The H3C S6550XE-HI series is a cutting-edge, high-performance, high-density 25G/100G Ethernet switch developed by H3C using industry-leading professional ASIC technology. Designed as a next-generation Layer 3 Ethernet switch, it delivers exceptional security, IPv4/IPv6 dual-stack management and forwarding, and full support for static routing protocols as well as dynamic routing protocols including RIP, OSPF, BGP, and ISIS. The series also supports MPLS and offers a comprehensive suite of management and security features.
Whether deployed as an aggregation layer device in campus networks or as a core switch for small and medium-sized enterprises, the H3C S6550XE-HI series excels. In metro networks or industry-specific environments, it provides 10G/25G access to downstream switches while uplink connectivity via 40G/100G fiber or link aggregation connects seamlessly to core switches. Combined with other H3C products, it forms a complete, high-performance end-to-end IP network solution.
Key Port Configuration and Hardware Specifications
The H3C S6550XE-HI series features:
- 48 x SFP28 ports (25G, backward compatible with 10G)
- 8 x QSFP28 ports (100G, backward compatible with 40G)
- 1 x SFP port
- 5 fan module slots
- 2 power module slots
Available Model
S6550XE-56HF-HI: 48 SFP28 ports, 8 QSFP28 ports, 1 SFP port, 5 fan module slots, 2 power module slots.
Hardware Specifications
| Item | Specification |
| Model | S6550XE-56HF-HI |
| Switching Capacity (Full Duplex) | 4.8T / 48Tbps |
| Packet Forwarding Rate | 2000 Mpps |
| Dimensions (W × D × H) | 440 × 460 × 43.6 mm |
| Weight | ≤ 10 kg |
| Management Ports | 2 (RJ-45 or SFP optical) |
| Console Ports | 1 × Mini USB Console 1 × RJ-45 Serial Console (Only Mini USB active when both connected) |
| SFP Port | 1 |
| SFP28 Ports (25G/10G) | 48 |
| QSFP28 Ports (100G/40G) | 8 |
| Expansion Slots | None |
| Fan Slots | 5 (hot-swappable) |
| Power Module Slots | 2 (1+1 redundancy supported) |
Advanced Layer 2 & Layer 3 Features
MAC Address Table
- Black-hole MAC entries
- Per-port MAC learning limit
VXLAN & EVPN (Next-Gen Overlay)
- VXLAN Layer 2 / Layer 3 switching
- Centralized and Distributed Anycast Gateway
- BGP EVPN control plane
- OpenFlow + NetConf automated VXLAN deployment
Link Aggregation
- 100GE / 25GE port aggregation
- Static & dynamic (LACP) aggregation
- Cross-chassis LAG (MC-LAG)
- Maximum aggregation groups supported
Jumbo Frame
- Up to 9216 bytes
VLAN Capabilities
- 4K VLANs
- Port-based, Protocol-based, MAC-based, IP-subnet-based VLAN
- QinQ, Flexible QinQ, VLAN Mapping
- Voice VLAN
Routing Protocols
- IPv4/IPv6 static routing & dual stack
- RIPv1/v2, RIPng
- OSPFv1/v2/v3
- BGP4 / BGP4+ (IPv6)
- IS-IS / IS-ISv6
- Equal-cost multi-path (ECMP)
- Policy-based routing
- VRRP / VRRPv3
IPv6 Feature Suite
- ND, PMTU, ICMPv6, Telnet v6, SFTP v6, SNMP v6
- BFD v6, VRRPv3
- IPv6 Portal, IPv6 Tunnel, IPv6 SAVI
Spanning Tree
- STP / RSTP / MSTP
- Multiple spanning-tree instances
- Root Guard, BPDU Guard
Storm Control
- Percentage, PPS, or bps-based suppression for broadcast/multicast/unicast
Multicast
- PIM-DM, PIM-SM, PIM-SSM
Mirroring & Analytics
- Local & remote port mirroring (RSPAN)
- Layer 3 remote mirroring (ERSPAN)
- Flow-based sampling
- Telemetry real-time visualization
ACL & QoS
- 802.1p / DSCP remarking
- L2~L4 packet filtering
- SP / WRR / SP+WRR scheduling
- PQ / WFQ
