Allied Telesis AT-X550-18XSPQm Product Information

Switches | Product Information

x550 Series

Stackable 10 Gigabit Intelligent Switches

The Allied Telesis x550 Series of stackable 10 Gigabit Layer 3

switches have capacity and resiliency coupled with easy management,
meeting the needs of even the most demanding network core and
distribution applications.

Overview

Allied Telesis x550 switches are high
performing and feature-rich, making
them the ideal choice for today’s
networks. They offer a range of versatile
solutions for many different Enterprise
applications.

Three models provide 16 x 1G/10G

copper, 16 x 1G/10G SFP+ slots, or
8 x 1G/2.5G/5G/10G copper and 8 x

1G/10G SFP+ slots, all with two 40G

uplinks. With the power of Allied Telesis
Virtual Chassis Stacking (VCStack™),
the x550 Series is ideal for the network
core, and demanding distribution
applications.

Powerful network management

Allied Telesis Autonomous
Management Framework
automates many everyday tasks
including configuration management,
to ease the workload of modern
converged networks. The entire
network can be managed as a
single virtual device with powerful
centralized features.

Network expansion is effortless with
plug-and-play simplicity, and network
node recovery is fully zero-touch.
AMF Guestnode allows third party
devices, such as IP phones and
security cameras, to be part of an
AMF network.

TM

(AMF)

Resiliency

Converging network services means
increasing demand for highly available
networks with minimal downtime.
VCStack, in conjunction with link
aggregation, provides a network with
no single point of failure, and provides
access application resiliency.

Ethernet Protection Switched Ring
(EPSRing™), and the standards-based

G.8032 Ethernet Ring Protection,
ensure distributed networks have high­speed access to online resources and
applications.

The x550 Series can form a VCStack of

up to four units for enhanced resiliency
and simplified device management.
Stacking links can use any port speed,
so the stack can be configured to suit
specific needs.

Long distance stacking (VCStack LD),
which enables stacks to be created over
long distance fiber links, combines with
full EPSRing support to make the x550
Series the perfect choice for distributed
environments too.

High-speed wireless

The spread of high-speed wireless

(802.11ac or “Wave2”) is problematic
for network infrastructure. Unless the
infrastructure is upgraded to cope
with increased speeds, it creates a
bottleneck which negatively impacts the
effectiveness of the wireless network.
But increasing speeds from 1 Gigabit
has traditionally meant moving to 10
Gigabit. This requires new cabling,
which is expensive and time consuming
to install.

The x550-18XSPQm solves these issues

because it provides support for 2.5 and
5 Gigabit. At this speed, the wireless
network runs at full capacity, and there
is no need to replace existing Cat5E and
Cat6 cables.

Secure

A secure network environment is

guaranteed. The x550 Series offers
powerful control over network traffic
types, secure management options,
loop guard to protect against cabling
mistakes, and tri-authentication for
comprehensive access control.

Future-proof

The x550 Series ensures a future-proof

network, with superior flexibility coupled
with the ability to stack multiple units. All
x550 Series models feature 40 Gigabit
uplinks ports, and support OpenFlow
and a comprehensive IPv6 feature set,
to ensure they are ready for SDN and
future network traffic demands.

Environmentally friendly

The x550 Series supports Energy

Efficient Ethernet (EEE), automatically
reducing the power
consumed by the switch
whenever there is no traffic
on a port. This sophisticated feature
can significantly reduce operating costs
by reducing the power requirements of
the switch and any associated cooling
equipment.

New/Key Features

ۼۼ Autonomous Management Framework

(AMF) Master

ۼۼ Continuous PoE

ۼۼ 40G uplinks

ۼۼ Stack using any port speed

ۼۼ 4 x 10G breakout cables for 40G ports

ۼۼ 2.5G for high-speed wireless

applications

ۼۼ OpenFlow v1.3

ۼۼ G.8032 Ethernet Ring Protection

ۼۼ Precision Time Protocol (PTP)

Transparent Mode

alliedtelesis.com

NETWORK SMARTER

x550 Series | Stackable 10 Gigabit Intelligent Switches

Key Features

Allied Telesis Autonomous
Management Framework (AMF)

ۼۼ Allied Telesis Autonomous Management

Framework (AMF) is a sophisticated suite of
management tools that provide a simplified
approach to network management. Powerful
features like centralized management, auto­backup, auto-upgrade, auto-provisioning and
auto-recovery enable plug-and-play networking
and zero-touch management.

