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Dell PowerSwitch S5448F-ON

CurrentNetwork1U switch

The Dell PowerSwitch S5448F-ON is an ultra-high-density 1U open networking leaf switch delivering 48 100GbE SFP56/SFP-DD ports and eight 400GbE QSFP-DD uplinks. Purpose-built for AI model training clusters, NVMe-over-Fabrics (NVMe-oF) storage backbones, and next-generation cloud fabrics, the S5448F-ON provides 8.0 Tbps switching bandwidth and line-rate telemetry monitoring.

Also written as: PowerSwitch S5448F-ON, Dell S5448F-ON, S5448F 100GbE/400GbE Switch

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Specifications

Brand	Dell
Family	PowerSwitch S-Series
Form factor	1U switch
Released	May 2022
Port configuration	48x 100GbE SFP56/SFP-DD ports + 8x 400GbE QSFP-DD uplink ports
Switching capacity	8.0 Tbps non-blocking switching throughput
Operating system	ONIE; supports Dell SmartFabric OS10, Enterprise SONiC, and Linux NOS
Telemetry	In-band Network Telemetry (INT), streaming telemetry, and RoCEv2 flow congestion control
Power supply	Dual redundant hot-plug 1500W Platinum power supplies with hot-swappable fan modules

Generations

Previous generation: Dell PowerSwitch S5248F-ON

Compatible parts

Transceivers

407-BCBI Dell 32Gb Short Wave SFP28 Fibre Channel Optical Transceiver
407-BCBF Dell 25GbE SFP28 SR Optical Transceiver (850nm, 100m MMF)

Rail kits

770-BCKW Dell ReadyRails II Sliding Rails for 2U PowerEdge Servers (B6)

Works together

How the Dell PowerSwitch S5448F-ON connects to servers, storage and the network: 4 ways, with the parts and products on each path.

iSCSI and NVMe/TCP over Ethernet File storage (NFS and SMB)Hyperconverged cluster GPU cluster fabric

iSCSI and NVMe/TCP over Ethernet

Server10/25/100GbE NICEthernet switchstorage VLAN, two switchesStorage arrayiSCSI or NVMe/TCP ports

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

Adapters for the server

540-BDBX Dell NVIDIA Mellanox ConnectX-6 Dx Dual Port 100GbE QSFP56 PCIe Adapter
540-BDCF Dell Intel E810-CQDA2 Dual Port 100GbE QSFP28 PCIe Gen4 Adapter
540-BDCP Dell Broadcom 57508 Dual Port 100GbE QSFP56 PCIe Gen4 Adapter
540-BDCQ Dell Broadcom 57508 Dual Port 100GbE QSFP56 OCP 3.0 Adapter

Storage

Dell PowerMax 2500 4U multi-node rack
Dell PowerMax 8500 system bay multi-enclosure
Dell PowerStore 1200T 2U rack
Dell PowerStore 3200T 2U rack
Dell PowerStore 5200T 2U rack
Dell PowerStore 9200T 2U rack

Optics

407-BBOY Dell 100GbE QSFP28 SR4 Optical Transceiver (850nm, 100m MPO-12)
QSFP-100G-CWDM4-AR Arista 100GBASE-CWDM4 QSFP28 Optical Transceiver Module
QSFP-100G-LR4-AR Arista 100GBASE-LR4 QSFP28 Optical Transceiver Module

iSCSI and NVMe/TCP over Ethernet: how it fits together

File storage (NFS and SMB)

Server or clientEthernet NICEthernet switchdata or storage VLANNAS or scale-outNFS, SMB, S3 ports

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

Adapters for the server

540-BDBX Dell NVIDIA Mellanox ConnectX-6 Dx Dual Port 100GbE QSFP56 PCIe Adapter
540-BDCF Dell Intel E810-CQDA2 Dual Port 100GbE QSFP28 PCIe Gen4 Adapter
540-BDCP Dell Broadcom 57508 Dual Port 100GbE QSFP56 PCIe Gen4 Adapter
540-BDCQ Dell Broadcom 57508 Dual Port 100GbE QSFP56 OCP 3.0 Adapter

Storage

Optics

407-BBOY Dell 100GbE QSFP28 SR4 Optical Transceiver (850nm, 100m MPO-12)
QSFP-100G-CWDM4-AR Arista 100GBASE-CWDM4 QSFP28 Optical Transceiver Module
QSFP-100G-LR4-AR Arista 100GBASE-LR4 QSFP28 Optical Transceiver Module

File storage (NFS and SMB): how it fits together

Hyperconverged cluster

HCI nodedrives plus 25GbETwo Ethernet switchesstorage and VM trafficMore HCI nodesthree or more

Plan at least two 25GbE ports per node to two switches; all-NVMe clusters often move to 100GbE.

