The Dell PowerEdge Modular System Switches provide a family of Ethernet and Fibre Channel switching modules, interconnects, and I/O solutions designed for the Dell PowerEdge MX7000 modular infrastructure.

These next-generation modular networking solutions are built to support demanding data center connectivity requirements while helping organizations reduce network management complexity and overall infrastructure costs.

Scalable Modular Networking for the Data Center

The Dell PowerEdge modular networking architecture is designed to scale according to changing business and workload requirements.

Key capabilities include:

• Multi-chassis scalable fabric architecture
• Fabric expansion using connectivity of up to 100GbE across multiple chassis
• A single networking domain across the fabric
• Single-pane-of-glass network visibility
• SmartFabric Services automation

This architecture allows organizations to expand their modular infrastructure while maintaining simplified network management.

SmartFabric Services

SmartFabric Services provides a fabric-level automation framework designed to simplify network deployment and ongoing administration.

By creating a single network domain across the modular fabric, organizations can reduce configuration complexity while gaining centralized visibility across connected chassis.

Dell EMC MX5108n Ethernet Switch

The Dell EMC MX5108n Ethernet Switch supports a range of high-speed Ethernet optics, cables, and operating system options.

Supported 100GbE Optics

Available 100GbE transceivers include:

• 100GbE SR4 QSFP28
• 100GbE LR4 QSFP28
• 100GbE ESR4 QSFP28
• 100GbE PSM4 500m QSFP28
• 100GbE CWDM4 2km QSFP28
• 100GbE SWDM4 100m QSFP28
• 100GbE BIDI QSFP28

Supported 40GbE Optics

Available 40GbE transceivers include:

• 40GbE SR4 QSFP+
• 40GbE eSR4 QSFP+
• 40GbE LR4 QSFP+
• 40GbE BIDI QSFP+
• 40GbE PSM4 10km QSFP+
• 40GbE LM4 Duplex QSFP+
• 40GbE SM4 Duplex QSFP+

Supported 100GbE Cables

Cable options include:

• QSFP28 to QSFP28 100GbE active optical cables
• QSFP28 to QSFP28 100GbE passive DAC cables
• QSFP28 to 4 x SFP28 breakout for 4 x 10/25GbE
• MTP to MTP 100GbE optical cables
• MTP to 4 x LC 100GbE optical breakout cables

Supported 40GbE Cables

Available cable options include:

• QSFP+ to QSFP+ 40GbE active optical cables
• QSFP+ to QSFP+ passive DAC cables
• QSFP+ to 4 x SFP+ breakout for 4 x 10GbE

Software

The MX5108n supports:

• SmartFabric OS10
• Select third-party operating system offerings

Dell EMC MX7116N Fabric Expander Module

The Dell EMC MX7116N Fabric Expander Module provides high-speed connectivity through QSFP28-DD optics and breakout cable configurations.

Supported Optics

Available transceivers include:

• 2 x 100 / 2 x 80GbE multi-rate 2SR4 QSFP28-DD
• 2 x 100GbE 2SR4 QSFP28-DD
• 2 x 40GbE 2SR4 QSFP28-DD

Supported Cables

Cable options include:

• 2 x 100GbE QSFP28-DD to QSFP28-DD active optical cables
• 2 x 100GbE QSFP28-DD to QSFP28-DD passive DAC cables
• 2 x 100GbE QSFP28-DD to 2 x QSFP28 breakout
• 2 x 100GbE QSFP28-DD to 8 x SFP28 breakout for 8 x 10/25GbE
• 2 x 100GbE MPO12-DD to MPO12-DD optical
• 2 x 100GbE MPO12-DD to 2 x MPO12 optical breakout
• 2 x 100GbE MPO12-DD to 8 x LC optical breakout
• 2 x 40GbE QSFP28-DD to 2 x QSFP+
• 2 x 40GbE QSFP28-DD to 8 x SFP+ breakout

Dell EMC MX9116n Fabric Switching Engine

The Dell EMC MX9116n Fabric Switching Engine supports a broad range of Ethernet and Fibre Channel optical connectivity options for modular fabric environments.

