H3C S5000V5-EI Gigabit Managed Switch Series

In today’s digitally driven world, Small and Medium-sized Businesses (SMBs) require networking solutions that are not only powerful and reliable but also secure and easy to manage. The demand for high-speed connectivity, robust security, and scalable infrastructure is more critical than ever. Addressing these needs, the H3C S5000V5-EI series of managed Ethernet switches emerges as a formidable solution, specifically engineered for the SMB market. These switches provide high-performance Gigabit access, coupled with a wealth of security features and enhanced network manageability, making them an ideal choice for diverse industries including government, enterprises, schools, and hotels. This document delves into the comprehensive capabilities of the H3C S5000V5-EI series, exploring its models, features, technical specifications, and how it empowers businesses to build resilient and efficient network infrastructures. We will examine its advanced functionalities, from intelligent resilient framework technology to comprehensive security policies and green features, highlighting its value proposition for modern network environments.

Product Overview

The H3C S5000V5-EI series represents a significant advancement in Gigabit speed managed Ethernet switches, meticulously designed to cater to the dynamic requirements of the Small Business (SMB) sector. These switches are not merely about providing high-speed data access; they integrate abundant security access policy controls and sophisticated network manageability and maintenance features. This holistic approach ensures that businesses can build a secure, reliable, and easily maintainable network foundation. The versatility of the S5000V5-EI series makes it exceptionally well-suited for network construction across various sectors, including government offices, small to midsize enterprises, educational institutions, and the hospitality industry, where dependable connectivity and data protection are paramount.

The series offers a flexible range of models to meet diverse port density and Power over Ethernet (PoE) requirements, ensuring a tailored fit for specific deployment scenarios.

Product Models and Configurations

The H3C S5000V5-EI series includes a comprehensive lineup of models, each designed to offer specific port configurations and PoE capabilities:

This diverse range ensures that organizations can select the precise model that aligns with their current needs while providing a pathway for future growth and technological adoption. The inclusion of both copper and fiber ports offers significant deployment flexibility.

Advanced Features and Unmatched Flexibility

The H3C S5000V5-EI series isn’t just a collection of ports and speeds; it’s an intelligent networking platform designed with advanced features that deliver flexibility, resilience, and simplified management. These switches are engineered to meet the evolving demands of modern SMBs, offering capabilities that were once exclusive to enterprise-grade equipment. Key among these are versatile port access options and the groundbreaking IRF2 technology.

At its core, the S5000V5-EI series provides robust Multi-type Port Access. This feature ensures that customers are not locked into a single connectivity medium. The availability of both Ethernet fiber ports (via SFP slots) and traditional copper (RJ-45) ports on each switch offers unparalleled flexibility in network design and deployment. Whether connecting to high-speed fiber backbones for uplink or providing reliable copper connections to end-user devices and servers, these switches adapt to various cabling infrastructures. Models are available with 8, 16, 24, or 48 access ports, catering to different density requirements, from small office setups to larger departmental deployments. Critically, all ports support line-rate forwarding, ensuring that the switch does not become a bottleneck, even under heavy traffic loads. This commitment to performance means that applications run smoothly and data transfers are swift. Furthermore, the design emphasizes ease of installation and use, reducing the complexity and time involved in network setup and expansion.

A standout feature of the H3C S5000V5-EI series is its support for IRF2 (Intelligent Resilient Framework 2) technology. IRF2 revolutionizes network management and resilience by allowing multiple physical S5000V5-EI switches (up to 9, depending on the model) to be interconnected and virtualized into a single logical device. This logical device operates with a unified IP address and configuration, drastically simplifying network administration. Managing a stack of switches as one entity reduces operational overhead and the potential for configuration errors. IRF2 brings forth several compelling benefits:

