Item: Huawei CloudEngine Data Center Switches
Rating: 9
Author: Roni Peterson Alvarenga Ferraresso

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

I use Huawei CloudEngine Data Center Switches as ToR (Top of Rack) for my hyperconverged solution. There are two 6861 models and two 6863 models, all connected in a stack, thus ensuring high availability and connection redundancy.
I needed a robust switching solution to handle the data traffic from my network and the hundreds of virtual machines. I can say, after all this period using the solution, that it is robust enough and, so far, has not presented any lag or even performance problems.

Pros and Cons

connection stability
Simplified port-channel configuration
Interoperability with various solutions

Documentation, like every huawei product, needs improvement
The official training of this solution is extremely boring and theoretical. It is necessary to make something more practical and useful in everyday life.
As it is a line for datacenters, I believe that the product needs a better development in its chassis. It seems very fragile to me.

Most Important Features

SNMPv3 configuration
Possibility of stacking
Energy saving.
Port speed stability

Return on Investment

The investment ensured a better response, at the network level, of the applications
Support for 60 months guarantees better predictability when evaluating new investments of this type.
Product redundancy ensures greater availability of the entire infrastructure and applications, thus reducing downtime.

Alternatives Considered

Dell PowerConnect Switches and Cisco Nexus Series Switches

The Huawei CloudEngine Data Center Switches solution, as the name implies, is aimed at Datacenters and ToR applications. The development of such equipment was all designed to meet high processing loads and connections of servers, storages and other high-performance assets. The other solutions evaluated (and some we even have in our park) are for other purposes, such as access and edge.

Key Insights

Do you think Huawei CloudEngine Data Center Switches delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with Huawei CloudEngine Data Center Switches's feature set?

Yes

Did Huawei CloudEngine Data Center Switches live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of Huawei CloudEngine Data Center Switches go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy Huawei CloudEngine Data Center Switches again?

Yes

Other Software Used

GLPI, Zimbra Email & Collaboration, Nextcloud, Hyper-V

Likelihood to Recommend

The focus of the solution is datacenter, so it is a waste of resources to use them as SOHO or as access switches. All your robustness needs to be used correctly, so that there is no wasted investment. I also note that, as good practices, it is necessary to ensure redundancy and availability of assets and connections, so the investment is high, even more so if you need to mix fiber and twisted pair solutions.

Huawei CloudEngine Data Center Switches

Software Version

Overall Satisfaction with Huawei CloudEngine Data Center Switches