Dell PowerSwitch S5248F-ON
The Dell PowerSwitch S5248F-ON is a top-of-rack open networking 1U switch engineered for 25GbE cloud data centers, high-density server fabrics, and modern storage clusters. Featuring forty-eight 25GbE SFP28 ports, four 100GbE QSFP28 uplinks, and four 200GbE QSFP28-DD ports, it delivers 4.0 Tbps of non-blocking switching throughput with sub-microsecond latency. As an Open Network Install Environment (ONIE) switch, it supports third-party network operating systems (SONiC, Cumulus Linux) alongside Dell Enterprise SONiC and SmartFabric OS10. In the secondary market, it is the primary standard for 25GbE leaf-spine topologies. Buyers should verify airflow direction (I/O to PSU vs PSU to I/O) and OS10 license keys.
Also written as: PowerSwitch S5248F-ON, Dell S5248F-ON, S5248F 25GbE Switch
Specifications
| Brand | Dell |
|---|---|
| Family | PowerSwitch |
| Form factor | 1U rack |
| Released | Mar 2019 |
| Ports | 48x 25GbE SFP28 + 4x 100GbE QSFP28 + 4x 200GbE QSFP28-DD ports |
| Switching capacity | 4.0 Tbps (8.0 Tbps full duplex) |
| Power supply | Dual redundant hot-plug 750W AC or DC power supplies, normal or reverse airflow |
| Power draw | idle 190 W, typical 340 W, max 550 W (rack-density.com) |
Generations
- Previous generation: Dell PowerSwitch S4148F-ON
Compatible parts
Transceivers
407-BBOU Dell 10GbE SFP+ SR Optical Transceiver (850nm, 300m MMF)
407-BBOY Dell 100GbE QSFP28 SR4 Optical Transceiver (850nm, 100m MPO-12)
407-BCBF Dell 25GbE SFP28 SR Optical Transceiver (850nm, 100m MMF)
Cables
470-AATH Dell Networking Cable SFP+ to SFP+ 10GbE Passive Direct Attach Copper 1m
470-AATI Dell Networking Cable SFP+ to SFP+ 10GbE Passive Direct Attach Copper 3m
470-AATJ Dell Networking Cable SFP+ to SFP+ 10GbE Passive Direct Attach Copper 5m
470-AATO Dell Networking Cable QSFP+ to QSFP+ 40GbE Passive Direct Attach Copper 1m
470-AATP Dell Networking Cable QSFP+ to QSFP+ 40GbE Passive Direct Attach Copper 3m
470-BCIT Dell Networking Cable SFP28 to SFP28 25GbE Passive Direct Attach Copper 1m
470-BCIU Dell Networking Cable SFP28 to SFP28 25GbE Passive Direct Attach Copper 2m
470-BCIV Dell Networking Cable SFP28 to SFP28 25GbE Passive Direct Attach Copper 3m
470-BCIX Dell Networking Cable QSFP28 to QSFP28 100GbE Passive Direct Attach Copper 1m
470-BCIY Dell Networking Cable QSFP28 to QSFP28 100GbE Passive Direct Attach Copper 2m
470-BCIZ Dell Networking Cable QSFP28 to QSFP28 100GbE Passive Direct Attach Copper 3m
470-BCJA Dell Networking Breakout Cable QSFP28 to 4x SFP28 100GbE to 4x25GbE Passive DAC 1m
470-BCJB Dell Networking Breakout Cable QSFP28 to 4x SFP28 100GbE to 4x25GbE Passive DAC 2m
470-BCJC Dell Networking Breakout Cable QSFP28 to 4x SFP28 100GbE to 4x25GbE Passive DAC 3m
Works together
How the Dell PowerSwitch S5248F-ON connects to servers, storage and the network: 3 ways, with the parts and products on each path.
iSCSI and NVMe/TCP over Ethernet
Keep the speed the same at all three points: a 25GbE server, a 25GbE switch port and a 25GbE array port. Mixed speeds work but the slowest link sets the pace.
Servers
Dell PowerEdge MX840c blade
Dell PowerEdge MX750c blade
Dell PowerEdge MX760c blade
HPE ProLiant DL325 Gen10 Plus v2 1U rack
HPE ProLiant DL360 Gen10 Plus 1U rack
HPE ProLiant DL380 Gen10 Plus 2U rack
Adapters for the server
540-BBGY Dell Broadcom 57414 Dual Port 10/25GbE SFP28 PCIe Low Profile Network Adapter
540-BBHB Dell Broadcom 57414 Dual Port 10/25GbE SFP28 OCP 3.0 Mezzanine Network Adapter
540-BBJL Dell Mellanox ConnectX-4 Lx Dual Port 25GbE SFP28 Network Daughter Card (rNDC)
540-BCND Dell Mellanox ConnectX-6 Lx Dual Port 25GbE SFP28 PCIe Adapter
Storage
Dell Unity XT 380F 2U rack
Dell Unity XT 380XT 2U rack
Dell Unity XT 480F 2U rack
Dell Unity XT 480XT 2U rack
Dell Unity XT 680F 2U rack
Dell Unity XT 680XT 2U rack
Optics
- 407-BBOY Dell 100GbE QSFP28 SR4 Optical Transceiver (850nm, 100m MPO-12)
- 407-BCBF Dell 25GbE SFP28 SR Optical Transceiver (850nm, 100m MMF)
7G17A03537 Lenovo ThinkSystem 25Gb SFP28 SR Optical Transceiver
File storage (NFS and SMB)
Front-end ports face the clients; back-end ports (on scale-out systems) connect the nodes to each other and need their own switch pair.
