Hewlett Packard Enterprise Networking (abbreviated as HPE Networking) is the Networking Products division of Hewlett Packard Enterprise ("HPE"). HPE Networking and its predecessor entities have developed and sold networking products since 1979. Currently, it offers networking and switching products The Register: "Why Cisco should merge with Dell". Timothy Prickett Morgan. May 13, 2011. for small and medium sized businesses through its wholly owned subsidiary Aruba Networks. Prior to 2015, the entity within HP which offered networking products was called HP Networking.
History HP's networking division was previously known as HP ProCurve. The HP division that became the HP ProCurve division began in Roseville, CA, in 1979. Originally it was part of HP’s Data Systems Division (DSD) and known as DSD-Roseville. Later, it was called the Roseville Networks Division (RND), then the Workgroup Networks Division (WND), before becoming the ProCurve Networking Business (PNB). The trademark filing date for the ProCurve name was February 25, 1998.
On August 11, 2008, HP announced the acquisition of Colubris Networks, manufacturer of Wireless capabilities, such as 802.11n. This completed on October 1, 2008.
On November 11, 2009, HP announced its intent to acquire 3Com Corporation for $2.7B. In April 2010, HP completed its acquisition.
In April 2010, following HP's acquisition of 3Com Corporation, HP combined the ProCurve and 3Com entities as HP Networking.
HP ProCurve. Based in Roseville, CA, USA. Developer of networking switches and wireless services. Global sales. The acquired 3Com Corporation. Based in Marlborough, MA, USA. Global sales outside of China. The 3Com division H3C Technologies Co., Ltd. Based in Hangzhou, China. Developer of networking switches, routers, telephony and wireless services. Sales within China. The 3Com division TippingPoint. Based in Austin, Texas. Developer of networking security services, particularly intrusion prevention systems. Global sales.
In May 2015, UNIS acquired a 51% stake in H3C for $2.3 billion.
On May 19, 2015, HP completed the acquisition of Aruba Networks and subsequently moved all its networking business into the Aruba Networking entity.
In January 2024, Juniper Networks agreed to be acquired in full by Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) for approximately $14 billion. The acquisition closed on July 2, 2025.
In May 2024, Hewlett Packard Enterprise announced that UNIS would acquire a further 30% stake in H3C for $2.1 billion.
Past networking initiatives and technologies
Network architecture
Network architecture encompasses the entire framework of an organization's computer network, including hardware components that are used for communication, network layout and topologies, physical and Wireless connections, and cabling and device types, as well as software rules and protocols."Network Architecture," Techopedia.com The core and aggregation layers of a traditional three-tier, hierarchical model provide built-in redundancy, but this design can be inefficient for virtualized environments.Morgan, Timothy. (2011-9-21). "No more tiers for flatter networks," TheRegister.com. (2010-10). "Interop New York: Flat networks and the end of spanning tree," TechTarget.com. The flat layout of the HP FlexNetwork Architecture is designed to provide more agility to the network and to support functionality such as virtualization, convergence, and automation.Schultz, Beth. (2011-3-25). "Flat Networks are the Future," ChannelWorld.in.com.
HP FlexNetwork Architecture unites an organization's networks in the data center, campus, and branch offices through a cost-efficient, consistent architecture, according to published reports.Burt, Jeffrey. (2011-6-9). "HP Challenges Cisco with New FlexNetwork Architecture," eWeek.com. Four product groups make up the architecture: FlexFabric, for data centers with physical and virtual environments composed of converged computing, storage, and networking resources; FlexCampus, for converged wired and wireless networks; FlexBranch, for providing branch offices with networking and security; and Flex Management, which provides one unified management interface for the entire FlexNetwork and includes the HP Intelligent Management Center (IMC).
The HP Intelligent Resilient Framework (IRF) software virtualization technology is designed to provide rapid recovery from failure to the FlexNetwork, and to improve vMotion performance in VMware environments.Wittmann, Art. (2011-10-7). "HP Fills Out Flex Architecture," InformationWeek.com.
Software-defined networking
The focus by enterprise data center networking technologies on virtualization has caused organizations' networks to become more automated and simplified.Fabbi, Mark; Zimmerman, Tim; Lerner, Andrew. (2014-4-24). "Magic Quadrant for Data Center Networking," Gartner.com Several factors are driving these changes: the recognition by IT that network operations can be aligned with an organization's business goals; the request from an organization's leaders for the data center to respond rapidly to variations in demand; changes in application network traffic patterns; and changes in size and density of the data center, due to some services being offloaded to cloud computing resources, greater compute density, and an increased use of virtual technology. In turn, these changes have led to an increased demand for software-defined networking (SDN)technology from organizations.
In 2007, HP collaborated with Stanford University to develop Ethane, an early version of the open-source standard OpenFlow upon which SDN is based.Wexler, Steve. (2013-9-30). "HP Beats Cisco and OpenDaylight's Pending SDN Launches," IT-TNA.com. HP is a founding member of the nonprofit Open Networking Foundation. Organized in March 2011, the foundation provides support for SDN and manages the OpenFlow standard.Greene, Kate. (2009-3). "TR10: Software-Defined Networking," MITTechnologyReview.com.
