Zyxel CX4800-56F Switch: Overview & Technical Summary

The Zyxel CX4800-56F is a high-capacity Layer 3 aggregation fiber switch, ideal for enterprise networks and service provider backbones. It features 56 high-speed fiber ports, hybrid power options, and full Nebula cloud management support, making it a future-ready solution for scalable and resilient infrastructures.

Application Diagram

Technical Specifications

Specification Details
Model CX4800-56F
Access Ports 48 × SFP+/SFP28 (10G/25G)
Uplink Ports 8 × QSFP28 (100G)
Switching Capacity 2.4 Tbps
Forwarding Rate 1.19 Bpps
Power Input AC or DC (dual support)
Form Factor 1U, rack-mountable
Management Nebula Cloud, Web GUI, CLI, SNMP
Fan Modules Hot-swappable

Port & Module Compatibility

Port Type Supported Standards Cables/Modules
SFP+ 10GBASE-SR / 10GBASE-LR Fiber (LC), DAC
SFP28 25GBASE-SR / 25GBASE-LR Fiber (LC), 25G DAC
QSFP28 100GBASE-SR4 / 100GBASE-LR4 Fiber (MPO), 100G DAC, 4×25G Breakout DAC

Auto-negotiation and speed detection are supported per port.


Direct Attach Cables (DAC) (Optional)

Model Connector Length
DAC100G-1M/3M QSFP28 to QSFP28 1m / 3m
DAC25G-1M/3M SFP28 to SFP28 1m / 3m
DAC10G-1M/3M SFP+ to SFP+ 1m / 3m

Transceivers (Optional)

Model Speed Connector Wavelength Max. Distance DDMI
QSFP100G-SR4 100-Gigabit QSFP28 MPO12 850 OM4: 0.1km (109.36yd) OM3: 0.07km (76.55yd) Yes
QSFP100G-LR4 100-Gigabit QSFP28 Duplex LC 1310 10km (10936yd) Yes
SFP25G-SR 25-Gigabit SFP28 Duplex LC 850 OM4: 0.1km (109.36yd) OM3: 0.07km (76.55yd) Yes
SFP25G-LR 25-Gigabit SFP28 Duplex LC 1310 10km (10936yd) Yes
SFP10G-T* 10-Gigabit SFP+ RJ-45 - 0.03km (32.8yd) Yes
SFP10G-SR 10-Gigabit SFP+ Duplex LC 850nm 0.3km (328yd) Yes
SFP10G-SR-E 10-Gigabit SFP+ Duplex LC 850nm 0.3km (328yd) Yes
SFP10G-LR 10-Gigabit SFP+ Duplex LC 1310nm 10km (10936yd) Yes
SFP10G-LR-E 10-Gigabit SFP+ Duplex LC 1310nm 10km (10936yd) Yes
SFP-1000T Gigabit RJ-45 - 0.1km (109yd) -
SFP-SX-D Gigabit Duplex LC 850nm 0.55km (601yd) Yes
SFP-SX-D-E Gigabit Duplex LC 850nm 0.55km (601yd) Yes
SFP-LX-10-D Gigabit Duplex LC 1310nm 10km (10936yd) Yes
SFP-LX-10-D-E Gigabit Duplex LC 1310nm 10km (10936yd) Yes
SFP-LHX1310-40-D Gigabit Duplex LC 1310nm 40km (43744yd) Yes
SFP-ZX-80-D Gigabit Duplex LC 1550nm 80km (87488yd) Yes
SFP-BX1310-10-D Gigabit Single LC 1310nm (Tx); 1490nm (Rx) 10km (10936yd) Yes
SFP-BX1310-E Gigabit Single LC 1310nm (Tx); 1550nm (Rx) 20km (21872yd) Yes
SFP-BX1490-10-D Gigabit Single LC 1490nm (Tx); 1310nm (Rx) 10km (10936yd) Yes
SFP-BX1550-E Gigabit Single LC 1550nm (Tx); 1310nm (Rx) 20km (21872yd) Yes

*Note: Connecting copper transceivers to your switches
1. Works with Cat6a/7 Cable up to 30m. Please ensure the switch has proper ventilation to dissipate extra heat from the 10G BASE-T transceiver.
2. It is recommended to use no more than ten 10GbE copper modules simultaneously to avoid overheating and ensure reliable operation.
3. Ensure adequate spacing between connected 10GbE copper devices, and maintain sufficient airflow and cooling around the switch to optimize performance and longevity.

