juniper QFX Series QFX5220-32CD
The Juniper QFX5220-32CD is a 1U cloud-scale spine and leaf switch powered by Broadcom Tomahawk 3 silicon, providing 32 ports of 400GbE QSFP-DD. Delivering 25.6 Tbps of aggregate throughput and 5.35 Bpps forwarding rate, the QFX5220-32CD enables hyperscale cloud providers and AI training environments to build high-bandwidth, non-blocking 400G interconnect fabrics. Resellers and brokers trade the QFX5220-32CD as a premier 400G datacenter backbone asset with extensive multi-speed transceiver compatibility.
Specifications
| Brand | juniper |
|---|---|
| Family | QFX Series |
| Form factor | 1U fixed switch |
| Released | Sep 2019 |
| Ports | 32x 400GbE QSFP-DD ports |
| Switching capacity | 25.6 Tbps / 5.35 Bpps wire-speed forwarding capacity |
| Silicon | Broadcom Tomahawk 3 12.8T / 25.6T packet processing silicon |
| Multispeed | Supports 400G, 200G, 100G, 50G, and 40G transceiver modes and breakout cables |
| Cooling | High-efficiency redundant hot-swappable fan trays and power supplies |
Generations
- Previous generation: juniper QFX Series QFX5210-64C
Works together
How the juniper QFX Series QFX5220-32CD connects to servers, storage and the network: 4 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
HPE Edgeline EL8000 5U ruggedized edge system
HPE ProLiant DL160 Gen10 1U rack
HPE ProLiant DL180 Gen10 2U rack
HPE Apollo 4200 Gen10 2U rack
HPE Apollo 4510 Gen10 4U rack
HPE ProLiant DL20 Gen10 1U rack
Adapters for the server
540-BDRV Dell NVIDIA Mellanox ConnectX-7 Dual Port 400Gb/s NDR InfiniBand / 400GbE PCIe Gen5 Adapter
MCX75310AAS-NEAT NVIDIA ConnectX-7 Single-Port 400Gb/s NDR InfiniBand and 400GbE OSFP PCIe 5.0 x16 Adapter
Optics
MMA4Z00-NS NVIDIA NDR 400Gb/s OSFP 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
- HPE Edgeline EL8000 5U ruggedized edge system
- HPE ProLiant DL160 Gen10 1U rack
- HPE ProLiant DL180 Gen10 2U rack
- HPE Apollo 4200 Gen10 2U rack
- HPE Apollo 4510 Gen10 4U rack
- HPE ProLiant DL20 Gen10 1U rack
Optics
- MMA4Z00-NS NVIDIA NDR 400Gb/s OSFP Optical Transceiver
Hyperconverged cluster
Plan at least two 25GbE ports per node to two switches; all-NVMe clusters often move to 100GbE.
HCI nodes
HPE SimpliVity 325 Gen10 1U rack
HPE SimpliVity 380 Gen10 G 2U rack
HPE SimpliVity 325 Gen10 Plus v2 1U rack
HPE SimpliVity 380 Gen10 2U rack
Optics
- MMA4Z00-NS NVIDIA NDR 400Gb/s OSFP Optical Transceiver
GPU cluster fabric
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
HPE Apollo 6500 Gen10 Plus 4U rack
HPE Apollo 6500 Gen10 4U rack
Lenovo ThinkSystem SR860 V2 4U rack
Dell PowerEdge XE8545 4U rack
Lenovo ThinkSystem ST650 V2 tower
HPE ProLiant DL580 Gen10 4U rack
GPUs
NVIDIA Data Center GPU A100 SXM4 80GB SXM4 module
NVIDIA Data Center GPU A40 PCIe 4.0 dual-slot full-height full-length
NVIDIA Data Center GPU T4 PCIe low-profile half-height half-length
NVIDIA Data Center GPU Tesla V100 SXM2 32GB SXM2 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
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
Check compatibility with Juniper
Before you buy, confirm the exact configuration against the vendor's own lists: firmware levels, operating systems, adapters and optics that Juniper has tested with the juniper QFX Series QFX5220-32CD.
- Compatibility Juniper Hardware Compatibility Tool (optics and modules)
- Specifications Juniper TechLibrary
- Support Juniper Support
Equivalent models from other brands
FAQ
Can the QFX5220-32CD connect directly to 100GbE QSFP28 ports?
Yes, standard 100GbE QSFP28 optical transceivers operate directly in the QSFP-DD ports without adapters.
Does the switch run standard Junos OS or Junos OS Evolved?
The QFX5220 series supports Junos OS Evolved, a modern microservices-based network operating system.
Buying or selling QFX5220-32CD?
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
- Juniper QFX5220-32CD Product Overview, checked 2026-10-27
- Juniper QFX5220-32CD Datasheet, checked 2026-10-27