• Simplified Management: Network administrators can connect to any port on any member switch within the IRF2 stack to access and manage the entire logical device. This centralized management approach eliminates the need to configure and monitor each physical switch individually, streamlining tasks such as firmware upgrades, policy deployment, and troubleshooting.
• High Scalability: IRF2 facilitates seamless network expansion. As business needs grow, additional switches can be easily incorporated into the IRF2 stack using a plug-n-play mechanism. Once a new switch is added and IRF2 stacking is enabled, it becomes part of the logical device, managed under the same IP address. This simplifies scaling the network infrastructure without incurring significant reconfiguration costs or complexities.
• High Reliability: The architecture of IRF2 incorporates H3C’s patented 1:N standby technology. In an IRF2 stack, each slave device can act as a backup for the master device. This creates robust redundancy for both control and data links. Crucially, IRF2 supports uninterrupted Layer-3 forwarding, meaning that even if the master device fails, traffic flow continues without disruption. This level of reliability is vital for avoiding unplanned business downtime and ensuring continuous service availability.
• Load Balancing: IRF2 supports cross-device link aggregation. This allows physical links from different member switches in the stack to be bundled together, forming a high-bandwidth, resilient connection. Upstream and downstream connections can utilize these aggregated links, which not only enhances network redundancy but also optimizes the utilization of available network resources by distributing traffic across multiple paths.
• Availability: H3C implements IRF2 using standard Gigabit Ethernet (1GE) ports or, where applicable, 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GE) ports (though the S5000V5-EI series focuses on GE stacking). This strategic use of standard ports allows for efficient bandwidth allocation for business applications and access traffic. It also enables a rational distribution of local traffic within the stack and upstream traffic towards the core network, enhancing overall network performance and responsiveness.

The combination of versatile port options and the powerful IRF2 technology makes the S5000V5-EI series exceptionally adaptable and resilient. These features empower SMBs to build networks that are not only high-performing today but also ready for the challenges and growth of tomorrow, all while keeping management complexity in check.

Comprehensive Security and Robust Control Policies

In an era where network security is non-negotiable, the H3C S5000V5-EI series integrates a comprehensive suite of security control policies designed to protect network integrity, safeguard data, and prevent unauthorized access. These switches are engineered to provide multiple layers of defense, empowering administrators to create a secure environment for critical business operations. The emphasis on granular control ensures that security measures can be tailored to the specific needs and risk profiles of diverse SMB environments.

One of the fundamental security features is ARP Detection. This capability is crucial in preventing malicious activities such as ARP spoofing (or ARP poisoning) attacks. By inspecting ARP packets and validating their legitimacy, the switch can thwart attempts by attackers to intercept network traffic, impersonate legitimate devices, or launch denial-of-service attacks by corrupting ARP caches. This proactive defense mechanism helps maintain the integrity of Layer 2 communications.

Further strengthening network defenses, the S5000V5-EI series supports IP Source Guard. This feature prevents illegal IP and MAC address spoofing. IP Source Guard works by filtering IP traffic based on a binding table that associates IP addresses, MAC addresses, VLANs, and port numbers. Only traffic from sources matching entries in this table is permitted, effectively mitigating risks associated with IP address theft and various forms of Denial of Service (DoS) attacks that rely on spoofed source addresses.

To combat unauthorized DHCP server deployment, which can lead to network misconfiguration or man-in-the-middle attacks, the switches offer DHCP Snooping. This security feature distinguishes between trusted and untrusted network ports. DHCP server messages are only allowed from trusted ports, typically those connected to legitimate DHCP servers. By filtering out malicious DHCP server messages from untrusted ports, DHCP Snooping ensures that clients receive valid IP configurations from authorized sources only. DHCP Snooping Option82 further enhances this by adding relay agent information to DHCP requests, providing more context for IP address allocation policies.

Port-level security is also a critical aspect of the S5000V5-EI series. Port security features allow administrators to control which devices can connect to specific switch ports. This is often achieved by limiting the number of MAC addresses that can be learned on a port or by specifying static MAC addresses allowed on a port. Any attempt to connect an unauthorized device or exceed the MAC address limit can trigger actions like shutting down the port or sending an alert, effectively preventing MAC address-based attacks and unauthorized network access. It also supports MAC address permit/limit flow for finer control.

