Ubiquiti Enterprise 8 PoE vs Aruba (HPE) 6300M: 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) 6300M

★ 3.3 Value Score

Product Family: HPE Aruba Networking CX 6300M Switch Series (Smart Rate Class 6 PoE, VSF-capable)
Switching Capacity: 496 Gbps (48-port SKU, reseller listing); 640 Gbps (24-port JL660A, reseller listing); unverified against HPE QuickSpecs
Forwarding Rate: 369 Mpps (48-port SKU, reseller listing); 476 Mpps (24-port JL660A, reseller listing); unverified against HPE QuickSpecs
Ports: 24 or 48 x 1/2.5/5GbE Smart Rate RJ-45 (Class 6 PoE) + 4 x SFP56 (1/10/25/50GbE)
PoE Budget: 720 W (24-port PoE+ listing); 1440 W (24-port JL660A listing); up to 2880 W (48-port listing); conflicting across sources
Layer: L3 (managed)
Stacking Support: Yes, VSF 2 to 10 members; 200 Gbps stacking bandwidth (400 Gbps full duplex) on some SKUs, per reseller listings
Data Note: Compiled from reseller listings and QuickSpecs mirrors. HPE official pages timed out during retrieval. Confirm figures in the QuickSpecs for the exact part number (e.g., JL659A / JL660A) before publishing.

✔ Pros: Multigigabit 1/2.5/5GbE access ports support Wi-Fi 6/6E access points without an uplink bottleneck; Class 6 PoE with high total power budget suits dense AP and camera deployments; Four SFP56 uplinks offer 10/25/50GbE options for aggregation; Layer 3 managed switching with VSF stacking for redundancy and simpler management; Aruba central management and security features integrate with the broader HPE Aruba Networking ecosystem
✘ Cons: Premium pricing compared with 1GbE-only access switches; Published throughput, PoE budget, and stacking figures vary between SKUs and sources, making specs hard to confirm; Full PoE and 25/50GbE uplink capability requires specific SKUs and optics or cabling; Higher power and cooling demand than basic 1GbE switches; Advanced features and licensing may add cost beyond the base hardware price
Est. Price: $13,174 - $22,526

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