Specifications
38
Throughput test
A fully meshed performance test sends packets from each port to every other port during the test. This type
of test exercises both the modules and the backplane. These tests show the ProCurve 6600 Switch Series to
achieve wire speed on all ports simultaneously.
Latency measurements
Latency is commonly measured as the amount of time it takes for a byte inside a packet to enter and then leave
the switch. Latency statistics typically are documented as including both the processing time of the switch as it
makes its forwarding decision, and the time for the packet itself to enter and leave the switch. In Table 7, this
definition of latency corresponds to the FIFO latency statistics. The LIFO latency statistics that also are listed in
the table represent only the packet transmission time.
Almost all switches currently on the market are store and forward, so the entire packet is received into the
switch before the switch begins to transmit the packet out the egress port. Including the packet receive time
in the FIFO latency statistics is appropriate, because this extra time is a contributing component of the overall
transit time of the packet as it moves through the network.
The latency figures for the ProCurve 6600 Switch Series are consistently low. Latencies this low will not be a
factor in general network operation, even with streaming video or VoIP applications. The LIFO latency values
are fairly consistent across all packet sizes due to the fact that ingress and egress packet processors operate
on the header of the frame (not the whole frame), while the full frame is buffered in and out of packet buffer
memory. Memory transfers are scheduled to fit a full 1518-byte frame, so frames are transferred in and out
of memory in approximately the same amount of time, regardless of packet size. While the frame headers
are being looked up, and actions required for the frame on egress are being coordinated among interface
modules, the frame is transferred through the switching fabric module.
Power consumption measurements
Table 8 details the expected power consumption on the various 6600 series switches with one and two power
supply configurations.
6600-24G 6600-24G-4XG 6600-48G 6600-48G-4XG 6600-24XG
1 PSU configuration
Idle power 93 W 127 W 144 W 191 W 310 W
Max. power 125 W 172 W 175 W 227 W 372 W
Max. heat dissipation 425 Btu/hr 587 Btu/hr 597 Btu/hr 774 Btu/hr 1267 Btu/hr
2 PSU configuration
Idle power 129 W 168 W 180 W 226 W 345 W
Max. power 160 W 204 W 209 W 261 W 405 W
Max. heat dissipation 545 Btu/hr 697 Btu/hr 713 Btu/hr 890 Btu/hr 1382 Btu/hr
Note: Maximum power includes all ports connected and forwarding data at 100% utilization. Idle power was measured with all ports connected but not
forwarding data.
Table 8: 6600 series power consumption measurements
Power Save mode
Certain models of the 6600 series switches have implemented advanced power-saving capabilities to reduce
power consumed by unused or idle ports. The 6600-24XG, 6600-48G, and 6600-48G-4XG switches
allow users to turn off groups of ports to save power by entering the CLI savepower command at the global
configuration level.
Ports are grouped into power domains on each 6600 switch. To enable Power Save mode, you must enter a
power domain number with the savepower command. The amount of power saved by powering down a port
group is shown in Table 9.