. This will lead to superior
technology recommendations
and help position the partner as
a trusted and valued asset to the
customer. In order to establish
this relationship, partners must
equip themselves with the right
training and tools to address
specific customer needs and meet
broader customer objectives.
Partner enablement: Building
new capabilities to meet
customer needs.
Cisco has invested in
partner resources designed
to strengthen all aspects of
customer engagement, and
provide a structured approach
to selling, delivering, and
supporting a wide variety of
technologies. Called Partner
Enablement, the programme
includes focused tools, training,
sales, and marketing offerings
that help partners become
more efficient in building a
small business practice that will
deliver longterm growth.
Partner Enablement has an
impact on two levels. First, it
helps to ground a partner’s
business by building new
practices and gaining more from
existing customers. It provides
a consistent and repeatable
approach to sales that offers a
process for selling an extensive
portfolio of solutions.
Second, Partner Enablement
supports partners with
tools and training that build
marketing expertise, sales skills,
product knowledge, quoting
skills, and talent acquisition.
The goal is to for partners to:
•Support new opportunities
•Develop experienced
individuals and personnel
•Build capabilities
•Increase productivity
The road to success in small business is for partners to increase
their capabilities and empower their sales force to capture the
market opportunity. Partners must change the dialogue and address
customers’ needs on a strategic level.
Partner Enablement was
designed with input from Cisco
partners to ensure a relevant
and useful program. Already,
partners worldwide have
applied its principles to grow
their business and improve
profitability. With the right
level of commitment, partners
can approach new and existing
customers with compelling and
lucrative technology sales.
The result? In the words of
Thatcher Alexander, President
of Alexander Open Systems,
“I think we’re going to see
significant returns on our
investment, making sales that
in the past, we may not have
made. If you are willing to
invest the time and effort into
the programme, it sets you up
for success.”
Resources that help partners
help themselves.
Partner Enablement uses
repeatable processes to
evaluate customer needs and
develop solutions for different
applications - from Unified
Communications, wireless,
security, collaboration, to
switching and routing.
For example, a successful
call centre effort can be
leveraged in a wireless
initiative, allowing a partner
to re-approach their customers
with another recommendation.
Partners become more efficient
and productive, increase sales
and business opportunities, and
accelerate company growth.
“We believe the small
business market offers
unprecedented opportunity
for Cisco partners, worldwide,”
says Andy Shaw, Partner
Enablement Leader, Emerging
Markets. “Helping our
partners accelerate growth
more consistently and
intelligently is a key goal for
Cisco and has never been a
higher priority.”
Tools Reference Guide
The starting point for any
effective selling effort is
having access to the right tools
to identify, deliver and support
customer-focused solutions.
Partners need to address
customer requirements -
across multiple technology
arenas - and throughout the
sales cycle.
Cisco’s partner tools can be
used in a step-by-step process,
beginning with an assessment
of sales readiness, access to
business development and
marketing tools, pre-sales
configuration and pricing
services, as well as training
and support resources.
Partner Practice Builder
The most effective sales
approach is one that can be
tailored to the customer - and
the partner’s practice. Partners
should be able to participate
in a self-guided manner and
create a plan that best meets
their needs.
Cisco Partner Practice
Builder is an on-line platform
that assists partners in
January 2010
CISCO | SMALL BUSINESS
developing a solutions-focused
business models that leverage
Cisco offerings. It is a simplified
and repeatable program that
establishes a framework for
practice development through
assessments, gap analysis and
plan building.
Five step-by-step modules offer
collateral and resource files for
downloading, including:
•Readiness snapshot
•Business readiness
•Financial review
•Action plan
•Progress report
Modules can be used from start
to finish for a comprehensive
project plan, or on an individual
basis, to improve a current practice.
Partner Education Connection
Training can have a major
impact on sales effectiveness,
and help a partner connect
customer needs with product
and services. Having an in-
depth understanding of new
technologies and market trends
positions the partner as a
valuable resource.
The Cisco Partner Education
Connection (PEC) is an online
resource that expands a partner’s
knowledge base of Cisco products
and services. Cisco PEC receives
over one million visits each year,
