S5860-48SC vs. S5850-48S2Q4C: How to Choose?

FS offers a series of enterprise switches and data center switches to meet varied application requirements for different users. But it may be difficult for newcomers to tell how to choose the right one due to the vast Ethernet switch series and names. This article mainly introduces the differences between FS S5860-48SC and S5850-48S2Q4C layer 3 managed enterprise switches, to help you get the right solutions.

Jump to the section where you want to know about the differences:

Table of Contents

S5860-48SC and S5850-48S2Q4C Overview

Switch Port Types

Supported Functions

Network Security and Stability

Management and Maintenance

Hardware Reliability Design

FS S5860-48SC and S5850-48S2Q4C Enterprise Switch Overview

FS S5850 series enterprise switches are high-performance Ethernet switches to meet next-generation metro, data center, and enterprise network requirements. FS S5860 series layer 3 managed switches are next-generation high-performance and strong-security 10G Ethernet switches, designed to the convergence layer of large-sized networks and the core layer of small and medium-sized networks.

As one model of the two series switches, the S5860-48SC and S5850-48S2Q4C managed switches have similar application range, but there are differences between the features and supported functions. The following table shows the basic differences between the two switches.

You can check out the video and image below to have a look at these two switches:

S5860-48SC Introduction Video

S5850-48S2Q4C Switch Port Types

How to Choose From FS S5860-48SC and S5850-48S2Q4C

Here are several points for reference when making a choice between these two switches.

Switch Port Types

From the specification chart above, the big difference between FS S5860-48SC and the S5850-48S2Q4C is the port types and network functions they support. The S5850-48S2Q4C layer 3 switch offers 2 40G QSFP+ ports and 4 100G QSFP28 ports, while the S5860-48SC doesn't have QSFP+ ports although it's 100G QSFP28 port also supports 40G data rate. So if your network needs more 10G bandwidth and 40G QSFP+ ports, the S5850-48S2Q4C will be a nice choice.

Supported Functions

Compared with S5860-48SC managed switch, the S5850-48S2Q4C managed switch has more features for data center applications.

Firstly, let's have a look at the switch stack and MLAG (Multichassis Link Aggregation Group). These two functions are able to improve link reliability, expand network bandwidth and share transmission load. And switch stack has the advantages of relatively simple configuration and design, but its flexibility, reliability, and upgrade complexity are not as good as MLAG. MLAG is more complex compare to switch stack, but it provides better flexibility for network control and design, and it is more reliable for large networks.

More about MLAG vs. Stacking vs. LACP

Besides, the S5850-48S2Q4C managed switch also supports leading-edge data center features such as PFC (Priority Flow Control), ECN (explicit Congestion Notification), and Data Center TCP, etc. And the overlay technology including NVGRE/VXLAN/GENEVE, etc. is also available on this Ethernet switch, which adds more flexibility for network build. So for traditional or virtual data centers aggregation layer applications, the S5850-48S2Q4C layer 3 managed switch has more advantages than the S5860-48SC managed switch.

Network Security and Stability

Both the S5860-48SC and S5850-48S2Q4C managed switches have abundant network security policies. For example, the two Ethernet switches support various ACL policies, DHCP Snooping, SSH, CPU Protection mechanism, etc. And due to the different applications, the network security features of these two switches also have slight differences. Users should read the following datasheets carefully to make sure the Ethernet switch you choose can meet your network security requirements.

FS S5860 Series Switches Datasheet (Page 9)

FS S5850 Series Switches Datasheet (Page 9)

Management and Maintenance

The S5860-48SC and S5850-48S2Q4C switches support various network management and maintenance methods, which are listed in the first chart. No matter for single users, or for company network engineers, using a familiar network management way is important to save time and labor cost. So for this point, just choosing the needed way is ok.

Hardware Reliabitliy Design

For this point, the S5860-48SC and S5850-48S2Q4C managed switches can meet the operation needs of both enterprise and data centers. Both of them have a high-reliability hardware design. They support the 1+1 redundancy AC power supply and 4 hot-swappable fans (3+1 Redundancy) for stable hardware performance. Besides, the S5850-48S2Q4C layer 3 switch also supports customizing DC power supply to meet different users' needs. And the S5860-48SC managed switch adopts smart fans that can intelligently control the fan speed according to the current temperature to ensure the stable operation of the device while reducing power consumption and noise.

Based on the several factors above, users can tell which one is more suitable for their needs and applications. If there is still a problem on choosing between S5860-48SC and S5850-48S2Q4C switches, please visit our website www.fs.com and contact FS technical support.