- Port-based rate limiting (8 Kbps granularity)
- Flow redirection & time-range policies
Enterprise-Grade Security Features
- AAA, RADIUS, HWTACACS, LDAP
- 802.1X, MAC authentication, Portal authentication
- DHCP Snooping (IPv4/IPv6), Dynamic ARP Inspection (DAI)
- IP Source Guard, IPv6 SAVI / SAVA
- DoS / ARP / ICMP attack prevention
- CPU protection
- SSH2.0, HTTPS, PKI, IPSec/IKE/IKEv2
- EAD (Endpoint Admission Defense)
- Port isolation & port security
Management & Maintenance
- CLI, Telnet, Console configuration
- SNMP v1/v2c/v3, RMON, iMC NMS
- NETCONF, Python scripting, OpenFlow 1.3
- PTP precision timing (OC/BC/TC modes)
- NTP, system logs, hierarchical alarms
- IRF intelligent resilient framework (stacking)
- NQA, DLDP, Virtual Cable Test
- Ping, Tracert, debug output
Power and Environmental Specifications
Input Voltage
AC Power Module
- Rated: 100–240V AC, 50/60 Hz
- Max: 90–264V AC, 47–63 Hz
HVDC
- 192–300V DC
DC Power Module
- Rated: –48V to –60V DC
- Max: –40V to –72V DC
Power Consumption
| Configuration | Static | Full Load |
| Single AC | 93 W | 328 W |
| Dual AC | 105 W | 337 W |
| Single DC | 100 W | 342 W |
| Dual DC | 110 W | 350 W |
Operating Environment
- Temperature: –5°C to +45°C
- Humidity: 5%–95% (non-condensing)
Advanced Stacking and High Availability
The H3C S6550XE-HI supports 25G/100G stacking, enabling users to stack switches located in different physical locations via long-distance fiber connections. This creates a single logical entity from multiple distributed devices, achieving 1:N redundancy for enhanced network reliability and simplified management.
Powered by Comware V7 Software Platform
Built on H3C’s advanced Comware V7 operating system, the S6550XE-HI series achieves seamless wired and wireless integration. It can be extended with wireless controller capabilities, supporting local forwarding for both wired and wireless access layers. This eliminates bandwidth bottlenecks typical of traditional wireless controllers, significantly expands wireless deployment scale, and reduces overall investment costs.
Network Deployment Scenarios
The H3C S6550XE-HI is a 25G (compatible with 10G) / 100G (compatible with 40G) Ethernet switch positioned primarily as a campus network aggregation switch.
Scenario 1: Enterprise/Campus Network Aggregation Layer
In large and medium-sized enterprise or campus networks, the S6550XE-HI series serves as a high-performance aggregation switch, delivering massive switching capacity and 40G/100G uplink services.
Scenario 2: Metro Ring Network Application
The switch is ideal for metro ring topologies, providing robust performance and redundancy in metropolitan-area deployments.
Scenario 3: Media IP Network Application
In media broadcasting environments, the S6550XE-HI can be deployed as a distribution control switch under unified SDN controller management, enabling intelligent traffic scheduling and centralized control.
Why Choose H3C S6550XE-HI Series?
- Ultra-high 25G/100G port density
- Full IPv4/IPv6 and MPLS support
- Long-distance stacking for distributed architectures
- Comware V7 platform with wired/wireless convergence
- Rich routing protocols (RIP, OSPF, BGP, ISIS)
- Enterprise-grade security and management features
The H3C S6550XE-HI series currently includes the S6550XE-56HF-HI model, making it the perfect choice for organizations seeking future-proof 25G/100G aggregation and core switching capabilities.