and offers over 3,000 pieces of
content, 600 on-line labs and 166
learning roadmaps, to address a
variety of experience levels.
PEC benefits include:
•Help partners meet programme
requirements
•Achieve career certifications
The ValuePlus Quarterly 13
SMALL BUSINESS | CISCO
•Bring new employees up to speed
•Keep current on new Cisco
products and solutions
Partners get access to
efficient and innovative
learning anytime, anywhere
and report an increase in their
speed of recruiting and training
employees — accelerating
business performance.
Plan Design Implement (PDI)
Help Desk
Efficient design and
implementation leads to a
profitable deployment and
accelerated sales cycle. As sales get
more complex and products more
sophisticated, selling the right
solution and increasing post sales
productivity is paramount to a
successful practice.
The Cisco Planning, Design
and Implementation (PDI)
Help Desk provides assistance
during the critical deployment
phase. Partners have access
to experts and resources who
share Cisco design principles
and best practices. Cisco Unified
Communication and Advanced
Technology Partners (ATP)
Partner recognition
R
edington Gulf, one of the
leading IT distributors
in the Middle East and
Africa has been awarded
‘Distribution Partner Of the
Year – West English Africa’
and “Distributor Partner of the
Year-Emerging Africa 2009” by
networking giant Cisco Systems
during its 3rd annual customer
get together event.
Cisco’s Emerging Africa
14 The ValuePlus Quarterly January 2010
can avoid implementation
problems and increase profit
margins by moving through
the pilot and production
phases faster - accelerating the
sales cycle.
Partner Helpline
Closing the deal often
comes down to answering
a specific question about a
product or service and how
it might fit into a customer’s
environment. With the
thousands of offerings in the
marketplace, getting answers
can be like finding a needle in
a haystack.
For these situations, Cisco
offers the Partner Helpline; a
pre-sales support solution that
helps partners get answers
for any customer, through an
extensive on-line knowledge
base. Partners can access best
practices, tech tips, FAQ’s and
configuration examples.
If answers are not readily
available, partners can receive
additional support by opening
a case and getting specific
information about their
and Nigeria Partner Summit
is an annual get-together
and technology update that
recognises outstanding
channel partners within a
specific geographic territory.
The 2009 annual award
ceremony was held in Dakar,
Senegal in Oct 2009 and was
well attended by Cisco channel
partners and distributors
across emerging Africa.
Building a better small
business practice
Selling to small businesses can be a profitable and productive
experience. Cisco Partner Enablement helps partners add value
throughout the sales process, deploy the right solution, ensure
a successful sale, and positive deployment.
For more information, visit:
www.cisco.com/go/partnerenablement
installation or configuration. effective technical support,
Information is tailored for the local helping partners quickly solve
knowledge base, giving partners customers’ network problems. It
greater capabilities, worldwide. provides basic setup, diagnostic
and troubleshooting assistance,
Cisco SMB Support Assistant plus access to Cisco SMB
Most small businesses operate technical engineers.
with fewer than 100 employees In addition, Support Assistant
and lack the technical expertise offers advanced hardware
and resources to solve their replacement, operating system
own network problems. An software maintenance and
experienced partner can become access to the Cisco SMB Support
a valuable extension of the Assistant client and portal.
customer’s support system, Solutions supported range from
offering up-to-date and timely basic routing and switching,
help when problems arise. to wireless, security and VPN
The SMB Cisco Support applications — mission critical for
Assistant provides cost most small business customers.
Below from left from Cisco: Phil Wright - Director Distribution EM, Milo Schacher – VP Channels EM,
Bayo Sanni - RSM Channels, Emerging Africa, Shahab Meshki - GM East Africa, Pierre Clasquin - GM WCA ,
Yvon le Roux - VP Africa Levant & the Winning Team from Redington: Ramkumar B- GM Value Business MEA
& Sayantan Dev - Business Manager Cisco
 HP Server | FEATURE
systems, tripling the amount of
storage managed per FTE.
• Enable seamless cross-
system data movement so
that IT managers can easily
and intelligently migrate or
replicate data to less expensive
storage tiers, cutting the cost of
future storage system purchase
by over 50%.
This analysis looks specifically
at the positive business impact of
networked storage virtualisation
solutions, such as the HP
StorageWorks SAN Virtualization
Services Platform (SVSP) for Fibre
Channel (FC) storage-attached
networks (SANs), that improve
storage asset utilisation, reduce the
administrative costs of provisioning
new storage systems and improve
application availability.