Management Options

Mode Details
Standalone Web GUI, CLI, SNMP, SSH, Telnet
Nebula Cloud 1-Year Pro license included. Centralized control via Nebula web/app.
Out-of-Band RJ-45 management port
USB 2 × USB ports for firmware/log management

Key Features

Resilience and Availability

  • IEEE 802.1D STP, 802.1w RSTP, 802.1s MSTP
  • IEEE 802.3ad LACP*
  • Loop guard*, CPU protection
  • ErrDisable recovery
  • MRSTP (Zyxel proprietary)
  • Redundant power supply support
  • Dual configuration & firmware images*
  • Flex Link

Traffic Control

  • 802.1Q static/dynamic VLANs: 4K
  • Port/MAC/IP/Protocol-based VLAN
  • Private VLAN
  • VLAN trunking, translation, stacking (QinQ)
  • VLAN ingress filtering
  • LACP source/destination IP
  • GVRP

Security

  • 802.1X, Port Security
  • MAC authentication*, 2-layer MAC filtering
  • Layer 3 IP filtering
  • Layer 4 TCP/UDP filtering
  • Static MAC forwarding
  • RADIUS & TACACS+ authentication/authorization/accounting
  • SSL, SSH, DHCP snooping
  • MAC freeze

Routing

  • IPv4 static & default routing

DHCP Features

  • DHCP Server Guard
  • ARP inspection, ARP freeze
  • Static ARP setting
  • Static IP/MAC binding
  • Security filtering per policy
  • Source guard, IP source guard*
  • MAC search
  • Guest VLAN*, ACL filtering (IPv4/IPv6)
  • Interface-related trap enable/disable

Quality of Service (QoS)

  • 8 hardware queues per port*
  • Queuing: SPQ/WRR/WFQ*
  • Broadcast/Multicast/Unknown Unicast Storm Control
  • Rate limiting (per IP/TCP/UDP)
  • Policy-based rate and bandwidth control
  • 802.3x flow control
  • DSCP DifferServ support

Layer 2 Multicast

  • L2 multicast*, IGMP snooping (v1, v2, v3)*
  • IGMP fast leave and immediate leave*
  • IGMP snooping proxy/statistics/throttling/filtering*
  • MVR (Multicast VLAN Registration) support*

Manageability

  • SNMP v1, v2c, v3
  • SNMP trap group
  • RMON (1, 2, 3, 9)
  • ICMP echo/echo reply
  • Syslog

Device Management

  • NebulaFlex Pro for hybrid management
  • Web interface or Nebula Control Center cloud management*
  • Console/SSH/Telnet/SNMP
  • Auto config recovery (cloud only)
  • Firmware via Web/FTP/SFTP/TFTP
  • Config saving & retrieving
  • Multiple logins, config clone, multi-level CLI
  • DHCP server & relay
  • Daylight Saving*, NTP*, Port mirroring*
  • RJ-45 out-of-band management port
  • sFlow, Networked AV mode

MIB (Management Information Base)

  • Zyxel private & standard RFC MIBs including:
  • RFC 1066, 1213, 1493, 1643, 1757, 2011-2013, 2233, 2358, 2674, 2819, 3621, 4022, 4113, 4292, 4293
ZON Utility*
  • Discovers Zyxel switches, APs, and gateways
  • Centralized and batch configurations:
    • IP configuration
    • IP renew
    • Device factory reset
    • Device reboot
    • Device locating
    • Web GUI access
    • Password configuration
    • One-click quick association with Zyxel AP Configurator (ZAC)

Additional Capabilities

  • Automatic detection of latest firmware
  • Device serial number and hardware version display
  • Cloud mode on/off toggle for hybrid services
  • Intuitive Cloud connection status

 

Smart Connect
  • Discover neighboring devices
  • One-click remote management
  • Access to neighboring Zyxel devices
  • Reset neighbors to factory defaults remotely

Note: Items marked with * will be added in future official firmware releases. Always refer to the latest firmware release notes for precise availability.

Scheduled for Future Release*

L2 Features

  • 100G to 4 x 25G breakout port
  • Physical stacking (up to 2 units)
  • MAC pinning
  • ZULD (Zyxel Unified Link Detection)
  • L2PT (Layer 2 Protocol Tunneling)
  • PPPoE relay agent & IA (Intermediate Agent)
  • OAM (Operations, Administration, and Maintenance)
  • Microsoft NLB (Network Load Balancing)

L3 Features

  • IPv6 static and default routing
  • VRRP (Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol)
  • Policy-based routing
  • DVMRP (Distance Vector Multicast Routing Protocol)
  • RIP v1/v2, RIPng
  • OSPF v2/v3
  • ECMP for IPv4/IPv6
  • IPv6 Neighbor Discovery

IPv6 Management

  • IPv6 interface
  • IPv6 snooping
  • DHCPv6 server & relay
  • IPv6 MLD snooping

Note: Items marked with * will be added in future official firmware releases. Always refer to the latest firmware release notes for precise availability.


Mounting & Deployment

Feature Details
Rack Mounting 1U standard 19” rack, mounting kit included
Power Setup Dual inputs supported: AC and DC
Cooling Front-to-back airflow, hot-swappable fans

Accessories

Item Model
AC Power Module CX4800-56F-EUAC01F
DC Power Module CX4800-56F-ZZDC01F
Fan Module CX4800-56F-ZZFN01F

Summary

The CX4800-56F is engineered for high-density aggregation with reliable hardware and flexible cloud-based or local management. It’s a future-proof solution for demanding network topologies requiring 25G and 100G fiber connectivity.

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