Tag Archives: QSFP28-100G-SR4

S6100-ON vs Z9100-ON: Which Dell 100GbE Switch to Choose?

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Whether you recognize it or not, 100GbE is right here, right now. As the industry’s first multi-rate 100GbE 1U Ethernet switch, Dell’s Z9100-ON sets a high standard for the competition to follow. Soon afterwards Dell launched 2U 100GbE switches S6100-ON. These two Dell 100GbE switches support for a wide range of port speeds allows early adopters to move to 25GbE now and upgrade to 40GbE, 50GbE or 100GbE when the price is right. Which one did you deploy now? And why did you make the choice?

Dell Z9100-ON 100GbE Switches
The Dell Networking Z9100-ON is a 100GbE top-of rack (ToR) fixed switch purpose-built for applications in high-performance data center and computing environments. Z9100-ON 100GbE switch has 32 fixed 100GbE QSFP28 ports and a couple of 10GbE SFP+ ports to one side. This also allows for up to 64 ports of 50GbE, 32 ports of 40GbE, 128 ports of 25GbE or 128+2 ports of 10GbE switching all within the same module. Dell has thoughtfully provided these to allow you to connect legacy servers or switches without wasting a 100GbE port.

Dell 100GbE Switch Z9100-ON
Dell S6100-ON 100GbE Switches
Dell Networking S6100-ON Multi-rate Fabric Switch is a customizable fixed form factor 100GbE switch with 4 bays and 3 unique modules. It allows customers to mix and match modules delivering greater flexibility and choice than anything on the market today for this technology.
1) 16 ports of 40GbE. With 4 of these modules, customers can have up to 64ports of 40GbE in just 2RU!
2) 8 ports of QSFP28. This allows for up to 8 ports of 100GbE, 16 ports of 40 or 50GbE, or 32 ports of 10 or 25GbE switching all within the same module.
3) 4 ports of QSFP28 and 4 ports of CXP. The CXP ports allow for interconnects with legacy 100GbE in customer’s existing data centers as well as 4 ports of the newer/lower cost QSFP28.

Dell 100GbE Switch S6100-ON

S6100-ON vs Z9100-ON
If you want to build 100G network, both S6100-ON and Z9100-ON 100GbE switches can meet your requirement. Z9100-ON has fixed 100G QSFP28 ports and 10G SFP+ ports, and S6100-ON has fixed 100G QSFP28 ports, 100G CXP ports and 40G QSFP28 ports. Therefore, compared to Z9100-ON 100GbE switch, S6100-ON seems has more flexibility. And the S6100-ON price is higher than Z9100-ON. You can choose the right one for your specific requirements. To better power up your Dell S6100-ON or Z9100-ON 100GbE switches, you may need some good quality but cost-effectiive 100G optics and cables. FS.COM (Fiberstore) provides Dell QSFP28-100G-SR4 transceivers at 400 dollars and QSFP-100G-CWDM4 transceivers at 1350 dollars. And all these two transceiver modules are in stock now for same-day shipping. Besides the optics, Dell 100GbE QSFP28 to QSFP28 cables and 4x25GbE QSFP28 to SFP28 cables are also offered in Fiberstore for your option.

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