International Space Station Successfully Deploys ProCurve Network in Space
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International Space Station Successfully Deploys ProCurve Network in Space
AUSTRALIA, 13 June 2008 – HP ProCurve announced that the Columbus module aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis, which
recently docked with the EADS Astrium’s International Space Station (ISS), carries on board an Ethernet local area
network (LAN) built using a ProCurve 2524 Switch, making it the first commercial Ethernet switch in space.
Gurkirat Singh, Country Manager South Pacific for HP ProCurve commented, “Many businesses rely on their networks to
service their customers, and carry out their daily operations. ProCurve has a long history of producing products that
are rock solid, and built to last. It is an amazing challenge to operate a network in space, and we are proud that our
popular ProCurve 2524 switch is helping scientists carry out experiments onboard the space station.”
On board Columbus, the LAN, powered by the ProCurve 2524, and a data management system connect the research module
internally, allowing uninterrupted data exchange between the ISS and its communications systems.
Rolf Schmidhuber, Columbus data management system engineer for EADS Astrium Space Transportation said: “Inside the
ProCurve Switch 2524, a central switch fabric handles the majority of tasks while switches from other manufacturers tend
to distribute across a number of chips. By using significantly fewer chips on the circuit board, this proved much more
advantageous to us, as the fewer components present, the lower the susceptibility to radiation and mechanical duress
during the launch into space. This was a key reason why ProCurve beat the competition.”
“To put it simply, ProCurve was the only networking vendor whose switches offered us the level of reliability and
performance required to handle the intense demands on board Columbus,” added Schmidhuber.
Selected for performance, reliability, manageability and resistance to radiation, the ProCurve 2524 Ethernet switch
provides scientists on board the Columbus module the maximum research possibilities in a zero-gravity environment.
About HP ProCurve
HP ProCurve is the Network of Choice for best-in-class solutions, products and services for wired and wireless networks.
ProCurve’s Adaptive Networks vision enables customers to implement an open, standards-based network infrastructure that
adapts to the changing needs of users, applications and organizations.
ProCurve was positioned in the Leaders quadrant in research and advisory firm Gartner Inc.’s 2008 Magic Quadrant Report
for Global Campus LANs and is No. 2 worldwide in Ethernet switch market revenue and ports according to Dell’Oro Group.
For more information on HP ProCurve, visit www.procurve.com.
About HP
HP focuses on simplifying technology experiences for all of its customers – from individual consumers to the largest
businesses. With a portfolio that spans printing, personal computing, software, services and IT infrastructure, HP is
among the world’s largest IT companies, with revenue totaling $107.7 billion for the four fiscal quarters ended Jan. 31,
2008. More information about HP (NYSE: HPQ) is available at www.hp.com.
ENDS