Ubiquiti Enterprise 8 PoE vs Aruba (HPE) Aruba 8320: 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 8320

★ 3.3 Value Score

Switching Capacity: 2.5 Tbps
Forwarding Rate: 1,905 Mpps
Ports: Model-dependent: JL479A = 48x 1/10G SFP+ + 6x 40G QSFP+; JL579A = 32x 40G QSFP+; JL581A = 48x 1/10GBASE-T + 6x 40G QSFP+
PoE Budget: N/A (no PoE support)
Layer: L3 (managed)
Stacking Support: No stacking; high availability via Aruba VSX (Virtual Switching Extension)
Form Factor: 1U rack-mountable
Packet Buffer: 16 MB
MAC Table Size: 98,304 entries (per HPE QuickSpecs; some resellers list 14K)
VLANs: 4,096 (802.1Q; reseller-listed, not confirmed in official datasheet)
Power Supplies: Dual redundant PSUs (listed as 2x 400W on JL579A bundle)
Operating System: AOS-CX

✔ Pros: 2.5 Tbps switching capacity and 1,905 Mpps forwarding for core/aggregation use; Layer 3 managed switching in a compact 1U chassis; VSX active-active high availability without stacking; Dense 40G QSFP+ uplink options (6x on the 48-port SKUs, 32x on JL579A); 16 MB packet buffer and 98K MAC table suitable for busy campus or data center aggregation; AOS-CX automation and API-driven management; Redundant power supply options for uptime
✘ Cons: No PoE, so it cannot power access points or cameras directly; No stacking support (VSX is required for HA, which adds design complexity); Priced at the high end of enterprise aggregation switches, roughly $20K to $28K per unit at advertised retail; Some SKUs and resellers list it as end-of-life, so confirm current availability with HPE before specifying; Conflicting MAC table and VLAN figures across listings, so verify against the current HPE datasheet before purchase; Price data is from undated or sold-out retailer listings, not verified street pricing
Est. Price: $20,506 - $27,690

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