For robust user and device authentication, the series supports IEEE 802.1X and MAC authentication. 802.1X provides port-based network access control, requiring users or devices to authenticate before gaining access to the network. This is typically done in conjunction with a RADIUS server. MAC authentication offers an alternative for devices that do not support the 802.1X supplicant, authenticating them based on their MAC address. The switches also support features like client software version detection, Guest VLAN assignment (providing limited network access to visitors), agent detection, and dual NIC detection, often in conjunction with H3C’s iMC (Intelligent Management Center) platform. These capabilities create a flexible and powerful authentication framework.

Beyond these, the switches provide additional security mechanisms including hierarchical user management with password protection, SSHv2 and SSL for secure management access, and specific IP address-based FTP logging and password mechanisms. They are also designed to prevent common attacks such as those from unknown multicast packets, broadcast packets, unknown unicast packets, TTL=1 packets, and various protocol packets. Comprehensive DoS attack prevention, IP+MAC+PORT+VLAN binding for strict access control, SAVI (Source Address Validation Improvement) for authenticating the source of IPv6 traffic, support for Radius and HWTACACS for centralized authentication, and SNMPv3 for secure network management further underscore the security focus of this series. Broadcast suppression and CPU attack prevention mechanisms also protect the switch itself from becoming a target.

By integrating these robust security policies, the H3C S5000V5-EI series provides SMBs with the tools necessary to build a resilient and secure network infrastructure, protecting valuable assets and ensuring business continuity in the face of evolving cyber threats.

Enhanced Service Capabilities and Operational Efficiency

The H3C S5000V5-EI series extends beyond foundational connectivity and security, offering enhanced service capabilities designed to optimize network performance, ensure fair resource allocation, and support next-generation networking protocols. These features contribute to greater operational efficiency and a better user experience, which are critical for productivity in SMB environments.

One of the key areas of enhancement is in traffic management and Quality of Service (QoS). The switches support speed limit on port and flow, providing granular control over bandwidth allocation. This allows administrators to prioritize critical applications and prevent bandwidth-hungry users or applications from degrading overall network performance. Multiple granular management tools are available to fine-tune these settings. To manage traffic effectively, the S5000V5-EI series supports flexible queue scheduling algorithms. These include Strict Priority (SP), Weighted Round Robin (WRR), and a combination of SP+WRR. SP ensures that high-priority traffic is always serviced first, which is ideal for latency-sensitive applications like VoIP. WRR allocates bandwidth based on pre-defined weights, ensuring fair access for different traffic classes. The SP+WRR combination offers a balanced approach, prioritizing critical traffic while still providing fair bandwidth distribution for other services. These QoS mechanisms work in conjunction with 802.1p and DSCP priority mapping to classify and prioritize traffic effectively.

Recognizing the increasing importance of IPv6, the S5000V5-EI series provides rich IPv6 services and multiple IPv6 management tools. This includes support for IPv6 static routing and dual-stack (IPv4/IPv6) operation, allowing for a smooth transition from IPv4 to IPv6. DHCPv6 Client and DHCPv6 Snooping capabilities are provided for IPv6 address management and security. Support for Neighbor Discovery (ND) and Path MTU Discovery (PMTU) ensures efficient IPv6 communication. Furthermore, IPv6 management is facilitated through IPv6 Ping, IPv6 Telnet, IPv6 SSHv2, and IPv6 domain name resolution, ensuring that administrators can manage and troubleshoot the IPv6 network effectively.

A notable feature contributing to the physical resilience of the S5000V5-EI series is its professional surge protection function. These switches incorporate professional built-in surge protection technology, offering an industry-leading 6KV service port surge protection capability. This significantly reduces the risk of damage from electrical surges, such as those caused by lightning strikes or power fluctuations. For SMBs, especially those in environments prone to such events, this feature enhances equipment longevity and minimizes downtime, protecting their investment and ensuring network availability even in harsh working conditions.

