R3B06A HPE Sn2100m 100GBE 16QSFP28 Switch

R3B06A HPE100GbE  Power Airflow Network Switch

High-Speed Enterprise-Class Switching Solution

The R3B06A HPE SN2100M is a compact yet highly capable 100GbE switch engineered for modern enterprise environments that demand rapid data transport, ultra-low latency, and seamless scalability. Featuring 16 QSFP28 ports, this half-width 1U device supports dense deployments with remarkable switching throughput and future-ready modular design.

Key Technical Specifications at a Glance

• Product Number: R3B06A
• Brand: HPE
• Design Form Factor: 1U height, half-width chassis
• Interface Standard: QSFP28 transceivers
• Port Configuration: 16-port active model, expandable via licensing
• Peak Port Throughput: Up to 100 Gbps per port
• Total Switching Bandwidth: 3.2 Terabits per second
• Encryption Capabilities: No native encryption
• Protocols Supported: Ethernet
• Software Requirement: ONIE and Onyx OS
• Optional Software License: HPE SN2100M 100GbE 8P Upgrade E-LTU (Q2M94AAE)
• Weight: 10 lb / 4.53 kg
• Physical Size: 1.72 x 7.87 x 20 in / 4.39 x 20 x 50.8 cm

Advanced Network Infrastructure Capabilities

100GbE Throughput with Port Density

Equipped with 16 QSFP28 ports, this switch empowers businesses with line-rate 100 Gigabit Ethernet connectivity on every interface. Whether used in aggregation, spine-leaf topologies, or high-performance computing clusters, the R3B06A ensures superior data plane efficiency and uninterrupted bandwidth delivery.

Scalable and Modular Architecture

The base switch comes with 8 active ports enabled, and organizations can activate the remaining 8 interfaces through a simple software license upgrade. This model supports phased deployment, allowing IT managers to grow their infrastructure incrementally without costly hardware replacements.

Aggregate Switching Power

Capable of handling a switching capacity of 3.2 Tbps, the SN2100M switch guarantees reliable high-speed data transport across enterprise core, distribution, or edge segments. Its architecture is built to meet the bandwidth demands of dense data center workloads and multi-tenant cloud environments.

Deployment Flexibility and Port Media Support

Compact Half-Width Chassis for Space Optimization

The 1U half-width footprint allows for dual-switch deployment within a single rack unit, maximizing rack space utilization. This is particularly advantageous for enterprise environments with limited space or those adopting high-density rack configurations.

QSFP28 Interface Compatibility

Supporting QSFP28 media types, the R3B06A allows for compatibility with various optical modules and DAC cables, including 40Gb and 100Gb transceivers. This versatility simplifies network upgrades and ensures hardware adaptability across evolving technology landscapes.

Redundant Power Support

Designed with dual redundant power supply capabilities, the unit ensures continuous operation during power anomalies or hardware faults, maintaining uptime for mission-critical applications.

Optional Licensing for Port Expansion

Organizations looking to expand switch capabilities can enable the full 16-port functionality through the optional HPE SN2100M 100GbE 8P Upgrade E-LTU (Q2M94AAE) license. This modular approach keeps costs predictable and aligns with growth strategies.

Software Compatibility and Management Options

Operating System Requirements

The R3B06A switch operates using the ONIE (Open Network Install Environment) framework, offering flexibility to deploy various network operating systems. For optimal performance, it supports HPE’s Onyx OS, tailored for scalable cloud and enterprise networking.

OS Flash Upgrade Capabilities

Flash-based OS upgrades make updating switch firmware easy and efficient, reducing administrative overhead and enabling faster adoption of new features, security patches, and protocol enhancements.

Customizable Software Stack

IT teams can choose between multiple network operating system stacks, enabling greater control over switching behavior, traffic management, and automation policies, aligning with both open networking and proprietary standards.

Optimized for Enterprise and Data Center Environments

Ideal Use Cases and Deployment Scenarios

• Cloud networking for hyperscale environments
• Spine-leaf topologies in data centers
• Carrier-grade networking with 100GbE aggregation
• Campus core switch deployment with high throughput needs
• AI/ML workload interconnects requiring low latency and dense bandwidth

Data Center Ready

The SN2100M’s front-to-rear airflow and compact form make it highly suitable for hot-aisle/cold-aisle deployments, ensuring optimal thermal performance in high-density server environments. Airflow is tailored for compatibility with standard rack configurations to maintain consistent cooling efficiency.

Future-Proof Networking

As enterprise demands evolve toward AI-driven analytics, edge computing, and IoT integration, the SN2100M's 100Gbps-ready design positions it as a long-term networking solution. It adapts seamlessly to infrastructure transformations without requiring disruptive overhauls.

Reliability and Build Quality

Durable Engineering with Minimal Maintenance

The chassis is built with enterprise-grade materials, ensuring durability under continuous load and extended operational cycles. With minimal mechanical components and simplified cable management, maintenance is straightforward and infrequent.

