Thoughts on the Aruba cx 6100 switch?

[CraigM]

Hi everyone,

 

I'm about to put my 2nd Aruba cx 6100 switch into production later today, replacing an old HP 2620 model. I was just wondering what others who use this switch model think? Things that I like are:

• Love how quiet the PoE model is compared to all our previous HP/Aruba PoE switches
  
• Love that the 24 port model isn't super deep or heavy
  
• Solid build quality
  
• USB-C console connector (hooray for this becoming the universal standard now)
  

Things I don't like:

• The web UI is far faster than on the older series, but it is far less polished overall
  
• The CLI is a bit more confusing to use compared to the old switch series
  
• The way VLANS are configured messed up my brain compared to what I had gotten used to on the old series
  
• Addings ports to VLANS is so much more tedious than on the old series
  
• Firmware size is huge, really seems bloated compared to the old series
  

Honestly, I do like the sheer hardware upgrades over the 2530/2540 series, but I really don't like the new AOS-CX switch OS - I feel it's almost more suited for programmers or something vs a simple network admin. The old AOS switch OS really worked so well and the best part is that most of what you learned on old HP ProCurve switches just kept on being carried forward into the newer models.

 

I'd really love to hear your thoughts and views

[Davit2005]

We have 2 6300F switches for testing but 700+ older ProCurve switches, yep the CLI is something might need to get used to short term and there are things not even available/done a different way. They are quiet though, with nothing plugged in it is hard to tell they are on.

 

It's only the feature list that made us go with the 6300Fs (stacking, etc) but we bought them before prices went up and got a good edu discount, don't ask me where we got them from :-)

[3s-gtech]

We are exclusively on the 6300 series, since 2020.

 

When we got them, it's fair to say they were in a beta state. Failure rate has been spectacular (apparently - we've only lost two or three out of fifty odd). As the firmware has improved the reliability has improved - old firmware had issues like continuous writes to the storage which would wear out the flash memory, or poor port failure management, or boot loops.

 

I never used older CLIs on switches to know, but AOS-CX seems okay. I have a crib sheet for the jobs I need to do. Only thing I do in the web UI is the firmware updates and restarts, though I have used it to check port status etc which is handy.

 

They're good switches now, after running in. Our network is pretty quick throughout with 10Gb (or 50Gb if close enough to the core) uplinks and 5Gb to desktop where applicable (our APs are 2.5Gb).

[CraigM]

We are exclusively on the 6300 series, since 2020.

 

When we got them, it's fair to say they were in a beta state. Failure rate has been spectacular (apparently - we've only lost two or three out of fifty odd). As the firmware has improved the reliability has improved - old firmware had issues like continuous writes to the storage which would wear out the flash memory, or poor port failure management, or boot loops.

 

I never used older CLIs on switches to know, but AOS-CX seems okay. I have a crib sheet for the jobs I need to do. Only thing I do in the web UI is the firmware updates and restarts, though I have used it to check port status etc which is handy.

 

They're good switches now, after running in. Our network is pretty quick throughout with 10Gb (or 50Gb if close enough to the core) uplinks and 5Gb to desktop where applicable (our APs are 2.5Gb).

 

Thanks for the reply. It's interesting, as the 1st cx 6100 we put in ran extremely well for about 18 months before the PoE part of it failed - network switching was fine, but all PoE dependent devices were down. Thankfully the good old HP warranty did the job and the switch was replaced very quickly. Replacement switch has been running solidly now for the last few months, touch wood. It's the first time I've seen the PoE part of a switch die, but the local persistent power cuts here in South Africa have not helped matters in any way shape or form. I'm actually extremely impressed that more hasn't gone wrong with our other HP/Aruba switches despite the constant on/off cycles.

 

Our network is pretty basic - mostly 1 gig down to clients and AP's, 10 gig to core. Have a mix of 2620, 2530 and 2540 units, 2 cx 6100 units and a 5412R zl2 core. Hopefully early next year I'll be down to just 1 2620 unit.

[CraigM]

We have 2 6300F switches for testing but 700+ older ProCurve switches, yep the CLI is something might need to get used to short term and there are things not even available/done a different way. They are quiet though, with nothing plugged in it is hard to tell they are on.

 

It's only the feature list that made us go with the 6300Fs (stacking, etc) but we bought them before prices went up and got a good edu discount, don't ask me where we got them from :-)

 

I must agree, the 6100 series is a hell of a lot quieter than the 2540's, which in turn were a hell of a lot quieter than the 1 2610 PoE switch I used to run. I hate to think of it, but where some of my network cabinets are now, a quieter switch would make a positive impact. The background drone of the 2540's is annoying.

 

I just wish pricing was still as good as when I got the 1st 6100. Doesn't help that South Africa's Rand has gone down all the way to the sewerage plant, never mind down the toilet I wasn't impressed with the waiting time for this 6100 we got, it took about 3 odd months to obtain, but that is still better than the almost 7 months I waited for our 5412 core to arrive. Again, doesn't help that SA is the a** end of nowhere in the minds of most hardware vendors

[3s-gtech]

All of ours are now on 750VA Smart UPSs - the batteries they shipped with lasted no time but at least they still do mains cleaning. Never bothered with our older HP then Cisco switches but these Arubas cost more than I earn in 10 years so best that they're protected.

 

Our lovely 5406zl2 soldiers on in another role. Bought that due to recommendations on here - what a piece of kit it is.