FEATURE: Finding business value

On-going economic and

The business value of storage virtualisation

business uncertainties are
placing a growing strain on
organisations around the
world. IT systems as well as
Contributed by Kalyan Kommuru, Server & Storage Consultant, Redington Value Division
the people installing and
maintaining them are not
Today’s challenging business environment demands that immune from the pressure

IT managers extend the business value of past and future to reduce spending and cut
back on staff, but they are
IT investments while boosting the efficiency of their IT also in the vital position of

operations. Despite tightening budgets, business and regulatory helping companies better
navigate difficult times. Savvy
requirements are driving major, unavoidable increases in investments in IT solutions
can boost business efficiency,
information creation and longterm retention. lower ongoing operating costs
IT departments, no matter what their size, can expect data and minimise future capital
expenses, all while helping
growth rates to increase anywhere from 40% to 60% (even companies better respond to

more in content-rich sectors) in the coming year. the needs of their own hard-
pressed customers.
IT departments, no matter

G
iven today’s tighter
budgets, IT teams
must look for ways to
accommodate the growth
in information by making
better use of installed and
soon-to-be-purchased storage
systems. They must pool diverse
storage assets and applications
while shielding server and
application administrators from
the complexities of physically
provisioning, reconfiguring and
managing storage resources.
Storage virtualisation for
networked storage is a proven
technology that IT organisations
can quickly deploy to:
• Boost utilisation levels for
installed storage assets from
under 20% to 70%, when used
in conjunction with server
virtualisation.
• Simplify storage
provisioning, capacity
expansion and data protection
across heterogeneous storage
what their size, can expect their
relative data requirements to
increase anywhere from 40%
to 60% (even more in content-
rich sectors) in the coming year.
Thus IT teams must look for new
storage solutions that allow them
to meet data growth requirements
and spending constraints.

