Cheapish OpenFlow enabled Switch (hardware) & Dell PE5524 Question

[101001101]

Hi guys

I have two quick questions that I thought would be best served in one post

1. Does anyone know of any cheapish eBay switch(es) I could pickup which have full OpenFlow support?

2. I have a couple of Dell Power Connect 5524 switches and would like to hook up the 10GbE ports into my ESXi server and FreeNAS system, can I buy several of these:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/271337197609?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

along with the appropriate Brocade 1020 PCIe card (for the servers) and plug them straight into the Dell Power Connect 5524 (sorry I put PE in the subject title, I meant Power Connect!) or do I need SFPs for the Dell? Distance is less than 1M (same cabinet) - home lab for my own learning.

Thanks

 

[101001101]

Ok I think I've set my mind on a HP ProCurve 3500yl, its about the cheapist switch I can find that has OpenFlow 1.3 support (and I can use it wiith HP VAN SDN Controller).

I wonder if anyone is using one of these switches in the lab?

 

[green91]

Ok I think I've set my mind on a HP ProCurve 3500yl, its about the cheapist switch I can find that has OpenFlow 1.3 support (and I can use it wiith HP VAN SDN Controller).

I wonder if anyone is using one of these switches in the lab?

The 3500yl is a great switch, very powerful. They are a little more affordable now that they are being replaced with the 3800 series. They run the same firmware as the 5400/8200 series switches as well.

 

[101001101]

Thanks - the main element I am interested in is the openflow functionality and I read that has a nice port buffer allocation so would be good for running my ISCSI traffic through it. It would also have the premium license.

Do you know if the 1GbE ports are only limited to uplinks / stacking ports or could I hook those up to my hosts too?

 

[green91]

Actually the premium license is a thing of the past, all premium features are now available through the latest firmware update. The 3500yl handles iSCSI traffic with no issue, and of course supports jumbo frames, etc.

You can use any Ethernet port on a 3500yl for host connectivity.