Ubiquiti Enterprise 8 PoE vs Fortinet FortiSwitch 648F-FPOE: 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

Fortinet FortiSwitch 648F-FPOE

★ 3.5 Value Score

Switching Capacity: 720 Gbps (duplex)
Forwarding Rate: 1071 Mpps (duplex)
Ports (breakdown): 32x 1GE/2.5GE RJ45; 16x 1GE/2.5GE/5GE RJ45; 8x 1GE/10GE/25GE SFP/SFP+/SFP28; 1x 10/100/1000 management; 1x RJ-45 serial console
PoE Budget: 1800 W with dual PSU (200-240V); 1600 W (100-120V); 780 W with single PSU (200-240V); 600 W (100-120V)
PoE Standard: 802.3af/at/bt (Type 4) on all 48 ports
Layer (L2/L3): Layer 2/3
Stacking support: No physical stacking; managed as a FortiLink switch, up to 300 switches per FortiGate
MAC Address Table: 64K
VLANs Supported: 4K
Packet Buffer: 8 MB
Memory: 4 GB DDR4
Form Factor: 1RU full-depth rack mount (44 x 442 x 440 mm)
Maximum Power Consumption: 2100 W
Power Supplies: 2x 1200 W (redundant)
Weight: 7.83 kg

✔ Pros: 48 PoE++ ports supporting 802.3bt Type 4 with an 1800 W budget; 8x 25G SFP28 uplinks for high-speed aggregation; 720 Gbps switching capacity and 1071 Mpps forwarding; dual redundant 1200 W power supplies; Layer 2/3 operation; tight integration with FortiGate via FortiLink for centralized management; 4K VLAN and 64K MAC table support
✘ Cons: Ports top out at 5GbE (no native 10GbE RJ45), which may limit high-speed wired endpoints; PoE budget falls to 780 W with a single PSU and 600 W on 100-120V input; full management benefits require a FortiGate controller; no physical stacking, so scaling depends on FortiLink limits; high acquisition cost compared with general-purpose PoE switches; FortiCare support and licensing are sold separately
Est. Price: $7,814 - $12,870

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