HP is also a founding member of the Open Daylight Project, which was announced on April 8, 2013, by the Linux Foundation as an industry-supported collaboration to further the open development of SDN and Network Functions Virtualization.Knorr, Eric. (2013-4-8). "OpenDaylight: A big step toward the software-defined data center," InfoWorld.com. Other founding members include Arista Networks, Big Switch Networks, Brocade, Cisco, Citrix, Ericsson, IBM, Juniper Networks, Microsoft, NEC, Nuage Networks, PLUMgrid, Red Hat, and VMware.
Because OpenFlow is based on open standards, there is little risk of vendor lock-in when using OpenFlow-enabled products. It is claimed that networks using SDN will result in a more efficient and reliable data center infrastructure. An SDN controller serves as the core of an SDN network, managing flow controls based on protocols such as OpenFlow, and relaying communications between applications and network devices.Rouse, Margaret. (11-12). "SDN controller (software-defined networking controller)," TechTarget.com. In 2012, HP introduced the Virtual Application Networks (VAN) SDN OpenFlow controller, which is available in a software format.Yeomans, Jon. (2012-10-4). "HP joins software-defined networking fray with new controller, switches," ZDNet.com. The HP SDN Manager application is intended to allow administrators to configure, monitor, and manage policies for SDN switches and controllers.Duffy, Jim. (2013-4-30). "HP refreshes data center core and aggregation with SDN switches," NetworkWorld.com.
In 2013, HP introduced its SDN Developer Kit and announced the SDN App Store, as well as integration with VMware NSX. The SDN App Store can be used to browse, search, purchase, and download SDN applications onto the HP VAN SDN Controller.Metzler, Jim. (2014-7). "SDN and Network Virtualization: A Reality Check," NetworkWorld.com. HP certifies that applications offered in the SDN App Store will function reliably on HP network infrastructure.Banks, Ethan. (2014-7). "Understanding SDN Vendor Ecosystems," NetworkWorld.com. New HP network applications will be run on or integrated with the HP VAN SDN Controller and made available through the SDN App Store.
In 2014, HP was producing more than 50 models of OpenFlow-enabled switches, including the FlexFabric 7900 switch series, which is optimized for SDN deployment.Kerner, Sean Michael. (2014-6-10). "HP Expands SDN Hardware and Cloud Efforts," EnterpriseNetworkingPlanet.com. The FlexFabric 12900 switch series, also optimized for SDN deployment, was awarded SearchNetworking's Network Innovation Award in December 2013.Scarpati, Jessica. (2013-12). "HP FlexFabric 12900: Standards-based support for TRILL protocol, SDN," TechTarget.com.
The HP Virtual Cloud Networking (VCN) SDN Application is designed to provide virtual network overlays to the OpenStack technology open source cloud computing software, serving as a bridge between the HP Helion OpenStack cloud computing platform and the HP VAN SDN controller.McGillicudy, Shamus. (2014-6-9). "HP network virtualization bridges OpenFlow and OpenStack," TechTarget.com. According to published reports, the HP VCN SDN Application will help organizations transition from legacy networks to the cloud.
Mobility/BYOD/WLAN
Mobility/bring your own device (BYOD) refers to the practice of employees using their privately owned mobile devices such as laptops, tablet computers, and smartphones for work purposes. This practice allows employees to perform work functions from these devices both in the office and remotely, increasing working satisfaction and boosting productivity, according to a study by IBM. Wired and wireless network technologies enable organizations to provide connectivity for these mobile devices throughout an office space.
To provide wired and wireless access, legacy IT infrastructure requires two individual networks, each with its own management applications.Rizzo, Joe. (2013-3-8). "HP's Unified Wired, Wireless Networks offer Complete Networking BYOD Solutions," SDNZone.com. HP provides a unified BYOD service that includes an SDN security application, which provides real-time threat detection and simplifies operations, reducing costs by up to 38 percent, according to published reports.
The HP IMC Smart Connect includes integrated mobile network–access control to manage enterprise access to mobile devices. To help administrators oversee the use of mobile devices on enterprise networks, HP has integrated into IMC support for the Citrix XenMobile and MobileIron mobile device management applications.Duffy, Jim. (2014-3-31). "HP bucks up unified access line to better battle Cisco, others," NetworkWorld.com.
In March 2014, HP renamed its SDN BYOD security application from Sentinel to Network Protector.Kerner, Sean Michael. (2014-3-31). "HP Set to Deliver on SDN Vision," Enterprise Networking Planet. HP Network Protector sits on top of the HP SDN VAN Controller.
When employees use mobile devices to download files or stream rich media applications such as video, the network traffic can consume much of the bandwidth on the company’s core network.Torode, Christina. (2012-11-27). "Tackling network capacity in a bring-your-own-device era," TechTarget.com One way to reduce the impact of this increased traffic is to create a separate guest network for mobile devices that is completely segregated from the corporate network, and to set network access control (NAC) policies that limit access to certain sites.