QSFP28-DD Optics

Available options include:

• 2 x 100 / 2 x 80GbE multi-rate 2SR4 QSFP28-DD
• 2 x 100GbE 2SR4 QSFP28-DD
• 2 x 40GbE 2SR4 QSFP28-DD

100GbE Optics

Supported options include:

• 100GbE SR4 QSFP28
• 100GbE LR4 QSFP28
• 100GbE ESR4 QSFP28
• 100GbE PSM4 500m QSFP28
• 100GbE CWDM4 2km QSFP28
• 100GbE SWDM4 100m QSFP28
• 100GbE BIDI QSFP28

40GbE Optics

Supported options include:

• 40GbE SR4 QSFP+
• 40GbE eSR4 QSFP+
• 40GbE LR4 QSFP+
• 40GbE BIDI QSFP+
• 40GbE PSM4 10km QSFP+
• 40GbE LM4 Duplex QSFP+
• 40GbE SM4 Duplex QSFP+

Fibre Channel Optics

The MX9116n also supports:

• 4 x 32G Fibre Channel SW optic QSFP28
• 4 x 16G Fibre Channel SW optic QSFP+

QSFP28-DD Cable Options

Available cable configurations include:

• QSFP28-DD to QSFP28-DD for 2 x 100GbE
• QSFP28-DD to 2 x QSFP28 breakout
• QSFP28-DD to 8 x SFP28 breakout for 8 x 10/25GbE
• MPO12-DD to MPO12-DD optical
• MPO12-DD to 2 x MPO12 optical breakout
• MPO12-DD to 8 x LC optical breakout
• QSFP28-DD to 2 x QSFP+ for 2 x 40GbE
• QSFP28-DD to 8 x SFP+ breakout

Additional 100GbE Cable Options

The module also supports:

• QSFP28 to QSFP28 active optical and passive DAC
• QSFP28 to 4 x SFP28 breakout for 4 x 10/25GbE
• MTP to MTP optical
• MTP to 4 x LC optical breakout

Additional 40GbE Cable Options

Available 40GbE options include:

• QSFP+ to QSFP+ active optical and passive DAC
• QSFP+ to 4 x SFP+ breakout for 4 x 10GbE

Software

The MX9116n supports:

• SmartFabric OS10
• Select third-party operating system offerings

Dell MXG610S Fibre Channel Switch

The Dell MXG610S Fibre Channel Switch provides Fibre Channel connectivity for Dell PowerEdge modular environments.

Total Fibre Channel Ports

The switch supports:

• Up to 16 internal server-facing ports
• Up to 16 external fabric-facing ports

External ports can be expanded in 8-port increments using a dynamic Ports on Demand (POD) license.

Internal Server-Facing Ports

The 16 internal ports operate at:

• 16 Gbps
• 32 Gbps

Speed depends on the installed minimezzanine adapter.

These internal ports do not require optical transceivers.

External Fabric-Facing Ports

The external interfaces include:

• 8 external SFP+ ports supporting 8Gbps, 16Gbps, or 32Gbps
• 2 external QSFP+ ports, each providing four ports operating at 16Gbps or 32Gbps

Supported Fibre Channel Optics

Available optics include:

• 16Gbps FC SWL SFP
• 16Gbps FC LWL SFP
• 32Gbps FC SWL SFP
• 32Gbps FC LWL SFP
• 16Gbps FC SW4 QSFP with 1 x 4 breakout support
• 32Gbps FC SW4 QSFP with 1 x 4 breakout support

ANSI Fibre Channel Protocol

The switch supports the:

• Fibre Channel Physical and Signaling Interface standard (FC-PH)

Modes of Operation

Supported Fibre Channel classes include:

• Class 2
• Class 3

Fabric Initialization

Fabric initialization complies with:

• FC-SW-3 Rev. 6.6

Scalability

The MXG610S supports a full-fabric architecture with up to:

• 239 switches

Certified Maximum

Supported certified Fabric OS environments include up to:

• 6,000 active nodes
• 56 switches
• 19 hops

ISL Trunking

The platform supports frame-based trunking with:

• Up to 8 ports per ISL trunk
• Up to 256 Gbps per ISL

It also supports exchange-based load balancing across ISLs with Dynamic Path Selection included in Fabric OS.

Maximum Switching Bandwidth

In Full Fabric Switch mode, the platform provides up to:

• 1024 Gbps

Maximum Throughput

In Access Gateway mode, the platform provides up to:

• 512 Gbps

Port-to-Port Latency

Latency for locally switched ports is:

• ≤ 900 ns, including FEC

Maximum Frame Size

The platform supports a maximum:

• 2,112-byte payload

Frame Buffers

The MXG610S provides:

• 2,000 dynamically allocated frame buffers

Classes of Service

Supported classes include:

• Class 2
• Class 3
• Class F for inter-switch frames

Supported Port Types

Supported Fibre Channel port types include:

• F_Port
• E_Port
• M_Port
• D_Port
• N_Port

D_Port provides ClearLink diagnostic functionality.