HCI nodes

Adapters for the server

540-BDBX Dell NVIDIA Mellanox ConnectX-6 Dx Dual Port 100GbE QSFP56 PCIe Adapter
540-BDCF Dell Intel E810-CQDA2 Dual Port 100GbE QSFP28 PCIe Gen4 Adapter
540-BDCP Dell Broadcom 57508 Dual Port 100GbE QSFP56 PCIe Gen4 Adapter
540-BDCQ Dell Broadcom 57508 Dual Port 100GbE QSFP56 OCP 3.0 Adapter

Optics

407-BBOY Dell 100GbE QSFP28 SR4 Optical Transceiver (850nm, 100m MPO-12)
QSFP-100G-CWDM4-AR Arista 100GBASE-CWDM4 QSFP28 Optical Transceiver Module
QSFP-100G-LR4-AR Arista 100GBASE-LR4 QSFP28 Optical Transceiver Module

Hyperconverged cluster: how it fits together

GPU cluster fabric

GPU serverone 200/400G NIC per GPUInfiniBand or RoCE switchrail-optimisedStorage and other GPU serversseparate storage network

InfiniBand adapters and switches must match the generation: HDR is 200Gb, NDR is 400Gb. VPI adapters such as ConnectX-6 and ConnectX-7 can run either InfiniBand or Ethernet.

Servers

GPUs

AMD Instinct MI210 PCIe 4.0 dual-slot full-height full-length
NVIDIA Data Center GPU H100 SXM5 80GB SXM5 module
NVIDIA Data Center GPU A800 PCIe 80GB PCIe dual-slot full-height full-length
AMD Instinct MI300X OAM (OCP Accelerator Module)

Adapters for the server

540-BCVE Dell NVIDIA Mellanox ConnectX-6 VPI Single Port 200Gb/s HDR InfiniBand / 200GbE PCIe Adapter
540-BDDW Dell NVIDIA Mellanox ConnectX-6 VPI Dual Port 200Gb/s HDR InfiniBand / 200GbE PCIe Adapter
540-BDRV Dell NVIDIA Mellanox ConnectX-7 Dual Port 400Gb/s NDR InfiniBand / 400GbE PCIe Gen5 Adapter
MCX556A-ECAT NVIDIA ConnectX-5 VPI Dual-Port 100Gb/s EDR InfiniBand and 100GbE QSFP28 PCIe 3.0 x16 Adapter

GPU cluster fabric: how it fits together

Plan and size it

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

Check compatibility with Dell

Before you buy, confirm the exact configuration against the vendor's own lists: firmware levels, operating systems, adapters and optics that Dell has tested with the Dell PowerSwitch S5448F-ON.

Compatibility Dell E-Lab Navigator (storage and SAN interoperability) (free vendor sign-in)
Support Dell Support: drivers, manuals and service tag lookup

Equivalent models from other brands

Buying a used PowerSwitch S5448F-ON: what to check

Confirm 400GbE QSFP-DD optical module recognition, test 100GbE SFP56 ports, verify airflow direction across fan trays, and check dual 1500W high-efficiency power supplies.

FAQ

Can the 400GbE QSFP-DD ports be used for 100GbE breakouts?

Yes, each 400GbE QSFP-DD port can be split into 4x 100GbE or 2x 200GbE interfaces using breakout cables.

Does the S5448F-ON support RoCEv2 lossless fabric profiles?

Yes, Priority Flow Control (PFC) and Explicit Congestion Notification (ECN) are natively pre-tuned for lossless RoCEv2 storage.

Buying or selling PowerSwitch S5448F-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.

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Sources

Dell PowerSwitch S5400 Series Spec Sheet, checked 2026-10-27