January 2010 The ValuePlus Quarterly 15

FEATURE | HP Server
IDC finds that the use
of virtualised networked
storage makes it possible for
companies to:
• Consolidate storage and server
assets, reducing the number
of systems managed by 50% or
more in many cases.
• Increase the number of
Pool diverse storage assets and applications while shielding server
and application administrators from the complexities of physically
provisioning, reconfiguring and managing storage resources.
virtualised servers (often by 60%
to 80%) running on individual
physical servers while also
increasing storage utilisation
rates from 20% or less (for direct
attached) to more than 40% and
often over 50%, reducing the
need to acquire new server and
storage systems in these difficult
economic times.
• Leverage lower-cost/higher-
capacity storage tiers . reducing
the cost of acquiring new storage
assets by up to 80% in certain cases.
• Improve application and
information availability while
shrinking backup times by
over 80% and reducing IT staff
resources devoted to backup and
recovery activities.
Level 1 – transition to
networked storage
For the past decade, large
companies have consolidated
storage via use of a storage
area network (SAN)
connected to critical business
applications within the data
centre. This architecture
enabled the consolidation of
storage systems across mission-
critical high-end and midrange
servers. In these environments,
storage administrators saw
utilization levels in the
30% to 50% range, along
with improved application
16 The ValuePlus Quarterly January 2010
performance/reliability.
Even large companies, with
thousands of servers, often
limited use of networked
storage to 10% to 20% of
installed servers. The large
pool of smaller, x86 servers
that ran Windows and
supported departmental
or workgroup applications
weren’t connected to SANs
because of the perceived
high cost of connectivity
as well as the perceived
management complexity of
SAN environments. As a result,
overall storage utilisation levels
(not just utilisation for storage
supporting high-end servers)
were often less than 20%.
Level 2 – enhancing network
storage with storage
virtualisation
Despite the already extensive
and growing use of SANs, the
intricacies of disk storage
system designs still pose major
challenges for IT managers.
These challenges include:
• Time-consuming and
frequently difficult
provisioning of new storage
capacity to meet growing
needs, thereby forcing IT
managers to expend valuable
resources purchasing and
deploying capacity that won’t
be used for six to 18 months.
• Inherent configuration
inefficiencies in existing
storage systems that reduce
the useful capacity available
to support application
growth, thereby limiting IT
managers’ options for dealing
with unexpected surges in
capacity requirements.
* Difficulties in leveraging
different classes of storage for
different workloads, thereby
forcing IT managers to deploy
overly expensive storage capacity
for less intense workloads.
IT departments want
to pool diverse storage
assets and applications
while shielding server and
application administrators
from the complexities of
physically provisioning,
reconfiguring and managing
storage resources. They need
solutions that introduce layers
of logical abstraction (storage
virtualisation) between the
physical ports on an array, the
blocks of data on specific sets of
disks and the volumes or files
that servers and applications
need to access.
Network-based storage
virtualisation solutions such
as the HP StorageWorks SAN
Virtualization Services Platform
(SVSP) make it possible for IT
managers to use diverse storage
systems based on specific needs
for performance, capacity,
availability and cost-effectiveness.
These solutions:
• Simplify storage provisioning,
capacity expansion, and data
protection across heterogeneous
storage systems.
! Enable seamless cross-system
data movement so that IT
managers can easily and
intelligently migrate or replicate
data between storage classes.
Level 3 – virtualised IT across
servers and storage
Server consolidation through
the use of server virtualisation
technologies is one of the
most important IT initiatives
in many enterprises. The
delivery of storage capacity for
virtualised servers provides
several examples, however,
of how the lack of storage
virtualisation can create
QUICK TAKE HOME
IT managers at large and midsize
enterprises are wrestling with
many of the same challenges
as they seek to extend the
business value of virtualisation.
They are looking for storage and
server virtualisation solutions
that improve the use of existing
IT assets.
Meeting these objectives,
however, requires more than just
identifying the right use case and
selecting the right solution.
IT managers also need to
make wise implementation
decisions that shield them from
costly system reconfigurations
and storage migrations. IT
managers that acquire storage
products must evaluate
suppliers such as HP, as well
as their business partners,
based on more than just
which company is providing
the cheapest or highest-
performing systems.
IT managers will judge
suppliers based on how well
their complete solutions allow
them to optimise the use of IT
investments now and for an
extended period. They also need
to look for business partners
that leverage emerging
solutions to address specific
application and business
challenges while delivering
faster, more consistent
Implementations with
minimal risk of disruption to
applications, processes and
business operations.

