United States
Q
What is the Dell Networking S4048-ON switch?
A
The Dell Networking S4048-ON is a fixed-configuration, top-of-rack data center switch featuring 48 10GbE SFP+ ports and 6 40GbE QSFP+ uplinks, designed for high-density, low-latency environments.
Q
What port configurations are available on the S4048-ON?
A
The S4048-ON offers 48 line-rate 10G SFP+ ports and six 40G QSFP+ uplinks, each convertible to four 10G ports via breakout cables for a total of up to 72 10GbE interfaces.
Q
What is the switching capacity and throughput of the S4048-ON?
A
It delivers 1.44 Tbps of non-blocking switching capacity and up to 1,074 Mpps forwarding rate, ensuring wire-speed performance for demanding data center workloads.
Q
Which operating systems and network OS options does the S4048-ON support?
A
The S4048-ON supports Dell OS10 Enterprise Edition, Dell Networking OS6, and third-party OS options including Cumulus Linux and VMware ESXi for open networking flexibility.
Q
Does the S4048-ON support software-defined networking (SDN)?
A
Yes, the S4048-ON is SDN-ready with support for OpenFlow, VM-FEX, and automation frameworks like Ansible and Chef via the Dell OS10 modular architecture.
Q
What virtualization features are available on the S4048-ON?
A
It supports VXLAN, NVGRE, GENEVE, EVPN, and VMware NSX integration to enable scalable overlay networks and microsegmentation in multi-tenant environments.
Q
How does high availability and link resilience work on the S4048-ON?
A
The S4048-ON provides MLAG for active-active link aggregation, Virtual Link Trunking for failover, non-disruptive firmware upgrades, and redundant power and fans to maximize network availability.
Q
What power supply and redundancy options does the S4048-ON offer?
A
The switch supports dual hot-swappable AC power supplies and redundant fan modules, with front-to-back or back-to-front airflow options for optimal cooling and uptime.
Q
What management and monitoring tools are available for the S4048-ON?
A
Management is via CLI, REST API, SNMP, Telnet/SSH, and integrated Dell OpenManage Network Manager, with support for syslog, sFlow, and LLDP for comprehensive monitoring.
Q
What security features are included in the S4048-ON?
A
It offers 802.1x port-based authentication, ACLs, DHCP snooping, ARP inspection, IP source guard, and RADIUS/TACACS+ integration to secure access and data traffic.
Q
Is the S4048-ON energy efficient?
A
Yes, it features low-power DC-DC converters, variable-speed fans, and Energy Efficient Ethernet (EEE) to reduce power consumption up to 40% compared to previous generations.
Q
What are the typical use cases for the S4048-ON?
A
Ideal for data center leaf-spine architectures, HPC clusters, storage networks, and cloud-scale deployments requiring high-port density and low latency.
Q
How does the S4048-ON support cloud and multi-tenant environments?
A
Through hardware-accelerated VXLAN, EVPN, VRF-lite, and API-driven automation, the S4048-ON simplifies overlay network deployment and tenant isolation in cloud infrastructures.
Q
What warranty and support options are available for the S4048-ON?
A
It comes with a Limited Lifetime Warranty, Next Business Day on-site hardware replacement, and ProSupport with optional 24x7 remote incident support and firmware upgrades.
Q
How can I upgrade firmware on the Dell S4048-ON?
A
Firmware upgrades are performed via CLI or Dell Repository Manager using the 'software install' command on OS10 or 'run firmware install' on OS6 for seamless updates.
Q
What QoS and traffic management features does the S4048-ON support?
A
The switch supports eight hardware queues per port, hierarchical QoS policies, class-based shaping, traffic policing, WRED, and DiffServ for granular traffic control.
Q
How scalable is the S4048-ON in large-scale deployments?
A
With support for up to 64 MLAG peers, EVPN multi-tenancy, and automated orchestration via Ansible and Terraform, it scales seamlessly in leaf-spine fabrics exceeding thousands of ports.
