SWITChING
DATA SHEET
OVERVIEW
The 3Com
®
Switch 5500 10/100 Family delivers
premium levels of performance, security and
reliability for robust switching at the enterprise
network edge. The family consists of Layer 2/3/4 Fast
Ethernet and Power over Ethernet switches, with
advanced features that can accommodate the most
demanding applications, offering resilient and secure
connectivity and the latest traffic-prioritization
technologies to optimize applications on converged
networks. Designed for maximum flexibility and
scalability, 3Com Switch 5500 models come with 24 or
48 10/100 ports, plus four active SFP-based Gigabit
Ethernet ports for stacking and uplinks.
The switches can be stacked up to eight units high in
one location, or they can be distributed over several
sites up to 70 km (43.5 miles) apart and connected via
Gigabit links to form a virtual “stack.” One stack can
provide up to 384 Fast Ethernet ports and may be
managed centrally as a single-IP entity. Each stack
offers chassis-like availability and resiliency over
traditional aggregated-trunk configurations with
patented 3Com XRN
®
(eXpandable Resilient
Networking) stacking technology.
Further expansion is possible via clustered stacking
technology, allowing single IP management for up to
32 devices from different 3Com switch families,
including the Switch 5500G, 5500, 4800G, 4500G, 4500,
4210 and 4200G.
KEY BENEFITS
ENTERPRISE-LEVEL PERFORMANCE
3Com Switch 5500 10/100 devices provide switching
capacity of up to 17.6 Gbps for 52-port models and
12.8 Gbps for 28-port models. Wirespeed and line-rate
performance is delivered on all ports within the stack.
Advanced Layer 3 routing—including OSPF, PIM-SM,
PIM-DM and RIP v1/v2—helps deliver optimal
performance and system response.
These switches offer Enterprise-class switching
features including more MAC addresses, static routes
and IP interfaces, greater number of virtual LANs
(VLANs), extended port mirroring, Layer 3 OSPF and
multicast routing, enhanced resiliency via 3Com XRN
stacking technology and IEEE 802.3af Power over
Ethernet (PoE) support.
HIGH AVAILABILITY FOR CRITICAL
APPLICATIONS
XRN technology, a 3Com innovation, enables multiple
interconnected and stackable Layer 3 switches to be
managed as a single entity. Stack and switching fabric
setup is automated and provides a high level of
resiliency and continuous availability without adding
to network complexity.
After configuration, all switches actively share routing
intelligence and network loads—eliminating the wasted
bandwidth and added expense of a passive standby
unit. Ultra-fast failover recovery automatically
redistributes traffic among the other active units in
case a switch becomes disconnected or fails.
MULTILAYER SECURITY
The Switch 5500 family provides integrated and
distributed security enforcement that can be managed
from a central location. Access control lists (ACLs)
help protect network resources from unauthorized
access and data corruption. User-based authen -
tication and DES 56/168-bit† encryption help secure
Layer 3 protocols and management controls such as
3COM SWITCH 5500
10/100 FAMILY
from top: 3Com Switch 5500-EI 28-Port FX, Switch 5500-EI 52-Port,
Switch 5500-EI 28-Port, Switch 5500-EI PWR 52-Port, Switch 5500-
EI PWR 28-Port
Premium stackable 10/100 switches with
maximum security, convergence features
and intelligence required by the most
demanding advanced enterprise networks