ۼۼ Any x550 Series switch can operate as the

AMF network master, storing firmware and

configuration backups for other network nodes.
The AMF master enables auto-provisioning and
auto-upgrade by providing appropriate files to
new network members. New network devices
can be pre-provisioned making installation easy

because no on-site configuration is required.

ۼۼ AMF Guestnode allows Allied Telesis wireless

access points and further switching products, as
well as third party devices such as IP phones and
security cameras, to be part of an AMF net work.

Virtual Chassis Stacking (VCStack)

ۼۼ Create a VCStack of up to four units with

160 Gbps of stacking bandwidth to each unit.

Stacking links are connected in a ring so each
device has dual connections to further improve
resiliency. VCStack provides a highly available
system where network resources are spread out
across stacked units, reducing the impact if one
of the units fails. Aggregating switch ports on
different units across the stack provides excellent
network resiliency.

Long-Distance Stacking
(VCS tack-L D)

ۼۼ Long-distance stacking allows a VCStack to

be created over longer distances, perfect for a
distributed network environment.

Ethernet Protection Switched Ring
(EPSRing)

ۼۼ EPSRing and 10 Gigabit Ethernet allow several

x550 switches to form high-speed protected rings
capable of recovery within as little as 50ms. This
feature is perfect for high performance and high
availability in enterprise networks.

ۼۼ Super-Loop Protection (SLP) enables a link

between two EPSR nodes to be in separate EPSR
domains, improving redundancy and network fault
resiliency.

G.8032 Ethernet Ring Protection

ۼۼ G.8032 provides standards-based high-speed

ring protection, that can be deployed stand-alone,
or interoperate with Allied Telesis EPSR.

ۼۼ Ethernet Connectivity Fault Monitoring (CFM)

proactively monitors links and VL ANs, and
provides aler ts when a fault is detected.

Industry-leading Quality of Service
(QoS)

ۼۼ Comprehensive low-latency wire speed QoS

provides flow-based traffic management with
full classification, prioritization, traffic shaping
and min/max bandwidth profiles. Boosted
network performance and guaranteed delivery

of business-critical Ethernet services and
applications are provided. Time-critical ser vices
such as voice and video take precedence over
non-essential services such as file downloads,
maintaining responsiveness of Enterprise
applications.

Loop Protection

ۼۼ Thrash limiting, also known as rapid MAC

movement, detects and resolves network loops.
It is highly user-configurable — from the rate
of looping traffic to the type of action the switch
should take when it detects a loop.

ۼۼ With thrash limiting, the switch only detects a loop

when a storm has occurred, which can potentially
cause disruption to the network. To avoid this,
loop detection works in conjunction with thrash
limiting to send special Loop Detection Frame
(LDF) packets that the switch listens for. If a
port receives an LDF packet, you can choose
to disable the port, disable the link, or send an
SNMP trap. This feature can help to detect loops
before a network storm occurs, avoiding the risk
and inconvenience of traffic disruption.

Power over Ethernet Plus (PoE+)

ۼۼ With PoE, a separate power connection to media

endpoints such as IP phones and wireless access
points is not necessary. PoE+ reduces costs
and provides even greater flexibility, providing
the capability to connect devices requiring more
power (up to 30 Watts) such as pan, tilt and zoom
security cameras.

Continuous PoE

ۼۼ Continuous PoE allows the switch to be

restarted without affecting the supply of power
to connected devices. Smart lighting, security
cameras, and other PoE devices will continue to
operate during a software upgrade on the switch.

Voice VLAN

ۼۼ Voice VLAN automatically separates voice

and data traf fic into two different VL ANs. This
automatic separation places delay-sensitive traffic
into a voice- dedicated VLAN, which simplifies
QoS configurations.

