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

Built for demanding data center connectivity requirements, these next-generation modular switches combine scalable networking, high-speed fabric connectivity, flexible operating system options, and automated management capabilities.

Scalable Networking for Modern Data Centers

Dell PowerEdge modular networking is designed to reduce network management complexity while providing the flexibility required to grow alongside changing business requirements.

Key capabilities include:

• Multi-chassis scalable fabric architecture
• Fabric expansion using connectivity 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 modular infrastructure while maintaining simplified network operations.

SmartFabric Services

SmartFabric Services provides a fabric-level automation framework designed to simplify deployment and management across the modular environment.

By maintaining a single networking domain across the fabric, organizations can reduce configuration complexity while gaining centralized visibility across connected infrastructure.

Dell EMC MX5108n Ethernet Switch

The Dell EMC MX5108n Ethernet Switch supports a wide selection of 40GbE and 100GbE optics, cables, and network operating system options.

100GbE Optics

Supported 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

40GbE Optics

Supported 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+

100GbE Cables

Available cable options include:

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

40GbE Cables

Available options include:

• QSFP+ to QSFP+ active optical and 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 modular fabric connectivity using QSFP28-DD technology.

Optics

Supported 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

Cables

Supported connectivity includes:

• 2 x 100GbE QSFP28-DD to QSFP28-DD active optical and passive DAC
• 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+ breakout
• 2 x 40GbE QSFP28-DD to 8 x SFP+ breakout

Dell EMC MX9116n Fabric Switching Engine

The Dell EMC MX9116n Fabric Switching Engine provides high-speed Ethernet and Fibre Channel connectivity for scalable PowerEdge modular fabrics.

QSFP28-DD Optics

Supported 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

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

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+

Fibre Channel Optics

The MX9116n also supports:

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

QSFP28-DD Cables

Available options 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 Ethernet Cables

The MX9116n also supports:

• 100GbE QSFP28 to QSFP28 active optical and passive DAC
• 100GbE QSFP28 to 4 x SFP28 breakout
• 100GbE MTP to MTP optical
• 100GbE MTP to 4 x LC optical breakout
• 40GbE QSFP+ to QSFP+ active optical and passive DAC
• 40GbE QSFP+ to 4 x SFP+ breakout

Software

The MX9116n supports:

• SmartFabric OS10
• Select third-party operating system offerings

Dell MXG610S Fibre Channel Switch

The Dell MXG610S Fibre Channel Switch provides high-performance Fibre Channel connectivity for Dell PowerEdge MX 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 enabled in 8-port increments through a dynamic Ports on Demand (POD) license.

Internal Server-Facing Ports

The 16 internal ports operate at:

• 16Gbps
• 32Gbps

Operating speed depends on the installed minimezzanine adapter.

These internal connections do not require optical transceivers.

External Fabric-Facing Ports

The switch provides:

• 8 external SFP+ ports operating at 8Gbps, 16Gbps, or 32Gbps
• 2 external QSFP+ ports, each providing four connections 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
• 32Gbps FC SW4 QSFP with 1 x 4 breakout

ANSI Fibre Channel Protocol

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

• 239 switches

Certified Maximum

Certified Fabric OS environments support 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 256Gbps per ISL

Exchange-based load balancing across ISLs is also supported through Dynamic Path Selection.

Maximum Switching Bandwidth

In Full Fabric Switch mode:

• 1024Gbps

Maximum Throughput

In Access Gateway mode:

• 512Gbps

Port-to-Port Latency

Latency for locally switched ports is:

• ≤ 900 ns, including FEC

Maximum Frame Size

The switch supports:

• 2,112-byte payload

Frame Buffers

The platform 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 ports include:

• F_Port
• E_Port
• M_Port
• D_Port
• N_Port

D_Port provides ClearLink diagnostic functionality.

Data Traffic

The MXG610S 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 services may not apply or may be unavailable when operating 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

Security

Security capabilities include:

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

Management Access

The MXG610S includes:

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

Diagnostics

Diagnostic capabilities include:

• ClearLink optics and cable diagnostics
• Electrical and optical loopback testing
• Link traffic, latency, and distance diagnostics
• Flow mirroring
• Built-in flow generator
• POST
• 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 for Dell PowerEdge modular fabric environments.

Optics

Supported optical configurations include:

• 400GbE Q56DD SR4.2 Gen3 MPO MMF
• 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 Cables

Available options include:

• QSFP56-DD passive copper DAC in 0.5m, 1m, and 2m lengths
• QSFP56-DD active copper cables 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 Cables

Available options include:

• QSFP28-DD passive DAC without FEC in 0.5m, 1m, and 2m lengths
• QSFP28-DD active optical cables 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 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 architecture for MX7000 modular infrastructure.

With Ethernet and Fibre Channel switching, fabric expansion modules, SmartFabric automation, multi-chassis scalability, and connectivity extending from Fibre Channel through 40GbE, 100GbE, 200GbE, and 400GbE, the portfolio provides a scalable foundation for modern modular data center environments.