The S5000V5-EI series also embraces Green Features, focusing on energy efficiency and environmental responsibility. The energy-saving design significantly reduces device power consumption, leading to lower operational costs and a smaller carbon footprint. This is achieved through intelligent power management features, potentially including EEE (Energy Efficient Ethernet) 802.3az compliance, which reduces power on idle ports or during periods of low link utilization. Radiation levels are reduced to meet standards for household electrical appliances, making them safe for various deployment environments and harmless to human health. Furthermore, the switches are compliant with material environmental protection standards and the EU RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances) safety standard, reflecting H3C’s commitment to sustainable and responsible manufacturing practices.

These enhanced service capabilities, robust surge protection, and environmentally conscious design collectively make the H3C S5000V5-EI series a forward-looking investment for SMBs. They enable businesses to optimize network performance, ensure reliability, prepare for future technologies like IPv6, and operate in an eco-friendly manner, all while managing operational costs effectively.

Detailed Hardware Architecture and Performance Metrics

The H3C S5000V5-EI series is built on a robust hardware architecture designed to deliver consistent performance and reliability. The switches cater to a variety of deployment needs, from small offices requiring just a few ports to larger SMB environments needing higher port density and PoE capabilities. This section outlines the key hardware specifications and performance metrics across the non-PoE and PoE models within the series.

All models in the S5000V5-EI series share a common commitment to quality and performance, featuring a management console port for out-of-band management. Latency is kept remarkably low, with GE ports typically exhibiting less than 5μs latency for 64-byte packets. Copper ports across all models support half-duplex, full-duplex, and auto-negotiation, along with MDI/MDI-X auto-sensing for hassle-free connectivity. The input voltage range is AC: 100V～240V AC, 50/60Hz, suitable for global deployments.

Non-PoE Models: Specifications

The non-PoE models are ideal for environments where devices do not require power delivery over Ethernet, focusing on high-speed data switching and rich Layer 2 functionalities.

PoE Models: Specifications

The PoE models in the S5000V5-EI series provide Power over Ethernet Plus (PoE+), enabling them to power connected devices such as IP phones, wireless access points, and surveillance cameras, simplifying deployment and reducing cabling costs.

PoE Power Capacity Details

The PoE models offer flexible power delivery adhering to IEEE 802.3af (PoE, up to 15.4W per port) and IEEE 802.3at (PoE+, up to 30W per port) standards.

Universal Performance Specifications

The following performance metrics are generally consistent across the series, with variations noted for stacking capabilities:

This detailed hardware overview showcases the S5000V5-EI series’ capability to provide high throughput, flexible port configurations, and robust PoE options, all while maintaining impressive reliability and efficiency metrics tailored for the SMB market.

Robust Software Capabilities and Intuitive Management

The H3C S5000V5-EI series is powered by a sophisticated software suite that provides a rich set of Layer 2 and Layer 3 features, comprehensive security protocols, and flexible management options. This robust software architecture ensures that the switches can adapt to diverse networking requirements, offering advanced control and visibility crucial for modern SMB operations.

Core Ethernet Functionality: The foundation of the S5000V5-EI series lies in its extensive Ethernet functions. These include Link Layer Discovery Protocol (LLDP) for easy network device discovery and mapping. Static MAC configuration and MAC address learning limits (up to 8K entries for PoE models, 8192 for all) provide control over network access. Port mirroring and flow mirroring are supported for traffic analysis and troubleshooting. Link aggregation, compliant with IEEE 802.3ad (LACP) for dynamic link aggregation and also supporting static port aggregation, allows for increased bandwidth and redundancy (up to 8 ports per group, 124 groups). Port isolation enhances security by restricting traffic between specified ports. Standard Spanning Tree Protocols (STP/RSTP/MSTP) prevent Layer 2 loops. Additionally, Energy Efficient Ethernet (IEEE 802.3az) support contributes to power savings.

