So today UPS dropped off a brand new EdgeSwitch 16XG. I won’t bore you with all the cool stats. You can read the official product literature here. This is just a first look. Future posts will dive into configuration, testing, and other such things. For those wanting the cliff notes version of what this switch is about:
- (12) SFP+ Ports
- (4) 10G RJ45 Ports
- (1) RJ45 Serial Console Port
- Non-Blocking Throughput: 160 Gbps
- Switching Capacity: 320 Gbps
- Forwarding Rate: 238.10 Mpps
- (12) 1/10 Gbps SFP+ Ethernet Ports
- (4) 1/10 Gbps RJ45 Ethernet Ports
- Rack Mountable with Rack-Mount Brackets (Included)
- DC Input Option (Redundant or Stand-Alone)
UBNT is following a natural trend in the switch world. As more and more networks are looking at 1Gig being their minimum, the switches are reflecting this. Gone are the days of 10/100 ports. Now are going toward 1/10 gig ports, even on copper. 10/100/1000 switches still have their place, but usually not on switches with 10 gig ports.
Out of the box the switch isn’t anything sexy. I feel like it should have a shiny UBNT logo somewhere.
I like the fact that none of the ports are shared ports. You can use all 16 ports. It always annoys me when I buy a switch and can’t use all the ports because they are shared on the bus.
An interesting feature on this switch is a redundant DC input option. This can be anything from 16-25volts and be able to support 56watts. This results in a minimum of a 2.2 Amp power supply. This is assuming a full load on the switch as well. For the WISP market this could be a very handy option. You could install the switch where it is drawing from AC power but in the event of AC outage it will switch to a DC source. One of my questions to UBNT is if you can run it off total DC.
Now on to some nitpicky design things. None of these really affect the performance of the switch, just are annoyances.
-The console port not being on the front. In today’s dense rack environments we are putting patch panels and Transfer switches in the backs of the rack. If we have to get to the back of the front mounted devices then anything other than power becomes an annoyance. This is not an issue if you install every new switch with a console cable back to a console server like we do, but even that doesn’t always happen.
-The SFP cages should stick out just a tad from the front. During inserting and re-inserting SFPs I actually pushed the cage back a little. This resulted in some of the SFPs not clicking in correctly. The little tabs holding the top of the SFP cages aren’t sturdy enough to hold some repeated clicking in and out.
After seeing this I was prompted to open the switch and see what is under the hood.
I think this will be a hugely popular switch for anybody looking to do 10Gig. At a $600 approximate price these are, by far, the most cost effective 10 Gig switch out there. Many manufacturers have tacked on one or two, sometimes 4 SFP+ ports, but if you need to go beyond that you are talking 4 digit pricing. This is something we have struggled with MidWest-IX. It usually leads to us buying something on the used market that has the port density we need.
There you have it for a first look at this switch. More articles to follow that include:
-Interoperability Testing
-Configuration tasks
-Questions I and you, the reader, have for UBNT
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