S6730S-H24X6C-A

The Huawei S6730S-H24X6C-A is a high-performance, fixed 10 Gigabit Ethernet (GE) switch, part of Huawei’s CloudEngine S6730-H series. The “H” in the model name indicates its position as a high-end, next-generation enterprise-class core and aggregation switch, built with a strong focus on high performance, reliability, cloud management capabilities, and intelligent operations and maintenance (O&M). The “-A” suffix denotes that it is an AC (Alternating Current) powered model.

This series is particularly notable for integrating advanced features like native Wireless AC functionality and robust security, making it suitable for demanding enterprise campus networks, data centers, and various other high-performance scenarios.

Here’s an introduction to its key features and typical applications:

Key Features:

• Fixed Ports:
  • 24 x 10GE SFP+ ports: Provides high-density 10 Gigabit fiber connectivity, ideal for connecting numerous servers in a data center (as a Top-of-Rack or access switch) or for aggregating traffic from access layer switches in a campus environment. These ports support auto-sensing down to 1GE speeds.
  • 6 x 40/100GE QSFP28 ports: This is a significant feature, offering versatile high-bandwidth uplinks. These six ports can operate as either 40 Gigabit Ethernet or 100 Gigabit Ethernet. Each 40GE QSFP+ port can also typically be broken out into four 10GE SFP+ ports, providing additional 10GE flexibility if needed. This flexibility ensures it can adapt to various uplink requirements.
• Dual Pluggable Power Supply Slots: The switch features two power supply slots, enabling 1+1 power redundancy. This is crucial for maximizing availability and ensuring continuous network operation. It supports both AC (e.g., 600W AC power modules) and DC (e.g., 1000W DC power modules) options, which are typically purchased separately.
• No Extended Slots: This model has a fixed port configuration and does not support additional extended slots for modular interface cards.
• Superior Performance:
  • Switching Capacity: Up to 2.4 Tbit/s (Terabits per second). This ensures wire-speed, non-blocking forwarding across all its ports, even under heavy traffic loads.
  • Packet Forwarding Rate: Up to 490 Mpps (Million packets per second), indicating its highly efficient processing of a massive volume of network packets.
  • Large MAC Address Table: Supports a large MAC address table (e.g., up to 384K MAC address entries), accommodating extensive network deployments.
• Intelligent Network Capabilities (“IDN-Ready”):
  • Native Wireless AC Function: A key differentiator, this switch can function as a built-in Wireless Access Controller (AC), capable of managing a large number of Access Points (APs) directly (e.g., up to 1024 APs). This simplifies wired and wireless network convergence, reducing the need for standalone AC hardware and streamlining management.
  • Super Virtual Fabric (SVF): Allows for network virtualization, where the entire network (core/aggregation, access switches, and APs) can be virtualized into a single “super switch.” This vastly simplifies network management, configuration, and O&M.
  • VXLAN Support: Supports Virtual Extensible LAN (VXLAN) for network virtualization. This is essential for building agile, scalable, and multi-tenant cloud-ready data center and campus networks. It supports both centralized and distributed VXLAN gateways and BGP EVPN for dynamic tunnel establishment.
  • Free Mobility: Enables consistent user experience regardless of location, supporting policies that follow users across the network.
  • Intelligent O&M with Telemetry and iPCA: Supports advanced monitoring technologies like Telemetry for real-time device data collection and iPCA (Packet Conservation Algorithm for Internet) for granular, real-time network quality monitoring and precise fault location without dedicated probes or simulated traffic.
  • Built-in Security Probes: Includes capabilities for abnormal traffic detection, Encrypted Communications Analytics (ECA) to identify malicious encrypted traffic, and network-wide threat deception (honeypot functionality) for enhanced security.
  • IEEE 1588v2 Protocol Support: For high-precision time and clock synchronization, critical for industries with stringent timing requirements.
• Comprehensive Security Policies: Integrates robust security features:
  • Defense against various DoS attacks, ARP, and ICMP flood attacks.
  • DHCP snooping, IP source guard, strict ARP learning.
  • 802.1X, MAC address authentication, and portal authentication for granular user and device access control.
  • MACsec (Media Access Control Security) support to protect Ethernet frames with hardware-based encryption.
• Advanced Quality of Service (QoS): Provides sophisticated QoS mechanisms to prioritize critical services:
  • Flexible traffic classification, policing, and shaping.
  • Multiple queue scheduling algorithms (WRR, DRR, PQ, WRR+PQ, DRR+PQ) and WRED (Weighted Random Early Detection) for congestion avoidance.
• High Reliability: Designed for maximum network uptime:
  • 1+1 power redundancy, hot-swappable power and fan modules.
  • Extensive set of redundancy protocols: STP/RSTP/MSTP, Huawei-developed Smart Ethernet Protection (SEP), and G.8032 ERPS (Ethernet Ring Protection Switching) for millisecond-level protection switchover.
  • E-trunk for inter-device link aggregation and BFD for rapid fault detection.
• Flexible Management and iStack:
  • iStack Technology: Allows multiple physical switches to be virtualized into a single logical switch for simplified management and enhanced scalability. Any 10GE SFP+ or 40GE/100GE QSFP28 ports can be configured as stack ports.
  • Supports various management interfaces, including CLI, Web-based NMS, SNMPv1/v2c/v3, and cloud-based management platforms (e.g., Huawei CampusInsight).

Typical Applications:

• Enterprise Campus Core or Aggregation Layer: Ideal as a high-performance core or aggregation switch in large enterprise or educational campus networks, providing high-density 10GE access for demanding user groups and robust 40/100GE uplinks to the backbone.
• Data Center Access/Spine Layer: Can serve as a high-density 10GE Top-of-Rack (ToR) switch for servers or as a compact spine switch in smaller to medium-sized data center fabrics, leveraging its 40/100GE ports for high-bandwidth inter-switch connectivity. Its VXLAN capabilities are particularly valuable here.
• Wired and Wireless Convergence: With its native AC capabilities, it’s a strong choice for organizations looking to unify their wired and wireless network management, simplifying operations and reducing hardware costs.
• Next-Generation Networks Requiring Intelligent O&M and Security: Suitable for environments that prioritize advanced monitoring, proactive threat detection, and a high degree of automation in network operations.

The S6730S-H24X6C-A is a powerful and versatile switch designed for building modern, high-performance, and intelligent networks that demand significant 10GE access density, flexible 40/100GE uplinks, and a rich set of advanced features for security, virtualization, and streamlined management.