Advanced VLAN Capabilities: Virtual LANs (VLANs) are critical for network segmentation and security. The S5000V5-EI series supports up to 4094 VLANs based on the IEEE 802.1Q standard. Beyond standard port-based VLANs, the switches offer advanced VLAN assignment methods including protocol-based VLANs, IP subnet-based VLANs, and MAC-based VLANs. This flexibility allows for dynamic and policy-driven network segmentation. A GUEST VLAN feature further enhances security by isolating visitor traffic from the corporate network.

IP Routing and DHCP Services: While primarily Layer 2 switches, the S5000V5-EI series supports static IP routing (up to 512 IPv4 routes, 16 IPv6 unicast routes), enabling basic inter-VLAN routing and simplifying network topologies for small to medium-sized networks. Comprehensive DHCP services include DHCP Relay, DHCP Client functionality, and DHCP Snooping with Option 82 to secure and manage IP address allocation effectively.

Multicast and Quality of Service (QoS): For efficient handling of multicast traffic, such as video streaming, the switches support IGMP (Internet Group Management Protocol) Snooping V1/V2/V3. This prevents multicast traffic from flooding all ports by forwarding it only to interested recipients. Quality of Service (QoS) features are extensive, including DiffServ QoS, flexible queue scheduling algorithms (WRR/HQ-WRR, SP, SP+WRR), 802.1p and DSCP priority mapping, and directional port speed limits to ensure that critical applications receive the necessary bandwidth and low latency.

Comprehensive IPv6 Support: Ready for the next generation of internet protocols, the series offers robust IPv6 capabilities. This includes IPv6 static routing, a dual-stack (IPv4/IPv6) architecture, DHCPv6 Client, DHCPv6 Snooping, Neighbor Discovery (ND), Path MTU Discovery (PMTU), and essential IPv6 management tools like IPv6 Ping, IPv6 Telnet, IPv6 SSHv2, and IPv6 domain name resolution.

Reliability and Security: Network uptime is enhanced by features like hot patching and in-service patch upgrades, minimizing disruption during maintenance. The security suite is extensive, building upon the hardware-assisted features. It includes hierarchical user management and password protection, secure management interfaces (SSHv2, SSL), an IP address-based FTP logging and password mechanism, and robust prevention against various attacks (ARP, unknown multicast/broadcast/unicast packets, TTL=1 packets, protocol packets, and DoS attacks). IP+MAC+PORT+VLAN binding, IEEE 802.1x authentication, SAVI (Source Address Validity Authentication), centralized authentication via Radius and HWTACACS, and secure network management with SNMPv3 are all standard. Broadcast suppression and mechanisms to prevent CPU attacks further safeguard switch stability.

System Management and Environmental Considerations: Management flexibility is a cornerstone, with options including Console/AUX Modem access, Telnet, SSH2.0, and a Command Line Interface (CLI). Software loading and upgrading can be performed via FTP, TFTP, Xmodem, or SFTP. Full support for SNMP V1/V2c/V3 facilitates integration into network management systems. Network Time Protocol (NTP) ensures accurate time synchronization, and HTTP/HTTPS provide web-based management options. System logging and cluster management capabilities (likely referring to IRF2) simplify administration and monitoring. The switches adhere to RFC 1213 MIB-2 standards for management information. Environmentally, they operate reliably in temperatures from -5°C to 45°C and humidity from 5% to 95% (non-condensing), while also complying with China RoHS and EEE environmental protection standards.

This rich software feature set ensures that the H3C S5000V5-EI switches are not only high-performing but also intelligent, secure, and adaptable to the evolving needs of SMB networks.