Data Traffic Types

The platform supports:

• Unicast traffic

Fabric Services

Available fabric services include:

• Monitoring and Alerting Policy Suite
• Flow Vision
• Brocade Adaptive Networking
• Traffic Isolation
• Quality of Service
• Fabric Performance Impact Monitoring
• Slow Drain Device Quarantine
• Brocade Advanced Zoning
• Dynamic Fabric Provisioning
• Dynamic Path Selection
• Brocade Extended Fabrics
• Enhanced BB credit recovery
• FDMI
• Frame Redirection
• Frame-based Trunking
• FSPF
• Brocade ISL Trunking
• Management Server
• NPIV
• NTPv3
• Registered State Change Notification
• Reliable Commit Service
• Simple Name Server
• Read Diagnostics Parameter
• VM Insight

Some fabric services may not apply or may be unavailable in Access Gateway mode.

Supported Management Software

Management options include:

• HTTP
• SNMP v1/v3
• FE MIB
• FC Management MIB
• SSH
• Auditing
• Syslog
• Brocade Advanced Web Tools
• Command-Line Interface
• SMI-S
• Administrative Domains
• Trial licenses for additional capabilities

Security

Security capabilities include:

• DH-CHAP
• FCAP switch authentication
• HTTPS
• IPsec
• IP filtering
• LDAP with IPv6
• OpenLDAP
• Port Binding
• RADIUS
• TACACS+
• User-defined Role-Based Access Control
• Secure Copy
• Secure RPC
• Secure Syslog
• SFTP
• SSH v2
• SSL
• Switch Binding
• Trusted Switch

Management Access

The switch provides:

• 1 x micro USB Type-B port for console and management access

Diagnostic Capabilities

Diagnostic functionality includes:

• ClearLink optics and cable diagnostics
• Electrical and optical loopback testing
• Link traffic analysis
• Latency and distance diagnostics
• Flow mirroring
• Built-in flow generator
• POST
• Embedded online and offline diagnostics
• Environmental monitoring
• FCping
• Pathinfo / FC traceroute
• Frame viewer
• Non-disruptive daemon restart
• Optics health monitoring
• Power monitoring
• RAStrace logging
• Rolling Reboot Detection

Dell MX8116N Fabric Expander Module

The Dell MX8116N Fabric Expander Module provides high-speed 200GbE and 400GbE connectivity options for modular fabric environments.

Supported Optics

Available optics include:

• 400GbE Q56DD SR4.2 Gen3 MPO MMF
• Support for 1 x 400G point-to-point connectivity
• 4 x 100G breakout to BIDI or SR1.2
• 2 x 100G / 2 x 40GbE QSFP28-DD dual-rate 2SR4
• MPO12-DD MMF connectivity

400GbE Cable Options

Supported 400GbE cables include:

• QSFP56-DD passive copper DAC in 0.5m, 1m, and 2m lengths
• QSFP56-DD active copper cable in 3m, 5m, and 7m lengths
• QSFP56-DD to 4 x QSFP28 100GbE active copper breakout in 3m and 5m lengths
• QSFP56-DD to 4 x 100G PAM4 QSFP56 passive DAC breakout in 1m and 2m lengths
• Q56DD passive copper DAC in 0.5m and 2m lengths
• QSFP56-DD passive DAC without FEC in 1m length
• QSFP56-DD to 4 x QSFP56 breakout DAC in 3m length

200GbE Cable Options

Supported 200GbE cables include:

• QSFP28-DD passive DAC without FEC in 0.5m, 1m, and 2m lengths
• QSFP28-DD active optical cable without FEC in 5m, 10m, and 20m lengths
• QSFP28-DD to 2 x 100GbE QSFP28 active optical breakout in 5m, 7m, and 15m lengths
• QSFP28-DD to 8 x 25GbE SFP28 active optical breakout in 7m and 10m lengths
• QSFP28-DD to 8 x SFP28 10/25GbE DAC breakout without FEC in 1m and 2m lengths
• QSFP28-DD to 2 x 100GbE QSFP28 passive DAC breakout in 2m and 3m lengths

Scalable Networking for Dell PowerEdge Modular Infrastructure

The Dell PowerEdge Modular System Switches provide a flexible networking foundation for MX7000 modular environments.

With Ethernet and Fibre Channel switching, fabric expander modules, SmartFabric automation, multi-chassis scalability, and connectivity ranging from Fibre Channel through 40GbE, 100GbE, 200GbE, and 400GbE, the portfolio allows organizations to build modular network fabrics that can expand alongside changing data center requirements.