Dell EMC Connectrix DS-7720B 24/64P Switch

Overview

The Dell EMC Connectrix DS-7720B is a 64 Gb/s Fibre Channel SAN switch in a 1U form factor, designed for high-performance fabrics in enterprise data centers. Its base configuration enables 24 ports, and it can scale up to 64 ports via Ports-on-Demand (PoD) licensing (using SFP+ and SFP-DD transceivers). The switch delivers 50 % lower latency compared to the previous generation and is built to optimize flash and NVMe storage workloads.
The DS-7720B comes with full licensing of advanced features (e.g. Fabric Vision, ISL Trunking, Integrated Routing) at no extra cost and is certified for mainframe environments.

Key Features

• High performance 64 Gb/s per port — Delivers full 64 Gb/s Fibre Channel performance on each port.
• Low latency architecture — Up to 50 % latency improvement over prior generations.
• Pay-as-you-grow scalability — Starts with 24 active ports; expand to 56 or 64 ports using POD licenses.
• Mixed port types — Supports up to 56 SFP+ 64G ports and 8 SFP-DD (2×64G) ports, which can auto-negotiate or accept either transceiver type.
• Fully licensed features included — Fabric Vision, Extended Fabric, ISL Trunking, Integrated Routing, FICON CUP, and more come pre-enabled.
• Comprehensive SAN and fabric services — Advanced zoning, congestion management, ISL load balancing, diagnostics, OEM integration.
• Robust management interfaces — CLI, Web GUI, REST API, SNMP, SSH, integration with SANnav and OEM management tools.
• High reliability and redundancy — Dual hot-swappable power supplies (80 Plus Gold) and redundant cooling.
• Mainframe certified — Approved for use in mission-critical mainframe storage environments.

Specifications

Switch Architecture

• Port configuration: up to 64 Fibre Channel ports (in default: 24 ports enabled)
• Port types: SFP+ (64G) and SFP-DD (2×64G)
• Scalability: from 24 to 56 with SFP+ PoDs, or up to 64 with a combination of SFP+ and SFP-DD PoDs
• Maximum fabric size: up to 239 switches
• Certified maximum: 4,000 active nodes; limit of 56 switches per fabric, 19 hops

Performance & Bandwidth

• Aggregate bandwidth: 4.096 Tb/s
• Frame latency (local switch): ~460 ns (including Forward Error Correction)
• ISL trunking: supports up to 8 ports per ISL trunk, up to 512 Gb/s per trunk
• Maximum frame size: 2,112-byte payload
• Frame buffer per switching ASIC: 24,000 frames

Port Speeds / Compatibility

• Auto-sensing for 8, 10, 16, 32, and 64 Gb/s speeds on Fibre Channel
• Support for SFP+ and SFP-DD transceivers for short, long, and extended reach
• Interoperability with mixed-speed fabrics

Management & Diagnostics

• Management ports: 1 × 10/100/1000 Mbps Ethernet (RJ-45), serial console (mini-USB), USB for firmware uploads
• Protocols & Interfaces: CLI, Web GUI, REST API, SNMP v1/v3, SSH, HTTPS, RADIUS, TACACS+, LDAP
• Diagnostics & monitoring: ClearLink diagnostics, FEC, path tracing (Pathinfo), flow mirroring, performance monitoring, in-depth analytics

Security & Access Control

• Role-Based Access Control (RBAC)
• Secure management: SSH v2, HTTPS, IP filtering, Secure Boot
• Switch authentication: DH-CHAP, FCAP, trusted switch
• Port binding and zoning capabilities

Mechanical & Environmental

• Rack form factor: 1U, rear-to-front airflow
• Dimensions: 440 mm (W) × 43.9 mm (H) × 355.6 mm (D)
• Weight: ~7.17 kg (with dual power supplies, no transceivers)
• Power: Dual hot-swappable redundant AC supplies (90 V–264 V, 47–63 Hz)
• Power consumption: ~349 W (fully loaded) / ~57 W (empty chassis)

Operating Conditions

• Operating temperature, humidity, etc. (as per manufacturer’s environmental guidelines)