Scalability and Network Expansion with IRF2

One of the most significant advantages of the H3C S5000V5-EI series for growing SMBs is its powerful scalability, primarily delivered through H3C’s Intelligent Resilient Framework 2 (IRF2) technology. As businesses expand, their network infrastructure must be able to grow commensurately without introducing undue complexity or requiring a complete overhaul. IRF2 addresses this challenge head-on, providing a seamless and cost-effective path for network expansion and enhanced resilience.

IRF2 technology allows multiple physical S5000V5-EI switches to be interconnected and virtualized to form a single, logical switching entity. Depending on the specific model, up to 4 or 9 switches can be part of an IRF2 stack. For instance, models like the S5024PV5-EI and S5048PV5-EI, along with various HPWR models, can support up to 9 members in a stack, offering significant port density and an aggregated backplane capacity. Other models, particularly some of the smaller port-count ‘S’ versions, support up to 4 members. This logical switch operates under a single IP address for management, drastically simplifying network administration, monitoring, and configuration. Instead of managing multiple individual devices, administrators interact with one virtualized switch, reducing operational overhead and the potential for inconsistencies.

The process of expanding the network with IRF2 is designed for simplicity. Adding a new switch to an existing IRF2 stack is largely a plug-n-play operation. Once physically connected (typically via standard Gigabit Ethernet SFP ports designated for stacking) and IRF2 stacking is enabled on the new device, it seamlessly integrates into the logical fabric. This new device becomes a member of the stack, sharing the unified management plane and contributing its port capacity to the overall logical switch. This “pay-as-you-grow” model is highly beneficial for SMBs, allowing them to scale their network infrastructure incrementally as budget and demand dictate, without significant upfront investment or complex re-engineering.

The stacking bandwidth provided by IRF2 is also a critical factor for performance. Models such as the S5024PV5-EI, S5048PV5-EI, and the HPWR variants boast a maximum stacking bandwidth of 16Gbps. Other models offer 8Gbps stacking bandwidth. This high-speed interconnect between stack members ensures that inter-switch communication within the virtualized chassis does not become a bottleneck, facilitating efficient traffic flow across the entire logical device. This is particularly important for applications that require high bandwidth and low latency between different parts of the network that might be physically connected to different member switches.

Beyond simplified management and increased port density, IRF2 significantly enhances network reliability and availability. The 1:N master-backup redundancy mechanism ensures that if the master switch in the stack fails, one of the slave switches automatically takes over the master role, maintaining network operations with minimal or no disruption. This high availability is crucial for business continuity. Furthermore, IRF2 supports cross-device link aggregation. This means that link aggregation groups (LAGs) can be formed using ports from different physical member switches within the IRF2 stack. This not only increases the bandwidth and resiliency of connections to servers or upstream core switches but also provides load balancing across these links, optimizing resource utilization. The S5000V5-EI series supports up to 8 ports per link aggregation group (4 for the S5008PV5-EI-S) and up to 124 link groups, offering considerable flexibility in designing resilient, high-bandwidth connections.

Consider an SMB that initially deploys a single 24-port S5024PV5-EI. As the company grows and hires more staff or adds more network-dependent devices, they might find themselves needing more ports. Instead of replacing the existing switch or managing multiple standalone switches, they can add another S5024PV5-EI (or other compatible models) and form an IRF2 stack. This instantly increases their port capacity while maintaining a single point of management. If they need to connect to a high-speed server farm or an upstream distribution layer, they can create LAGs that span across both physical switches in the stack, providing enhanced throughput and fault tolerance for these critical links.

In essence, IRF2 transforms a collection of individual switches into a cohesive, scalable, and resilient network fabric. This capability allows SMBs to confidently invest in the S5000V5-EI series, knowing that their network can adapt and grow alongside their business, all while preserving simplicity in management and ensuring high levels of performance and availability.

Ordering Information

The H3C S5000V5-EI Managed Switch Series and associated transceivers offer a range of options to build a tailored networking solution. Below are the product IDs and descriptions for ordering.

To explore these H3C S5000V5-EI series switches and receive a global discount offer, visit https://itmall.sale today.