Dell Force10 S60-44T White Paper

Victor Teeter

Expansion Modules for Dell™

PowerConnect™ and Dell Force10

Switches

A Dell technical white paper

v2.1

This document is for informational purposes only and may contain typographical errors and
technical inaccuracies. The content is provided as is, without express or implied warranties of any
kind.

© 2012 Dell Inc. All rights reserved. Dell and its affiliates cannot be responsible for errors or omissions
in typography or photography. Dell, the Dell logo, and PowerConnect are trademarks of Dell Inc. Other
trademarks and trade names may be used in this document to refer to either the entities claiming the
marks and names or their products. Dell disclaims proprietary interest in the marks and names of
others.

August 2012| Rev 2.1

Expansion Modules for Dell™ PowerConnect™ and Dell Force10 Switches

2

Contents

Introduction ............................................................................................................. 4

SFP+ Modules and Optic Requirements .......................................................................... 5

Blade Switches and Corresponding Modules ....................................................................... 6

Dell PowerConnect M8024-k ....................................................................................... 7

Dell PowerConnect M8024 .......................................................................................... 7

Dell PowerConnect M6220 .......................................................................................... 8

Dell Force10 MXL ..................................................................................................... 9

Dell PowerConnect M6348 .......................................................................................... 9

Rack Switches and Corresponding Modules ...................................................................... 10

Dell PowerConnect 8100 Series (8132, 8132F, 8164, and 8164F) ......................................... 11

Dell PowerConnect 7000 Series (7024, 7024P, 7024F, 7048, 7048P, 7048R, and 7048R -RA) ......... 12

Dell PowerConnect 62xx Series (6224, 6224P, 6224F, 6248, 6248P) ...................................... 13

About Dell................................................................................................................. 14

Figures

Figure 1. Example of an Expansion Module for Blade Switch .................................................. 6

Figure 2. Dell PowerConnect M8024-k Blade Switch (10G Ethernet) and Available Modules ............. 7

Figure 3. Dell PowerConnect M8024 Blade Switch (10G Ethernet) and Available Modules ............... 7

Figure 4. Dell PowerConnect M6220 Blade Switch (1G Ethernet) and Available Modules ................. 8

Figure 5. Dell Force 10 MXL Blade Switch (10/40G Ethernet) and Available Modules ..................... 9

Figure 6. Dell PowerConnect M6348 Blade Switch (1G Ethernet) ............................................. 9

Figure 7. Dell PowerConnect 8100 Series Switch (40/10G Ethernet) and Available Modules ........... 11

Figure 8. Dell PowerConnect 7000 Series Switch (1G Ethernet) and Available Modules ................ 12

Figure 9. Dell PowerConnect 62xx Series Switch (1G Ethernet) and Available Modules ................. 13

Expansion Modules for Dell™ PowerConnect™ and Dell Force10 Switches

3

Introduction

Dell™ offers several blade and rack-mounted switches that allow users to upgrade the hardware by
installing expansion modules. Thanks to Dell’s FlexIO technology, these modules can be used to
increase access ports, augment upstream bandwidth, extend media forms (10GBase-T, SFP+, QSFP+,
CX4, XFP), or add stacking capabilities. This document identifies each Dell PowerConnect switch and
its corresponding set of expansion modules.

The document is divided into two main areas: Blade Switches and Corresponding Modules lists and
describes modules for corresponding blade switches that install into a Dell M1000e blade chassis;
Rack Switches and Corresponding Modules lists and describes modules for corresponding rack-mounted
switches.

When possible, Dell allows for a module to be used in multiple devices. Customers who have purchased
a module for one device can freely move that module to another device when supported. There are
three groups of switches described in this document that can use the same modules interchangeably
within its group:

 PowerConnect M6220, 6224, 6224P, 6224F, 6248, and 6248P support the same expansion

modules.

 PowerConnect M8024 and M8024-k support the same expansion modules.
 PowerConnect 7024, 7024P, 7024F, 7048, 7048P 7048R, and 7048R-RA support the same

expansion modules.

 PowerConnect 8132, 8132F, 8164, 8164F and Dell Force10 MXL support the same expansion

modules.

NOTE: Whenever a module is moved from an MXL to an 8100 or vice versa, a reload of the switch is
required for proper functioning.

Unless noted, when two bays are available on a device, the same type of modules can be installed in
both bays at the same time, or two different modules can be installed at the same time, one in each
bay. Currently, there are no more than two expansion slots in any of the PowerConnect devices.
Listed below are all possible configurations:

 1 slot/bay available: empty
 1 slot/bay available: installed
 2 slots/bays available: empty / empty
 2 slots/bays available: installed / empty
 2 slots/bays available: empty / installed
 2 slots/bays available: installed / installed

NOTE: In the last bullet above, any two modules may be installed, whether they are the same or
different types, unless noted in the module description (for example, the stacking modules for the 62xx
and M6220 can only be installed in bay 1).

There are several CX4 expansion modules available for PowerConnect switches. Each CX4 module listed
below shows whether it has a clip-style or screw-style connector. Regardless of the type of connection
required, Dell has cables available to complete all CX4 connections. One such cable includes a CX4

Expansion Modules for Dell™ PowerConnect™ and Dell Force10 Switches

4

clip-style on one end and a CX4 screw-style on the other, which may be required when connecting

Port Type /
Switch

SFP+ expansion module ports

SFP+ fixed ports

M6220

10G only

n/a

M8024

10G only

n/a

M8024-k

10G only

1G and 10G

Force10 MXL

1G and 10G

n/a

62XX

10G only

n/a

70XX

1G and 10G

n/a

81XX

1G and 10G

1G and 10G

certain devices.

SFP+ Modules and Optic Requirements

When selecting optic transceivers or cables for SFP+ modules described in this document, it is
important to understand that while some SFP+ ports will accept both 1G and 10G, not all do. As seen
in the table below, most fixed port SFP+ ports on Dell PowerConnect and Force10 switches allow both
10G and 1G SFP+ optics; however, the expansion module ports often allow only 10G optics.

PowerConnect switches that do not accept expansion modules are not listed in the table above, even
though they may contain SFP+ fixed ports (e.g. M6348 and 8000 series).

Expansion Modules for Dell™ PowerConnect™ and Dell Force10 Switches

5