48+ ports 10gb switch with some 40gbps ports recommendation

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hatchi

Member
Nov 8, 2014
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Hi All,
I am looking to get 2 high density 10GB switches to replace my brocade VDX 6720

the vdx 6720 is fine but the 2 I have have 2 limitations that make them not that usefull
1- I have only 16 ports licensed
2- to connect both switches I dont have qsfp port so I am using 4 out of the 16 switches to connect them which leaves only 12 usable switches per device.

I checked the options that are available on ebay and found some options but I am not familiar with anything not brocade so not sure about their licensing and other issues

I will use those switches for storage network so for me L2 is enough although if the switch has L3 it is considered a plus

I prefer reverse airflow but it is not a big deal

Most important factor for me is that I have some brocade DAC cables (in reallity i think they are active but brocade call them DAC) and I wish to reuse them as buying new cables will be mostly more expensive that the switches


here are the options
1- cisco N3K-3064PQ-10GE
didnt say anything about licensing do you know if all poerts enabled by default ?

2- Brocade BR-VDX6740 (1250 each which is almost 2X or 3X the price of the other options here but I am sure all my cables can work)
(licensed to use all ports including QSFP) (1250 USD$)

3- Cisco N6K-C6001-64P
Aslo didnt talk about licensing

4- ARISTA DCS 7050S-64-R
No talk about how many ports are enabled ( are all ports enabled by default ?)


I am leaning toward ARISTA DCS 7050S-64-R but i have never used anything from ARISTA and not sure about cable compatibility

Thanks
 

BoredSysadmin

Not affiliated with Maxell
Mar 2, 2019
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Why not Brocade ICX6650-48? It is not limiting on SFP+ transceivers or DAC cables brands. Plus it's very cheap and if you see a large thread about these, you could find a full guide on updating one and if you PM the OP even getting the all port & features enabled ;)
 

hatchi

Member
Nov 8, 2014
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Why not Brocade ICX6650-48? It is not limiting on SFP+ transceivers or DAC cables brands. Plus it's very cheap and if you see a large thread about these, you could find a full guide on updating one and if you PM the OP even getting the all port & features enabled ;)

Couldnt find them cheap in ebay at all
there is currently only 2 offers for them for less than 1k

but thinking about it now i think i should get those 2 although they are way overpriced compared tot he price in the thread
 

BoredSysadmin

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Mar 2, 2019
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Couldnt find them cheap in ebay at all
there is currently only 2 offers for them for less than 1k

but thinking about it now i think i should get those 2 although they are way overpriced compared tot he price in the thread
not 48 plus another 8 with qsfp to 4x sfp+ adapters in the back (total of 56 10gig ports) plus 2x 40gig ports
Brocade 6650 48 Port Switch ICX 6650-32-ADV | eBay

I know that this one is already sold, but if you could wait, these deals should return. currently, everything is way overpriced.
 
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fohdeesha

Kaini Industries
Nov 20, 2016
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granted at the prices 6650's seem to be going for now, arista is also a good choice (wtf happened to icx6650 prices?). Arista's can be unlocked to work with any optic/cable with an unlock code
 
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xephael

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Jun 4, 2019
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DCS-7050T-64-R ... save the money on all the SFPs; all ports enabled. Watch for them on ebay. Downside is it's noisy and draws 120-150 watts idle.
 

Evan

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Jan 6, 2016
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Cisco nexus 9372px or similar could work ok from eBay , probably get them for a grand or so.
48 x 10G sfp+ and 6 x 40G

Don’t know about the Cisco 3k but the 9k’s are all poets enabled.
 

hatchi

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Nov 8, 2014
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What about using a 40g switch with breakouts?
I thought about it but going this path it means I have to replace all the DAC cables I have so keeping this option as last option

DCS-7050T-64-R ... save the money on all the SFPs; all ports enabled. Watch for them on ebay. Downside is it's noisy and draws 120-150 watts idle.
same issue with replacing cables but here replacement cables are cheap but I will have to replace all the nics in the servers or getting
SFP+10GBASE-T modules which I couldnt find for cheap
 

BoredSysadmin

Not affiliated with Maxell
Mar 2, 2019
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Cisco nexus 9372px or similar could work ok from eBay , probably get them for a grand or so.
48 x 10G sfp+ and 6 x 40G

Don’t know about the Cisco 3k but the 9k’s are all poets enabled.
Yeah, no bro. Nexus would only take Cisco's own or compatible DACs and SFPs
Otherwise, it's pretty much the industry standard.
 

Evan

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Jan 6, 2016
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Yeah, no bro. Nexus would only take Cisco's own or compatible DACs and SFPs
Otherwise, it's pretty much the industry standard.
True true, I know what a Cisco DAC costs though on discount and didn’t see that as the biggest issue, I assumed that they therefore should be readily available.
Given the weight probably costs half the value of 48 DAC’s to ship them :-O

(Not a joke but the Cisco 10G DAC is same price as a CAT7 RJ45 cable if you get the right discount)

Power consumption on the Cisco switch is terrible though !

Edit: just looked up used prices of the cisco, maybe only 3-5% residual value at 4/5 years of age !
 

tjk

Active Member
Mar 3, 2013
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granted at the prices 6650's seem to be going for now, arista is also a good choice (wtf happened to icx6650 prices?). Arista's can be unlocked to work with any optic/cable with an unlock code
The 6650's have at least recent firmware and not behind a paywall, can't say that about the Arista line. I'd try the arista but worried about getting firmware and when the last release was.

Anyone do something like @fohdeesha does but for the Arista line?
 

kiteboarder

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May 10, 2016
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Is there anything cool to do on an Arista switch other than updating the FW and getting the optics unlock code?

(It's a google search away...)
 

hatchi

Member
Nov 8, 2014
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Based on the price range of 6650 I think i will go with 7750
seems to me newer than 6650 (it has 8 10gbps ports less but I can live with that)

Aslo seems the switching speed is a bit higher that the 6650 which is important as i will use it as SAN switch

Do you have any suggestions ?