problems for these companies.
Companies often place the
storage for their virtualised
servers on their most
expensive storage systems
because that is where they
have excess capacity. Not
surprisingly, the cost of
storage for more virtualised
servers on these platforms
severely limits potential cost
savings, while moving these
servers to a less expensive
platform consumes valuable IT
staff resources.
Storage administrators, in
an effort to rapidly respond to
requests for new servers (and
the supporting storage capacity),
must deal with over provisioning
of storage for virtual machines
that can soon counterbalance
the cost savings associated with
server virtualisation.
IT staff try to squeeze
more backups for virtualised
servers through fewer physical
servers. The backup window for
individual virtualised servers
is unchanged, but the physical
servers are being used more
efficiently, so there are
fewer cycles for backups and
there is less time to complete
all backups. Adding these new
systems to the networked
storage backup process also
jeopardises existing backup
windows for other applications
and quickly consumes backup
capacity resources on nearline
and virtual tape storage systems.
Leveraging server and storage
virtualisation together makes
it possible for companies to get
the most business value from
all their IT assets. For storage
administrators, virtualised
storage solutions such as those
enabled by SVSP provide rapid
and thin storage provisioning
in support of virtualised servers
as well as cross-system data
migration/replication across all
storage assets.
Quantifying the value
proposition
Companies can significantly
reduce the (aggregate)
storage capacity dedicated
to individual applications,
thereby eliminating wasted
storage capacity. Companies
that take advantage of both
server virtualisation and
storage virtualisation can
reduce storage capacity
dedicated to each server by
almost 75%.
The benefits are:
• Flexible allocation of
tiered storage. Virtualised
networked storage can
leverage tiers of storage with
different performance and
cost characteristics so that
administrators can assign
applications to different
storage pools.
Companies that take advantage of both server virtualisation and
storage virtualisation can reduce storage capacity dedicated to
each server by almost 75%.
• Easy and nondisruptive
data migration. Data sets can
be moved to more cost or
performance-oriented storage
pools without disrupting server
operations. Non disruptive
data migration also provides
the flexibility to move virtual
machine images as part of
business continuity and disaster
recovery efforts.
• Efficient snapshot and
replication of operating
systems and applications
for backup, test and
configuration purposes. When
IT deploys new applications,
it becomes possible, with little
more than some mouse clicks,
to replicate environments that
can be used for testing and
experimentation.
HP Server | FEATURE
HP’S STORAGE WORKS PORTFOLIO
HP is a leading worldwide supplier of server, storage and IT
management solutions, including a broad portfolio of advanced service
and support offerings. It is well positioned to aid companies that want
to maximize IT asset value while managing IT asset costs in today’s
difficult economic environment.
Two areas where HP’s Storage Works organisation is delivering
major consolidation solutions are modular, cost-effective storage
systems to meet a wide range of customer needs (including optimised
storage for virtual server environments) and flexible storage
virtualisation that boosts storage asset utilization while enabling cost
effective tiered storage.
• Enhanced availability •Reduced infrastructure costs
and rapid recovery of - space, power and networking
applications and data. resources: $556
Companies can quickly restore •User productivity improvements
applications by restarting - reduction in time lost to
them on another virtualised outages/recovery: $3
server. In many cases, this The average total investment
recovery can be automated, of $1,075 per server included
thereby reducing the need to the hardware necessary to move
use clustered solutions for to 100% networked storage,
high availability. the associated virtualisation
software and the IT direct
ROI calculations labour to install and support
Companies that have the solution over the three
deployed virtualizsd years. Using IDC’s standard
networked storage as a discount rate of 12%, the average
replacement for existing company deploying this level of
standalone servers with virtualisation could see a return
internal storage or DAS are on investment (ROI) of 387%
realising cost savings of and payback in fewer than 10
$5,274 per server over three months, including deployment
years across the following time. This is a very significant
categories: ROI for a relatively low-cost, low-
•Reduced IT labour risk initiative. In environments
associated with full life-cycle where companies use virtualised
support and deployment: networked storage as well as
$3,148 virtualised servers, the average
•Reduced hardware and benefits increased while hard
software costs due to higher costs per server declined by 73%
utilisation rates: $1,567 because of lower hardware costs.
January 2010 The ValuePlus Quarterly 17
FEATURE | MOLEX
FEATURE:
Understanding Structured Cabling
Systems (SCS) to Advanced Physical
Layer Lifecycle Management (APLLM)
For over 30 years, Molex Premise Networks has focused on
innovative customer solutions that provide the opportunity to
manage the Physical Layer and infrastructure with a level of
visibility and integration previously unavailable.
T
he Molex product offering
is comprised of three core
groupings;
• INSIGHT, a Physical Layer
deployment tool.
• Traditional Structured
Cabling solutions to link a single
network or networks together.
18 The ValuePlus Quarterly January 2010
• MIIM, which enables
advanced management of the
physical layer (OS1).
When implemented
independently each
element benefits a targeted
infrastructure need however
when integrated into a single,
seamless Molex solution, it
offers features and capability
advantages to enterprises like
never before. This holistic view
of the physical network provides
for true lifecycle management
guided by the notion that “no
project is ever complete”.
Let’s familiarise ourselves
with the traditional product
offering, Structured Cabling,
before delving in to an
infrastructure’s lifecycle and the
management of through new
and innovative solutions.
The Physical Layer
The first and lowest layer in
the seven-layer OSI model of
computer networking. The
Physical Layer consists of the
basic hardware transmission
technologies of a network. It is
a fundamental layer addressing
the physical characteristics
of the network, such as the
types of cables used to connect
devices, types of connectors,
how long the cables can be and
so on.
Structured Cabling Systems
(SCS)
The tools used for designing
and operating integrated and
comprehensive network systems
that allow the user maximum
flexibility and performance. The
SCS plays a critical role in all
networks, providing the physical
link between sources and
destinations of all information.
Data, voice, video and control
signals are transmitted over this
infrastructure linking devices
across rooms, throughout
buildings and across multiple
locations. It is essentially the
foundation of the network
that all applications sit on.
Structured Cabling Systems
vary from small and simple,
linking just a few nodes, to
linking several buildings with
tens of thousands of nodes.
The SCS is a simple physical
link between active equipment,
and is comprised of either
Copper or Optical Fibre Cable
or combinations of both for
 MOLEX | FEATURE

