Not all that long ago, 100 gigabit ethernet (100 GbE) was strictly the domain of the largest backbone carriers. In 2025, 100 GbE is now part of the enterprise networking landscape.
100 GbE is becoming essential for enterprises, especially in data centers, as they handle increasing data demands from cloud computing and AI. In 2024, IDC reported that 100 GbE switches accounted for 46.3% of the data center market’s ethernet switch revenues. While big vendors including Cisco and Arista dominate the space, other players are also having an impact.
Zyxel Networks introduced the CX4800-56F, a Layer 3 managed switch featuring 100GbE connectivity capabilities. This release extends Zyxel’s enterprise networking portfolio beyond their previous XGS4600-52F model.
“This is our first switch of this size, but not the first of the class,” Tri Nguyen, channel sales and product manager at Zyxel Networks, told Network World. “It expands our portfolio where our XGS4600-52F is, a L3 Fiber Switch with 48 ports of Gigabit Fiber with 10G uplinks. This switch now moves us into a 10G/25G port with 100G uplinks.”
What’s inside the CX4800-56F
The CX4800-56F architecture centers on a 2.20 GHz Intel CPU running Zyxel’s proprietary ZyNOS operating system. The ZyNOS operating system provides a CLI interface with Cisco-like command structure options for administrators familiar with that environment. Unlike some competitors in this segment, Zyxel does not currently support open source network operating systems such as SONiC.
The switch fabric delivers 4.0 Tbps total switching capacity with forwarding rates of 2.0Bpps (billion packets per second). Its non-blocking architecture ensures full 25GbE wire-speed throughput simultaneously on all ports, even under maximum traffic conditions.
Port specifications include:
- 48 SFP28 ports supporting dual-rate 10GbE/25GbE connectivity
- 8 QSFP28 ports supporting 100GbE connections
- Console port for direct management access
Layer 3 routing capabilities include static routing with support for access control lists (ACLs) and VLAN segmentation. The switch implements IEEE 802.1Q VLAN tagging, port isolation, and port mirroring for traffic analysis. For link aggregation, the switch supports IEEE 802.3ad for increased throughput and redundancy between switches or servers.
Target applications and use cases
The CX4800-56F targets multiple deployment scenarios where high-capacity backbone connectivity and flexible port configurations are required.
“This will be for service providers initially or large deployments where they need a high capacity backbone to deliver a primarily 10G access layer to the end point,” explains Nguyen. “Now with Wi-Fi 7, more 10G/25G capable POE switches are being powered up and need interconnectivity without the bottleneck. We see this for data centers, campus, MDU (Multi-Dwelling Unit) buildings or community deployments.”
Management is handled through Zyxel’s NebulaFlex Pro technology, which supports both standalone configuration and cloud management via the Nebula Control Center (NCC). The switch includes a one-year professional pack license providing IGMP technology and network analytics features.
The SFP28 ports maintain backward compatibility between 10G and 25G standards, enabling phased migration paths for organizations transitioning between these speeds.
AI-enhanced AV capabilities
A particular focus and somewhat differentiated capability on the CX4800-56F is support for Zyxel’s networked AV mode. That technology is designed to help simplify the setup and management of AV (audio/visual) over IP (AVoIP) systems.
Zyxel claims that the dedicated networked AV mode will enable latency-free and lossless 4K video streaming over a 10GbE network. The dedicated networked AV mode also provides administrators with mounting capabilities for AV network elements.
Going a step further, the CX4800-56F dedicated networked AV mode benefits from some artificial intelligence (AI) features that aim to further improve reliability.
“Broadcast storms and network configuration inefficiency or routes could be auto rerouted or updated to improve quality of service and packet delivery,” Nguyen said.
Source:: Network World