[CraigM]

All of ours are now on 750VA Smart UPSs - the batteries they shipped with lasted no time but at least they still do mains cleaning. Never bothered with our older HP then Cisco switches but these Arubas cost more than I earn in 10 years so best that they're protected.

 

Our lovely 5406zl2 soldiers on in another role. Bought that due to recommendations on here - what a piece of kit it is.

 

We looked at putting a UPS in every cabinet once upon a time, but it just became too cost ineffective to do so. Was looking at something like a 1500VA 1u rack mount unit per cab, but costs didn't make sense for us at the time, not to mention all the extra maintenance burdens that come with managing 13-15 UPS's. Our school however is about to have 2 inverters and 2 60kw/h batteries installed to keep us running during our scheduled 2 hour power cuts, so that will go a long way to at least making sure these devices don't bounce repeatedly every day.

 

This may sound stupid, but I take every chance to show off our 5412 to anyone who comes near my server room It's just so pretty and big and unique and I can't help myself. It replaced a stack (physical, not software stacked) of 2610's and a 2900 that was the core switch. Honestly, the 5412 is probably going to remain in the core for at least the next 10-15 years due to the flexibility it offers.

[dmj]

 

Honestly, I do like the sheer hardware upgrades over the 2530/2540 series, but I really don't like the new AOS-CX switch OS - I feel it's almost more suited for programmers or something vs a simple network admin. The old AOS switch OS really worked so well and the best part is that most of what you learned on old HP ProCurve switches just kept on being carried forward into the newer models.

 

I think you're just coming up against the reality of modern IT infrastructure. The CX series are designed to be configured by code, and is supported by HP in their ansible modules https://github.com/aruba/aoscx-ansible-collection and terraform provider https://registry.terraform.io/providers/aruba/aoscx/latest

 

The idea is that as you provision your server (with code) you hook out to the switches to configure those at the same time. It's often known as a software defined network, that your configuration in one area automatically updates something else. You also get decent backup protection, security/approval process of who's made changes and a log of those changes.

 

The generally accepted view here seems to be that all this stuff is far too complicated and a waste of time for the average school because there are more pressing issues than dealing with stuff. I guess that depends how long you plan on being in IT though.

[CraigM]

I think you're just coming up against the reality of modern IT infrastructure. The CX series are designed to be configured by code, and is supported by HP in their ansible modules https://github.com/aruba/aoscx-ansible-collection and terraform provider https://registry.terraform.io/providers/aruba/aoscx/latest

 

The idea is that as you provision your server (with code) you hook out to the switches to configure those at the same time. It's often known as a software defined network, that your configuration in one area automatically updates something else. You also get decent backup protection, security/approval process of who's made changes and a log of those changes.

 

The generally accepted view here seems to be that all this stuff is far too complicated and a waste of time for the average school because there are more pressing issues than dealing with stuff. I guess that depends how long you plan on being in IT though.

 

Yeah, it's definitely far too complicated for our school at least. Our IT needs are more than a small or possibly even medium sized business, but we are not a data center or large corporate doing super complicated things. Basically just need solid, mid-range kit that doesn't require a PHD to configure or cost the equivalent of a new car.

 

I plan to be in IT the rest of my life and don't get me wrong, I will always try to learn to grow and improve, but I also have to be selective in that a lot of what's happening out in the big corporate world or otherwise, isn't exactly relevant to school level just yet. Of course every school is different and some can definitely do amazing things with the latest cutting edge stuff, but for many here in South Africa for example, just getting the absolute basics right is already a big thing.

 

In a way, I think Ubiquiti have the right idea with their UniFi OS for central configuration and control, but there's been enough threads about the hardware and firmware gremlins that makes me too hesitant to consider jumping ship at this point, let alone replacing perfectly working and solid kit.

 

I wonder if there's anywhere one can submit product suggestions and improvement ideas to Aruba for future development? I could file all sorts of requests

Edited May 31, 2023 by CraigM

[FragglePete]

I have a couple of CX6100 switches, and yeah, it took a bit to get used to the different OS on these switches compared to the 25xx/26xx/etc series that I was used too. Found I had to use a mixture of both the CLI and Web Interface to get what I wanted to do, but I on a few occasions wiped out a VLAN config too easily for my liking on the web interface.

 

But, I've given up on them. The ones I have will still stay in use and seem to be doing a good job, but their constant price increases and lead times just got ridiculous so I've moved away to Ubiquiti and these seem to be doing well. My core is an aging 5406zl and I'll still want to keep the core on Aruba when I come to replace it just because the Layer 3 for us works.

 

Pete

[Netwacky87]

I have a couple of CX6100 switches, and yeah, it took a bit to get used to the different OS on these switches compared to the 25xx/26xx/etc series that I was used too. Found I had to use a mixture of both the CLI and Web Interface to get what I wanted to do, but I on a few occasions wiped out a VLAN config too easily for my liking on the web interface.

 

But, I've given up on them. The ones I have will still stay in use and seem to be doing a good job, but their constant price increases and lead times just got ridiculous so I've moved away to Ubiquiti and these seem to be doing well. My core is an aging 5406zl and I'll still want to keep the core on Aruba when I come to replace it just because the Layer 3 for us works.

 

Pete

 

We have the CX6100 (just ordered some more actually!) They're very good but the UI is very different and as @FragglePete said, its very easy to take out an entire VLAN. That's something they should definitely work on. I almost don't like changing VLAN tags now during the working day, just in case!