Users Guide
PowerEdge MX Ethernet I/O modules
The Dell EMC PowerEdge MX7000 supports the following Ethernet modules: MX9116n Fabric Switching Engine, MX7116n Fabric Expander
Module, and MX5108n Ethernet Switch. For detailed information, see the Dell EMC PowerEdge MX7000 documentation.
• The MX9116n Fabric Switching Engine is a scalable L2/L3 switch designed that provides high-bandwidth, low-latency 25GE
networking; for example, in private cloud and software-dened storage (SDS) networks. This high-end switch oers:
– Sixteen 25GE server-facing ports
– Twelve double-density QSFP (QSFP28-DD) ports that you can use to connect to Fabric Expanders or break out to: 8x10GE,
8x25GE, or 4x50GE ports for connection to rack servers or other Ethernet devices, or 2x40GE/2x100GE ports for uplinks,
connection to SAN storage, and switch interconnects.
– Two single-density QSFP28 ports that operate in 1x100GE, 2x50GE, 1x40GE, 4x25GE, or 4x10GE mode.
– Two QSFP28 unied ports that operate in Ethernet or Fibre Channel 1x100GE, 1x40GE, 4x25GE, 4x10GE, 2x50GE, or 4x32GFC,
2x32GFC, 1x32GFC, or 4x16GFC mode.
• The MX7116n Fabric Expander Module operates as an unmanaged Ethernet repeater to connect servers to the Fabric Switching Engine
using QSFP28-DD connections. The Expander Module oers:
– Sixteen 25GE server-facing ports
– Two QSFP28-DD ports for connection to a Fabric Switching Engine
• The MX5108n Ethernet Switch is a basic Ethernet switch designed to provide high-performance, low-latency networking for single
MX7000 chassis installations. It provides FCoE transit, but no native Fibre Channel functionality, and oers:
– Eight 25GE server-facing ports
– Two 100GE QSFP28 uplink ports
– One 40GE QSFP+ uplink port
– Four 10GBase-T uplink ports
For more information, see:
• Unied port groups — Ethernet and Fibre Channel interfaces
• Double-density QSFP28 interfaces
• Single-density QSFP28 interfaces
• Server-facing interfaces
• Virtual ports
Operating modes
The MX9116n Fabric Switching Engine and the MX5108n Ethernet Switch operate in Full Switch and SmartFabric modes. A switch that is
included in a SmartFabric is automatically placed in SmartFabric mode. A switch that is not part of a SmartFabric is automatically placed in
Full Switch mode. To verify the currently congured mode, enter the show switch-operating-mode command.
OS10# show switch-operating-mode
Switch-Operating-Mode : Smart Fabric Mode
To change the mode, use the OpenManage Enterprise - Modular graphical user interface (GUI). You cannot change the operating mode
using the OS10 CLI. For more information, see the Dell EMC OpenManage Enterprise - Modular documentation.
Full Switch mode
PowerEdge MX Ethernet switches operate in Full Switch mode by default. In Full Switch mode, all OS10 CLI commands and features
supported by the hardware are available.
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