Name: AK858B HP 16-Port 8Gbps Fibre Channel SAN Director Blade Switch
Brand: HP
SKU: AK858B
Price: 1614.00 USD
Availability: InStock
Rating: 4.8 (130 reviews)

Product Overview
The AK858B HP 16-port 8GB Fibre Channel Director Blade serves as a key SAN switch component within HP BladeSystem enclosures. It manages fibre channel traffic among servers and storage devices, designed to fit neatly into blade chassis for efficient use of rack space and simplified connectivity in enterprise storage networks.

General Information
Brand	HP
Part Number	AK858B
Condition	Refurbished

Technical Information
Switch Ports	16-Ports
Number of Ports	16-Ports
Port Type	SFP
Port Speed	8 Gbps (Fibre Channel)
POE Support	No
VLAN Support	No
Stackable	No
Connector Type	SFP (8Gb FC)

Management and Configuration
Remote Protocols	Yes
Security Features	Fabric zoning, Port security, Access control, WWN binding
Management Type	CLI, Web GUI, SNMP
Remote Management Protocol	SSH, Telnet, SNMP

Power & Cooling
Power	DC (blade-powered)
Power Supply	Chassis shared DC power (blade enclosure)

Physical Characteristics
Weight	5.00

Product Description
The AK858B HP Fibre Channel Director Blade is built to handle storage area network (SAN) traffic within blade server environments. Often found in enterprise data centers, it distributes and manages fibre channel connections between servers and storage devices with high throughput. Commonly used in setups where multiple servers need reliable, high-speed access to shared storage, this switch is suited for IT professionals and network administrators overseeing SAN infrastructure. Key Features Supports 16 ports delivering 8 Gbps fibre channel bandwidth Integrates directly into HP BladeSystem chassis to save rack space Provides efficient zoning and traffic management for SANs Offers high availability with redundant components Compatible with existing HP SAN software and management tools This switch typically appears in mid to large scale data centers running critical applications requiring consistent storage access. Its blade form factor helps reduce cabling and clutter while providing reliable performance in dense IT environments.

Use Cases
The AK858B HP 16-Port 8Gbps Fibre Channel SAN Director Blade Switch is primarily utilized in enterprise data centers requiring high-speed, reliable storage networking. It is especially beneficial for organizations running virtualized workloads or managing large-scale SAN infrastructures where space optimization within blade enclosures is critical. How It's Used: Deployed within HP BladeSystem enclosures to streamline SAN connectivity in consolidated rack environments. Used by enterprise IT teams to support virtualization platforms needing low-latency storage access. Integrated in storage clusters for financial institutions requiring consistent high throughput and uptime. Employed in data centers managing large volumes of unstructured data for media or research organizations. Implemented in backup and disaster recovery sites where efficient SAN traffic management is essential. This blade switch aids in optimizing operational efficiency by consolidating storage traffic within dense blade chassis designs. It supports scalable SAN growth while maintaining high-performance connectivity suited to demanding storage workloads.