facilitate the migration portfolio

maximum
performance.
However, to facilitate the day-
to-day operations of a normal
office environment, the link
must enable the user to make
moves, adds and changes
(MACs) wherever and whenever
necessary. Furthermore, the
SCS must also be universal in its
ability to carry a wide variety
of applications - from voice
and low speed data to high
speed LAN applications and to
of an organisation’s and the
network over the life of available
the cabling system. technical
Molex provides resource
solutions to address offers
the needs of the customers
continually evolving and assistance
increasingly sophisticated data with their
communications industry. network
It offers a comprehensive design so
portfolio of SCS products that it meets
including UTP, FTP and their current
fibre systems. and future business
Alongside Category 5e, requirements.
6 and 6A products, Molex The Molex SCS is
can offer more innovative standards-based and
solutions which incorporate complies with all relevant
intelligent systems, wireless local and international cabling
transmission and blown fibre standards, including ISO/IEC
technology. The combination 11801, EN50173 and TIA/EIA
of the breadth of product 568B and AS/NZS 3080.

THE MOLEX SCS PORTFOLIO

PRODUCT CATEGORY BRAND PERFORMANCE OVERVIEW

COPPER POWERCAT CATEGORY 6A Consisting of cable, patch panels, patch cords and work area modules, the PowerCat copper solution offers end-to-end
CATEGORY 6 premium performance levels for structured cabling. It is used for enterprises that require high speed data transmission
CATEGORY 5E for normal business applications. PowerCat copper systems utilises the RJ-45 DataGate Plus connector technology

OPTICAL FIBRE LIGHTBAND OM1 (62.5/125�M) A total fibre solution ideal for either Backbone or To-The-Desk applications. The Molex fibre product range consists of
OM2 (50/125�M) management panels, enclosures, adaptors, patch cords, splicing equipment, field termination connectors, tool kits and
OM3 (50/125�M) testers, offering the greatest levels of performance in terms of speed, bandwidth and security. Available with a variety
OS1 (9/125�M) of connector types, such as ST, SC, MT-RJ and LC, fibre wallplates are suitable for both Singlemode and Multimode
installations and include Molex’ unique ‘shuttered’ technology protecting the user from harmful light emissions.

PRE-TERMINATED MODLINK CATEGORY 5E In many mission critical applications, such as data centres and Storage Area Networks (SANs), fast installation is often
(PLUG & PLAY) OM1 (62.5/125�M) paramount to the upkeep and with the frequency of moves, adds and changes (MACs) in such environments, again
OM2 (50/125�M) often warrants speedy access and implementation. Plug and Play solutions offer both rapid installation and guaranteed
OM3 (50/125�M) performance and reliability.
OS1 (9/125�M) Molex’ ModLink system is a cost-effective, quick and easy Plug and Play system available in either copper or fibre. The
ModLink system provides premium factory-controlled optical performance, enabling flexible system configuration and
fast, economical installation.

