When provisioning converged data center infrastructure supporting both loss-tolerant application flows and lossless storage networking (such as iSCSI and RoCEv2), packet buffer architecture and Quality of Service (QoS) configurability are key differentiators between Aruba CX platforms.

The Aruba CX 8325 switch family features an ASIC packet buffer architecture that supports up to three configurable lossless QoS buffer pools. This capability allows the network architect to define multiple distinct buffer pools with custom headroom and threshold sizing, mapping different priority traffic streams (such as platinum-tier versus gold-tier storage) to independent dedicated lossless buffer reservations.

In contrast, the Aruba CX 8360 switch family utilizes an internal architecture that provides a single, fixed lossless buffer pool whose internal sizing cannot be partitioned or customized into separate lossless tiers. When storage architecture mandates distinct buffer allocations to enforce separate Service Level Agreements (SLAs) across storage tiers, the CX 8325 is the required platform. Note that both switch models support PIM multicast routing, IP Explicit Congestion Notification (ECN), and Priority Flow Control (PFC).

Reference Topics: HPE Aruba CX Hardware Architecture – CX 8325 vs. CX 8360 Buffer Architecture, Configurable Lossless QoS Pools for Converged Storage.

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