Ubiquiti Enterprise 8 PoE vs Aruba (HPE) Aruba CX 6100 Switch: Specs & Price Comparison

Ubiquiti Enterprise 8 PoE

★ 4.2 Value Score

Switching Capacity: 80 Gbps
Forwarding Rate: 59.52 Mpps (Ubiquiti tech specs list 60 Mpps)
Non-Blocking Throughput: 40 Gbps
Ports (breakdown): 8 x 2.5GbE RJ45 (all PoE+; 2.5G/1G/100M/10M) + 2 x 10G SFP+ (10G/1G)
PoE Budget: 120W total PoE; 802.3af/at (PoE+) only, up to 32W per port
Layer: L3 (managed)
Stacking Support: Not stated in official specs
Packet Buffer: 1.5 MB
MAC Address Table: 16,000 entries
Power Consumption: 30W excluding PoE; 150W including PoE output
Form Factor: Compact desktop, wall-mount kit included
Dimensions: 200 x 248 x 44 mm
Management Display: 1.3-inch color LCM touchscreen
Product Status: Listed as 'Enterprise 8 PoE (Vintage)' on Ubiquiti's store; no official replacement or EOL announcement found

✔ Pros: Eight 2.5GbE PoE+ ports suit multi-gig Wi-Fi 6 access points and desktop devices; Layer 3 managed feature set at a low price for the class; 80 Gbps switching capacity and 59.52 Mpps forwarding rate cover small-office and branch loads; Two 10G SFP+ uplinks allow 10G backhaul or fiber links; Compact desktop form factor with wall-mount kit and LCM touchscreen for local status; 120W PoE budget is enough for several PoE+ access points or cameras
✘ Cons: Only 802.3af/at PoE+ (max 32W per port), so it cannot power PoE++ devices such as Ubiquiti's U7/E7 access points; Product is listed as Vintage with no official successor named, so long-term availability and firmware support are uncertain; 120W total PoE budget limits how many high-draw devices can be powered at once; Only two SFP+ uplinks and no stacking support, which limits scaling; Price varies widely across resellers ($479 on Ubiquiti's US store, up to about $688 or more at third-party sellers)
Est. Price: $479 - $688

Aruba (HPE) Aruba CX 6100 Switch

★ 3.4 Value Score

Switching Capacity: 68 Gbps (12G, reseller listing); 128 Gbps (24G, reseller listing); 176 Gbps (48G, HPE comparison table and reseller listings)
Forwarding Rate: 98.6 Mpps (48G models, HPE comparison table); 12G and 24G forwarding rates not confirmed in sources
Ports (breakdown): 12G: 12 x 10/100/1000BASE-T + 2 x SFP + 2 x SFP+ (JL679A, exact uplink mix unverified); 24G: 24 x 10/100/1000BASE-T + 4 x SFP+ (JL678A no PoE, JL677A PoE); 48G: 48 x 10/100/1000BASE-T + 4 x SFP+ (JL676A no PoE, JL675A PoE, R9Y04A PoE)
PoE Budget: 139W (12G PoE, JL679A); 370W (24G PoE JL677A, 48G PoE JL675A); 740W (48G PoE R9Y04A); no PoE on JL676A/JL678A. PoE standards: IEEE 802.3af/802.3at (Class 4)
Layer: Layer 2 (managed); static routing and IPv6 listed by some resellers; some listings label models 'Managed L3', so L3 capability is unclear and should be verified against HPE's datasheet
Stacking support: Yes, VSF (Virtual Switching Framework); up to 6 members per HPE specification (some resellers list 8)
Form Factor: 1U rack-mount

✔ Pros: Low-cost managed switch with 1G access and 10G SFP+ uplinks; PoE models available at 139W, 370W, and 740W budgets for AP and camera deployments; Virtual Switching Framework (VSF) stacking for simplified multi-switch management; Aruba CX NetEdge OS with REST API and automation support; Wide SKU range covering 12, 24, and 48-port variants with and without PoE
✘ Cons: Mostly Layer 2 with unclear Layer 3 feature support, which limits routing use cases; Uplinks are 1G/10G only, with no 25G or 100G options; Per-SKU specs and pricing are inconsistent across resellers and HPE's official datasheet was not verified; Stacking limit differs between sources (6 vs 8 members); Older generation compared with the newer CX 6200/6300 series
Est. Price: $1,959 - $5,419

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