22 Jan 2021 RUCKUS Introduces ICX 7550 Switches

Posted at 13:27h in Ruckus Wireless by Karolina Maciulyte

CommScope RUCKUS Introduces ICX 7550 Switches

CommScope RUCKUS introduces ICX 7550 fixed form-factor switches that offer 2.5/5/10 GbE ports, 90W Power over Ethernet (PoE) and 100 Gbps uplinks. This blog will be looking at the 7550 switch series in detail and finding out how each switch stacks up for today and tomorrows connectivity.

The NEW CommScope RUCKUS ICX 7550 campus switch series comes in eight different models, offering a broad set of solutions for many kinds of deployment scenarios.

What’s unique about the NEW ICX 7550 Switches?

The most significant update with the ICX 7550 series, is that it brings multigigabit and fibre capability as a mid-range option. The ICX 7550 series delivers connectivity to the next generation of access points (APs), offering larger PoE for devices, more throughput, capacity, and user connectivity.

The RUCKUS ICX 7550 provides the premium performance required for Wi-Fi 6 deployment and beyond, with up to 48 ports of multigigabit connectivity
Full 90 watts of 802.3bt PoE power per port with perpetual* and fast-boost PoE support
The ICX 7550 offers 100 GbE uplinks, enabling businesses to increase their network capacity, whilst using their existing optical wire infrastructure
All eight switches can be stacked together and overall stacking density with up to 12 switches per stack

*Perpetual PoE keeps PoE devices powered without disruptions when a switch is restarted or updating software.

An in-depth look into the NEW ICX 7550 switches

ICX 7550 with 24/48 non-PoE

Ruckus icx 7550 switch 48 Port & 24 Ports

Purple – These ports are 1G each, in both the 24 and 48 port models.

Yellow – These additional ports provide 40G each, in both models. These are known as the dual-mode ports and can either be configured for stacking or standard ethernet uplink.

Blue – An optional modular port supports either, 2×40 GbE QSFP+ if you’re stacking under the built-in 40GbE for uplinks or 4×10 GbE SFP+ with MACsec.

These switches are perfect for connecting wireless Wi-Fi access points, laptops, desktops, printer, scanners and VoIP phones.

ICX 7550 – 24P/48P with PoE – 802.3at

Purple – These ports are 1G each, in both the 24 and 48 port models.

Yellow – These additional ports provide 40G each, in both models. These are known as the dual-mode ports and can either be configured for stacking or standard ethernet uplink.

Blue – An optional modular port supports either, 2×40 GbE QSFP+ if you’re stacking under the built-in 40GbE for uplinks or 4×10 GbE SFP+ with MACsec.

BENEFIT: The ICX 7550-24/48 with PoE – 802.3at switches are the same as the ICX7550-24/48 model, except these switches support PoE type 1 and PoE type 2 called PoE+. This means that these switches carry up to 30W per port PoE and because it’s using the same power supply as the multigigabit switch (supporting 90W of 802.3bt power), it creates a increased power budget of up to 2000W meaning greater bandwidth.

These switches are perfect for wireless acccess points (APs) up to Wi-Fi 5 and other PoE devices.

ICX 7550 – 24 ZB/48 ZB

Ruckus ICX 7550 zb multigigabit switch units

Purple – The 7550-24ZB switch has 12 ports of multigigabit-Lite that supports 1G and 2.5G.

Red – 12-port offers a full multi-gig 1G, 2.5G, 5G and 10G.

BENEFIT: This option, gives you more options. For instance, if you have access points that support only 2.5G ports, you can connect them on the multigigabit Lite ports highlighted in purple, and also, if you’re looking to futureproof your latest desktop that nowadays easily supports a 10G ports highlighted in red.

Yellow – The dual-ports come with 40G (These multigigabit switches are customed designed to support the latest PoE of up to 90W with high PoE budget 802.3Bt standard, supporting up to 300 GbE which works with 100 GbE uplink ports).

BENEFIT: The RUCKUS ICX 7550 multigigabit switches can run at 100 GbE. With the 7550-24ZB switch, only one port can be used as a 100G and the other port would be disabled, however, the ICX 7550-48ZB switch supports 200G, meaning both ports can be used at 100G. This creates greater bandwidth. These switches will soon be supporting 100 GbE speed for stacking (once updated software is released).

Blue – The modular slot just like the previous switches, supports 1 GbE RJ45/SPF, 10 GbE SPF+, 40 GbE QSFP+ and/or additional 100 GbE QSFP+ can be installed.

BENEFIT: RUCKUS ICX 7550 multigigabit switches provide a lot more flexibility. For instance, on the PoE side, it supports four PoE capabilities: 15W, 30W, 60W and 90W. If you’re looking to power an access point, most wireless APs today wouldn’t need more than 60W, but many devices like the LCD signage used in airport, lobbies or a conference room will require a 90W. However, to future proof for the next five years and for future generations of Wi-Fi access points, this would be a go-to switch.

Companies that are investing in switches for the next five, seven or even ten years will need multigigabit switches, especially if they are planning on connecting Wi-Fi 6 access points. If you don’t think you need it now, you most probably will need it in the very near future.

ICX 7550 – 24 F/48 F

Fibre models are targeted primarily as entry-level aggregation switches.

Purple – 36 ports at 1 GbE.

Red – The 24F switch has a full port of 10 GbE SFp+
The 48F has 12 ports at 10 GbE.

Yellow – Fibre switches have 40G ports that can be converted to 100 GbE for the 24F and 200 GbE for the 48F. Likewise, the fibre switch will be able to stack two of the 100 GbE ports for stacking over fibre links and over distance up to 10km to maximum deployment.

BENEFIT: The fibre switches come with a mix of 1G and 10G aggregation or fibre to the room and a smart building network solution.

Back of the ICX 7550 Switch

The above image is the back of the PoE model.

Yellow – It comes with three fans they can be hot-swappable.

Blue – Dual hot-swappable power supplies the PoE and non-PoE switches, depending on the model.

Orange – OOB management with RJ-45 serial console port and ethernet port and a USB storage port which can be used for storing logs, loading the latest version of the software, typically in a lab environment. This makes it easier to use a USB storage port to upload files and data rather than connect it to an FDB server.

The RUCKUS ICX 7550 ZP models comes with an antenna plug, used for specific deployments when it becomes essential for a switch to have accurate time synchronisation (NTP).

The RUCKUS ICX 7550 switch series delivers high-performance, secure and straightforward network underlay, offering a versatile fixed form portfolio. If you would like to find out more about the new RUCKUS ICX 7550 switches you can:

Call us: +44 (0) 1488 647 647

Check out our RUCKUS ICX 7550 general specifications page HERE where you can find more details on each switch.