Which 10GBe switches should I go for: Dell S4820T or N4032 ?

[nickdd]

Hi,

I want to upgrade my setup to 10 Gbe and would therefore buy a pair of 10 Gbe switches (to have a redundant setup).

I would also mix all my traffic types on the same 10 Gbe NIC (vmotion, management, internet, iscsi, VSAN-traffic).

I can't decide if I should go for the Dell S-series S4820-T or Dell N-series N4032 switches.

I think both look great but would there be a difference in performance for VSAN ?

It's only a small 6-node VSAN setup, so I guess both are fine.

Any recommendations ?

Thanks !

[crosdorff]

The packet buffer for both switches is identical (9MB).

Forwarding rate for the N4032 is a bit smaller. (476Mpps vs. 960Mpps)

However for a small setup the N4032 should be sufficient.

[zdickinson]

We use the Dell N series with a 3 node setup and have been happy with the feature set and performance.  Thank you, Zach.

[nickdd]

will go for the N4032 then. Both switches support openflow, but the N4032 also has a web interface which I find handy if you only have to tinker with the config once or twice a year.

thanks for the feedback.

[joergriether]

The N4032 is an excellent switch - we have many of em - also N4064 - no probs at all.