Metric and Imperial Dimensions

The physical size of the unit is designed to fit standard server racks globally:

• Imperial Dimensions: 1.72 x 7.87 x 20 inches
• Metric Dimensions: 4.39 x 20 x 50.8 centimeters

Weight and Transportability

At only 10 pounds (4.53 kilograms), the switch is lightweight and easy to handle during installation and hardware refresh cycles, reducing strain on IT operations teams and enabling faster deployments.

Summary of Key Value Propositions

Top Benefits of the R3B06A HPE SN2100M Switch

• High-capacity 100GbE throughput across 16 QSFP28 ports
• Space-saving 1U half-width chassis suitable for dense environments
• Upgradable port licensing supports scalable deployments
• Integrated ONIE and Onyx software stack for flexible network management
• Redundant power design ensures consistent uptime
• Future-ready architecture built for modern data demands

Licensable Expandability

The flexible port activation model allows network teams to deploy based on current requirements while planning for future expansion through license upgrades, eliminating hardware waste and optimizing ROI.

ONIE Bootloader Advantages

With ONIE, network administrators can rapidly install and switch between supported operating systems, giving the SN2100M superior agility in hybrid or evolving infrastructure models.

R3B06A HPE SN2100M 100GbE 16QSFP28 ONIE Switch Overview

The R3B06A HPE SN2100M 100GbE 16QSFP28 ONIE Connector to Power Airflow Switch is a high-performance data center switch designed to deliver unparalleled throughput, scalability, and flexibility. This powerful Layer 2 and Layer 3 Ethernet switch features 16 QSFP28 ports, supporting up to 100GbE per port and delivering a total switching capacity of up to 3.2 Tbps. The switch is purpose-built to meet the needs of modern cloud, enterprise, and high-performance computing (HPC) environments that require ultra-low latency, high density, and high bandwidth networking solutions.

Purpose and Application in Enterprise Environments

With the rise of distributed computing, virtualization, and data-intensive applications, enterprises require networking hardware that can handle rapid data transfer and reduce latency across critical workloads. The R3B06A HPE SN2100M switch is purpose-built to support these needs. It is ideal for:

• High-performance computing (HPC) clusters
• Cloud infrastructure and data centers
• Enterprise campus and core networks
• Telecom networks and content delivery networks

Technical Specifications of the R3B06A HPE SN2100M

Port Configuration and Throughput

The switch is equipped with 16 QSFP28 ports, supporting up to 100GbE per port. Each port is backward compatible with 40GbE and breakout cables for 4x25GbE or 4x10GbE configurations, offering flexibility for varied deployment scenarios.

• Total Bandwidth: 3.2 Tbps switching capacity
• Forwarding Rate: Up to 2.38 billion packets per second (Bpps)
• Latency: Sub-microsecond
• Power: Airflow from connector to power (front-to-back cooling)

Physical Dimensions and Power Efficiency

The R3B06A is a compact, half-width 1U switch, allowing two units to be placed side-by-side in a single 1U rack space. This provides exceptional port density while optimizing rack space utilization and airflow management.

• Form Factor: 1U half-width
• Dimensions: Approximately 1.72 x 8.2 x 17.3 inches (H x W x D)
• Cooling: Connector-to-power airflow with hot-swappable fans
• Power Supplies: Dual redundant power supplies supported

Cooling Strategy: Connector-to-Power Airflow

This switch uses a connector-to-power airflow design, often referred to as front-to-back airflow. This is optimal for enterprise rack deployments where cold aisles are in the front and hot aisles in the back. This thermal strategy helps maintain environmental consistency and prevents hot air recirculation, essential for high-density deployments.

Performance Benefits of the R3B06A HPE SN2100M Switch

Low Latency and High Throughput

The switch’s design eliminates bottlenecks in high-speed networking environments. The non-blocking architecture ensures maximum throughput and packet forwarding at line rate, even under full load. Latency remains minimal, which is critical for high-performance computing and latency-sensitive applications.

Flexible Deployment Options

The R3B06A supports a wide range of configurations, making it suitable for top-of-rack (ToR), spine, or leaf roles in modern data center topologies. The 16-port QSFP28 configuration supports direct 100GbE or breakout to 4x25GbE or 4x10GbE per port, allowing granular scaling based on bandwidth needs.

ONIE Bootloader Support

This model includes ONIE (Open Network Install Environment) support, which allows for the installation of various network operating systems (NOS). This vendor-agnostic feature provides network engineers with the freedom to deploy the software stack that best meets their operational model, such as Cumulus Linux, SONiC, or other white-box NOS platforms.