FREE SPACE CANOBEAM OM1 (62.5/125�M) Canobeam is a free space optics solution that provides a point-to-point wireless optical beam transmission system.
OPTICS OM2 (50/125�M) Canobeam is ideal for campus and building-to-building connectivity as either a primary or backup backbone link. Free
OM3 (50/125�M) Space Optics is ideal for use where the laying of traditional fibre cable is difficult or cost prohibitive. It can be used as a
OS1 (9/125�M)) temporary or permanent link and can be used for redundant backbone, temporary link or expansion purposes.

January 2010 The ValuePlus Quarterly 19

FEATURE | MOLEX

THE MOLEX SCS PORTFOLIO

PRODUCT CATEGORY BRAND PERFORMANCE OVERVIEW

PDS SOLUTIONS 110 CATEGORY 6 Molex’s PDS System is ideal for use in high density environments where space is at a premium and is one of the most
(UTP) CATEGORY 5E) cost effective high-density patching systems on the market today. Independently tested and verified by ETL Semko to
ensure compliance to channel and component performance criteria according to international standards.

MEDIA MUTO USP CATEGORY 6

CONFIGURABLE WM-12 CATEGORY 5E Frequently the need arises to integrate multiple media types within the one cabling system. It is becoming common for
OM1 (62.5/125�M) example for UTP, optical fibre, audio and video media to be used in the same environment.
OM2 (50/125�M) To support these situations, Molex has designed a range of wiring closet and work area products, which
OM3 (50/125�M) accommodate UTP, optical fibre, audio and video media types using modular designs.
OS1 (9/125�M)

INDUSTRIAL POWERCAT CATEGORY 5E The Industrial Solution provides UTP (RJ45 - Enhanced Category 5) and Optical Fibre (LC - OM1, OM2, OM3 & OS1)
SOLUTIONS LIGHTBAND OM1 (62.5/125�M) performance in the harshest environments. Specifically designed for installations within hospitals, chemical refineries,
OM2 (50/125�M) manufacturing facilities, water treatment plants, transportation hubs and food and beverage facilities, Industrial Solution
OM3 (50/125�M) meets and exceeds the IP67 and NEMA 6P ratings for protection against dust, contaminants and water.
OS1 (9/125�M) Features a bayonet style latch receptacle for quick and easy connection and proper mating depth. The latching
mechanism provides one sealing surface, which protects the connector from dust, moisture, dirt, vibration, chemicals,
electromagnetic interference and temperature extremes - reducing the likelihood of product failure.
The total Industrial Solution includes copper and fibre connectors, patch cords and wallplates.

advantages and capabilities

unique to our field.
Molex’ intention is to address best practices for infrastructure Today, Molex brings
management, with an emphasis on simplifying the infrastructure industry leading solutions
that enable enterprises to
with an IT lifecycle management solution. maximise the return on
their physical infrastructure
investment. Advanced Physical
The Molex premise networks Layer Lifecycle Management
philosophy has always been (APLLM) is the culmination of
to offer recommendation, its cutting edge technologies
services and solutions based on and the description of its
actual network requirements, solutions and what they achieve
rather than providing an – management of the entire
inadequate system for the lifecycle of the network. APLLM
sake of price. As part of the is a combination of software,
foundation of the network, if electronics and traditional Data
the deployed SCS isn’t up to The natural development of the SCS - on the network, Transport solutions. As part of
scratch then the future of that of Molex’ product portfolio the physical layer, financial APLLM, Molex Premise Networks
network is extremely limited. spans from years of research, investment, monitoring, has introduced two exclusive
Try running the most exquisite working on comprehensive reporting, time, usability, products - INSIGHT and MIIMTM-
and finely tuned Ferrari on the project requirements and resource; all those things that which integrate seamlessly with
cheapest fuel, burnt out tyres organically-evolving data impact upon the day to day Data Transport systems to add
and pot-holed roads – you will requirements. Today, we running of a business - that is exciting new dimensions to
never see its true potential. think about the wider impact how the products now offer network management.