Open Shortest Path First (OSPFv3)

ۼۼ OSPF is a scalable and adaptive routing protocol

for IP networks. The addition of OSPFv3 adds
support for IPv6 and further strengthens the Allied
Telesis focus on next generation networking.

sFlow

ۼۼ sFlow is an industry-standard technology for

monitoring high-speed switched networks. It
provides complete visibilit y into network use,
enabling performance optimization, usage
accounting/billing, and defense against security
threats. Sampled packets sent to a collector ensure
it always has a real-time view of network traffic.

VLAN Mirroring (RSPAN)

ۼۼ VLAN mirroring allows traffic from a por t on a

remote switch to be analyzed locally. Traffic being
transmitted or received on the port is duplicated
and sent across the network on a special VLAN.

Optical DDM

ۼۼ Most modern optical SFP/SFP+/X FP

transceivers support Digital Diagnostics
Monitoring (DDM) functions according to the

specification SFF-8472. This enables real

time monitoring of the various parameters of
the transceiver, such as optical output power,

temperature, laser bias current and transceiver
supply voltage. Easy access to this information
simplifies diagnosing problems with optical

modules and fiber connections.

Active Fiber Monitoring

ۼۼ Active Fiber Monitoring prevents eavesdropping

on fiber communications by monitoring received
optical power. If an intrusion is detected,

the link can be automatically shut down, or
an operator alert can be sent. Active Fiber

Monitoring is supported on fiber data and fiber
stacking links.

Tri-authentication

ۼۼ Authentication options on the x550 Series also

include alternatives to IEEE 802.1x port-based
authentication, such as web authentication, to
enable guest access and MAC authentication

for endpoints that do not have an IEEE 802.1x
supplicant. All three authentication methods—

IEEE 802.1x, MAC-based and Web-based—
can be enabled simultaneously on the same

port for tri-authentication.

TACACS+ Command Authorization

ۼۼ Centralize control of which commands may

be issued by a specific user of an AlliedWare

Plus device. TACACS+ command authorization
complements authentication and accounting
services for a complete AA A solution

Premium Software License

ۼۼ By default, the x550 Series offers a

comprehensive Layer 2 and basic Layer 3

feature set that includes static routing and IPv6

management features. The feature set can
easily be elevated to full Layer 3 by applying the

premium soft ware license. This adds dynamic

routing protocols and Layer 3 multicasting
capabilities.

VLAN ACLs

ۼۼ Simplify access and traffic control across entire

segments of the network. Access Control Lists
(ACLs) can be applied to a Virtual LAN ( VL AN )
as well as a specific port.

Software Defined Networking (SDN)

ۼۼ OpenFlow is a key technology that enables the

use of SDN to build smart applications that

unlock value and reduce cost.

Precision Time Protocol (PTP)

ۼۼ PTP (IEEE 1588v2) sychronizes clocks

throughout the network with micro-second
accuracy, supporting industrial automation and
control systems.

Multi-speed ports

ۼۼ Copper ports on the x550-18XSPQm support 2.5

and 5 Gigabit connectivity to enable high-speed

wireless, and the use of legacy Cat5E /6 cabling.

2 | x550 Series

x550 Series | Stackable 10 Gigabit Intelligent Switches

Key Solutions

Internet

Remote

VPN

x510L

x550

x230

x550

x230

Resilient distribution switching

Allied Telesis x550 Series switches are ideal for
distribution solutions, where resiliency and flexibility are
required. In the above diagram, distribution switches
utilize long-distance Virtual Chassis Stacking (VCStack­LD) to create a single virtual unit out of multiple devices.
By using fiber stacking connectivity, units can be
kilometers apart—perfect for a distributed environment.

Router

x510L

SBx8112

x510L

x550
x550

Server

Farm

When combined with link aggregation, VCStack provides
a solution with no single point of failure, and which fully
utilizes all available network bandwidth.

x550 switches provide a resilient and reliable distribution
solution to support all networks with business-critical online
resources and applications.

Network
Attached

Sorage

VCStack link
10 Gigabit link
1 Gigabit link
10/100 link
Link aggregation

NETWORK SMARTER

x550 Series | 3