Key Use Cases for the HPE SN2100M R3B06A Switch

High-Performance Computing (HPC)

HPC applications demand low latency and high throughput across multiple nodes. The SN2100M switch supports RDMA over Converged Ethernet (RoCE), which enhances data transfer speeds and reduces CPU overhead, making it highly suitable for scientific research clusters, financial analytics, and modeling applications.

Cloud Infrastructure

Cloud providers and private cloud infrastructures benefit from the switch’s ability to handle massive east-west traffic loads. Its scalability and multi-rate support make it a preferred choice for cloud-scale networking, supporting both small and large deployments with seamless port configuration flexibility.

Enterprise and Data Center Core Networks

In enterprise environments, the R3B06A can serve as an aggregation or core layer switch. It supports high-speed uplinks to distribution switches and servers, delivering high performance for enterprise workloads, virtualization environments, and large-scale storage traffic.

Advanced Networking Features and Protocols

Layer 2 and Layer 3 Capabilities

The SN2100M supports both Layer 2 switching and Layer 3 routing, including BGP, OSPF, and static routing. This enables network operators to configure highly resilient, scalable topologies with full support for ECMP, VXLAN, and MPLS configurations as needed.

RDMA and RoCE Support

Remote Direct Memory Access (RDMA) over Converged Ethernet (RoCE) is supported on all ports, enhancing performance for storage and compute-intensive workloads. By offloading data transfer tasks, RoCE reduces latency and CPU utilization significantly.

Telemetry and Monitoring Support

The R3B06A features extensive telemetry capabilities, supporting advanced monitoring, diagnostics, and analytics tools. This allows for proactive network management, traffic optimization, and rapid fault detection using open standards and software-defined networking (SDN) tools.

Compatibility and Integration with HPE Ecosystems

Seamless Integration with HPE ProLiant and Synergy Platforms

The R3B06A is certified to work with various HPE infrastructure platforms, including HPE ProLiant servers and Synergy composable infrastructure. It is especially useful in rack-scale and blade environments where high-density 100GbE connectivity is required.

Support for Third-Party Operating Systems

With ONIE support, this switch is highly flexible and can run multiple NOS environments beyond HPE’s native ecosystem. This ensures integration with existing white-box or multi-vendor environments while maintaining carrier-grade reliability and performance.

Automation and SDN Readiness

Integration with automation frameworks such as Ansible, Chef, and Puppet is supported, enabling software-defined data center deployments. The switch is also SDN-ready, facilitating advanced orchestration and virtualization strategies using industry-standard controllers.

Power Efficiency and Environmental Sustainability

Efficient Power Consumption

The switch is designed with power efficiency in mind, utilizing advanced silicon to deliver high performance per watt. With redundant, hot-swappable power supplies and fans, the SN2100M maintains uptime while optimizing power draw in energy-conscious data centers.

Optimized Cooling Architecture

The front-to-back airflow design supports consistent thermal zoning within standard hot/cold aisle data center layouts. This helps reduce the need for overcooling and enables more efficient HVAC performance across server rooms.

Management and Security Features

Comprehensive Management Options

The switch supports CLI, SNMP, RESTful APIs, and out-of-band management via a dedicated management port. These multiple access methods allow for ease of configuration, automation, and monitoring.

Robust Security Protocols

• Role-based access control (RBAC)
• Secure shell (SSH) and HTTPS management
• Access Control Lists (ACLs) for traffic filtering
• Network segmentation via VLANs and VRFs

Zero-Touch Provisioning (ZTP)

Ideal for mass deployment environments, ZTP allows new switches to automatically download configurations and images upon connection to the network. This reduces manual setup time and enhances consistency across the network fabric.

Scalability and Investment Protection

Future-Proofing with Multi-Rate Support

Supporting 10/25/40/50/100GbE connections, the SN2100M offers investment protection by enabling gradual migration to higher-speed networking as requirements evolve. Organizations can start with lower-speed optics and later upgrade without needing new hardware.

High Availability and Redundancy

With dual power supplies, hot-swappable fans, and support for dynamic routing protocols, the switch ensures continuous availability and redundancy. Features like MLAG (Multi-Chassis Link Aggregation) further enhance resiliency by avoiding single points of failure.

Technical Support and Warranty

HPE Global Support

Hewlett Packard Enterprise offers global technical support services, firmware updates, and professional deployment assistance for the SN2100M. Customers benefit from enterprise-grade warranties and the option for 24/7 proactive monitoring services.

Lifecycle Management Tools

Integration with HPE OneView, HPE IMC, and other network lifecycle management tools ensures that IT teams can maintain, update, and optimize the switch across its operational life.

Summary of Features and Advantages

Product Highlights

• 16 x QSFP28 ports supporting 100GbE per port
• 3.2 Tbps switching capacity with non-blocking architecture
• ONIE support for open networking OS
• Compact half-width 1U form factor
• Front-to-back airflow design for optimal cooling
• Support for RDMA, RoCE, VXLAN, EVPN, and more