20 The ValuePlus Quarterly January 2010

 MOLEX | FEATURE

NEW PRODUCT DEVELOPMENTS

PRODUCT CATEGORY BRAND OVERVIEW

ADVANCED PHYSICAL INSIGHT An on-line deployment system for the planning and management of infrastructures and their connected assets.
LAYER DEPLOYMENT Consisting of three core modules; Project Control, Connectivity Management and MAC Management, INSIGHT increases
visibility, control, automation and collaboration for the management of any infrastructure to specified stakeholder
groups. Some core features include best practice libraries, customised work flows, multi-user permissions and
partitioning, and real-time access to information from any global location, combine to drive a powerful uniqueness.

A comprehensive solution focusing on enhancing network management at the physical layer, network security, asset
ADVANCED PHYSICAL MIIM
LAYER MANAGEMENT
management, increased productivity and visibility. In addition to MAC and work order management, the solution detects
network device connect/disconnects regardless of power or broken cables and Smart polling provides constant
information on all network devices connected to work area outlets. Compelling MIIM differentiators include true
centralised management of the channel beyond the wire closet out to remote work areas regardless of LAN topology,
guided patching impervious to human error and collection/reporting/ alarming of real time Layer 1 data, registering
minimal impact on network resources.

infrastructure with an IT lifecycle

management solution.
Planning, process management
control, automation, full network
visibility, down to the cabling
infrastructure itself, real and
opportunity cost management,
and leveraging existing tools are
all issues that are adaptable to
solving many network challenges.
There are tangible benefits to
expanding the view and scope of
the role and constraints that the
cabling infrastructure plays in the
life of the network infrastructure.
An Advanced Physical Layer
lifecycle Management approach
needs to be investigated and
applied to maximise the useful
life and financial performance
of any organisational network
infrastructure.
Each component of a network
infrastructure goes through
a continuous lifecycle, from
deployment and management
to integration and replacement.
Molex’ intention is to address
best practices for infrastructure
management, with an
emphasis on simplifying the

January 2010 The ValuePlus Quarterly 21

SPOTLIGHT | BIG CONNECT
Making, the
“Big Connect”
Redington Gulf Value Division, one of the leading IT distributors in
the Middle East and Africa successfully concluded the “Big Connect
Conference” in conjunction with HP ProCurve.
I
T distribution
powerhouse Redington
Gulf Value Division,
recently successfully
concluded the “Big Connect
Conference” which was
hosted in conjunction with its
networking vendor partner
HP ProCurve.
The conference which
was held in Sri Lanka in
the backdrop of the endless
ultramarine expanse of the
Indian Ocean at the Heritance
Ahungalla from 23 to 27
October 2009, was attended by
over 60 HP ProCurve partners,
distributors and end customers
across the Middle East and
North Africa (MENA) region.
The Big Connect program
has two key elements which
include:
•Bringing together key
decision makers from selected
ProCurve partners and end-
users to discuss the strategy for
HP ProCurve’s roadmap for the
new fiscal year.
•Imparting sales and technical
training sessions to selected
22 The ValuePlus Quarterly January 2010
partners hailing from across
the MENA region.
The overall objective of
this campaign according to
Redington and HP ProCurve
is to drive the message that
HP ProCurve is a networking
vendor of choice.
Ramkumar B, General
Manager – Value Added
Business, Redington Gulf
says: “We are glad to
successfully conclude the
Big Connect Conference.
It shows Redington’s
organisational capabilities
and innovative approach to
position the HP ProCurve
brand in the minds of our
target audiences. We are
Delegates having fun
now gearing and readying the
second phase of the project
which will essentially see
us host sales and technical
training sessions.”
The company states that
in the second phase, in order
to push the idea across the Boat trip to Magu island
MENA region, Redington
Gulf Value Division will be
organising a calendar of sales
and technical trainings for
channel partners.
HP ProCurve has in the past
has been investing in partner
development across the Visit to Turtle Hatchery
MENA region and managed
to gain considerable recall
amongst channel partners.
HP ProCurve believes that
through such
initiatives,
the vendor
Folk dancers from Sri Lanka
would help
its partners
to take their
businesses to
new heights
with a broader
and larger
impact. Delegates at Big Connect
Conference in progress