Servers
- Dell PowerEdge MX840c blade
- Dell PowerEdge MX750c blade
- Dell PowerEdge MX760c blade
- HPE ProLiant DL325 Gen10 Plus v2 1U rack
- HPE ProLiant DL360 Gen10 Plus 1U rack
- HPE ProLiant DL380 Gen10 Plus 2U rack
Adapters for the server
- 540-BBGY Dell Broadcom 57414 Dual Port 10/25GbE SFP28 PCIe Low Profile Network Adapter
- 540-BBHB Dell Broadcom 57414 Dual Port 10/25GbE SFP28 OCP 3.0 Mezzanine Network Adapter
- 540-BBJL Dell Mellanox ConnectX-4 Lx Dual Port 25GbE SFP28 Network Daughter Card (rNDC)
- 540-BCND Dell Mellanox ConnectX-6 Lx Dual Port 25GbE SFP28 PCIe Adapter
Storage
- Dell Unity XT 380F 2U rack
- Dell Unity XT 380XT 2U rack
- Dell Unity XT 480F 2U rack
- Dell Unity XT 480XT 2U rack
- Dell Unity XT 680F 2U rack
- Dell Unity XT 680XT 2U rack
Optics
- 407-BBOY Dell 100GbE QSFP28 SR4 Optical Transceiver (850nm, 100m MPO-12)
- 407-BCBF Dell 25GbE SFP28 SR Optical Transceiver (850nm, 100m MMF)
- 7G17A03537 Lenovo ThinkSystem 25Gb SFP28 SR Optical Transceiver
Hyperconverged cluster
Plan at least two 25GbE ports per node to two switches; all-NVMe clusters often move to 100GbE.
HCI nodes
Lenovo ThinkAgile VX650 V2 2U rack
Lenovo ThinkAgile HX3320 1U rack
Adapters for the server
- 540-BBGY Dell Broadcom 57414 Dual Port 10/25GbE SFP28 PCIe Low Profile Network Adapter
- 540-BBHB Dell Broadcom 57414 Dual Port 10/25GbE SFP28 OCP 3.0 Mezzanine Network Adapter
- 540-BBJL Dell Mellanox ConnectX-4 Lx Dual Port 25GbE SFP28 Network Daughter Card (rNDC)
- 540-BCND Dell Mellanox ConnectX-6 Lx Dual Port 25GbE SFP28 PCIe Adapter
Optics
- 407-BBOY Dell 100GbE QSFP28 SR4 Optical Transceiver (850nm, 100m MPO-12)
- 407-BCBF Dell 25GbE SFP28 SR Optical Transceiver (850nm, 100m MMF)
- 7G17A03537 Lenovo ThinkSystem 25Gb SFP28 SR Optical Transceiver
Plan and size it
Power draw of the Dell PowerSwitch S5248F-ON: about 340 W typical and 550 W at full load, 1U. Measured figures on rack-density.com.
- Draw this setup in the topology planner mrplanb.com
- Add up rack power and space rack-density.com
- iSCSI explained mrplanb.com
- Virtualization storage Ledger: scored storage platforms mrplanb.com
- Network monitoring tools compared mrplanb.com
- Dell E-Lab Navigator (Dell interoperability) dell.com
Equivalent models from other brands
- Cisco Nexus 93180YC Fx
- Arista 7050SX3 48YC8
Buying a used S5248F-ON: what to check
Verify airflow direction on fan and power supply modules (Standard/Normal I/O-to-PSU vs Reverse PSU-to-I/O). Confirm whether Dell SmartFabric OS10 or open ONIE bootloader is installed, and test all 48 SFP28 ports.
FAQ
What network operating systems run on the S5248F-ON?
Dell SmartFabric OS10, Enterprise SONiC Distribution by Dell Technologies, or community open-source SONiC via ONIE.
What are the 200GbE ports on the S5248F-ON used for?
The four QSFP28-DD ports provide 200GbE uplinks or can be broken out into dual 100GbE connections for ultra-dense spine interconnects.
Buying or selling S5248F-ON?
New, refurbished or used. Tell us the quantity and condition and we connect you with a vetted reseller in your region, usually within one working day.
Sources
- Dell PowerSwitch S5248F-ON Spec Sheet, checked 2026-10-27