HPE R4G55B 32Gb Fibre Channel Switch

Overview

The HPE SN3600B R4G55B is a 1U, entry-scale Fibre Channel switch engineered for SAN environments where 32Gb port speed matters but rack space and initial port count are disciplined. It ships with 8 active ports running 16Gb Short Wave SFP+ transceivers against a 32Gb FC backplane — a deliberate design choice that lets storage teams deploy today's workload while licensing additional capacity on demand. If you're connecting HPE Disk Enclosures or Apollo 4200/4500 infrastructure to a small SAN fabric, this is a purpose-matched fit. Browse the full HPE networking and storage catalog for complementary infrastructure.

Key Features

• 32Gbps Fibre Channel Backplane: Each port runs at 32Gbps FC — double the throughput of a legacy 16Gbps SAN fabric. For NVMe-over-FC workloads and high-density flash arrays, this halves the time data spends in transit between host HBAs and storage controllers, directly reducing application latency.
• 768 Gbps Aggregate Switch Bandwidth: The non-blocking switching fabric supports up to 768 Gbps aggregate bandwidth. That ceiling matters when multiple initiators compete for the same storage targets simultaneously — you won't create a switch-level bottleneck in an 8-port active deployment.
• 8-Port Active / 24-Port Licensed Architecture: The 24/8 model means the chassis physically accommodates 24 ports, but 8 are active out of the box. Additional Fibre Channel switch ports can be unlocked via the optional HPE Power Pack+ E-LTU/LTU 8-Port upgrade without hardware changeout — no forklift upgrade when your SAN grows.
• 16Gb Short Wave SFP+ Transceivers: The active ports accept 16Gb SW SFP+ optics, compatible with both 32Gb and 16Gb transceiver speeds. This backward compatibility matters when integrating with mixed-generation HBAs already deployed in your environment.
• Hot Code Load — No-Downtime Firmware Updates: The switch supports hot code load on active ports, meaning firmware can be updated without taking the fabric offline. In storage environments where even brief SAN disruptions cause host-side I/O errors, this is a meaningful operational advantage over switches that require full maintenance windows for patching.
• HPE Power Pack+ Software Included: Comes with HPE Power Pack+ software bundled, which provides SAN management, zoning, diagnostics, and monitoring within the HPE ecosystem. This is not a stripped OEM firmware build — you get the full management stack from day one, reducing time-to-operational for new deployments.
• Platform-Verified Compatibility: Validated against HPE Disk Enclosures, Apollo 4200, and Apollo 4500 platforms. If your storage infrastructure is HPE-standardized, compatibility risk is essentially eliminated — no driver hunting, no interoperability matrices to chase.
• 1U Form Factor: A single rack unit keeps your switching infrastructure compact. In edge data centers, colocation cages, or dense compute rows where rack U-count is premium, this matters more than it sounds. Pair with an HPE rack infrastructure solution for a fully integrated deployment.

Integration & Compatibility

The R4G55B is designed to operate within HPE-standardized SAN environments. Platform-verified targets include HPE Disk Enclosures and the Apollo 4200/4500 series. The switch supports standard Fibre Channel protocol, making it compatible with FC HBAs from major server vendors when operating within a properly zoned fabric. The optional 8-Port upgrade license (HPE E-LTU/LTU) extends active port count without hardware replacement — plan your licensing budget accordingly if phased expansion is on the roadmap. Encryption capability is not supported on this model; if in-flight FC encryption is a compliance requirement for your environment, evaluate alternative switch families before specifying this unit. For SAN storage planning guidance, consult your storage architect on fabric topology before ordering transceivers.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How many ports are active on the R4G55B out of the box?

A: The R4G55B ships with 8 ports active. The physical chassis supports up to 24 ports; additional ports require the optional HPE Power Pack+ E-LTU/LTU 8-Port upgrade license.

Q: What transceiver type does the R4G55B use?

A: The active ports use 16Gb Short Wave SFP+ transceivers. The switch supports both 32Gb and 16Gb transceiver speeds, allowing integration with mixed-generation HBAs.

Q: Does the R4G55B support in-flight Fibre Channel encryption?

A: No. According to the product specifications, the R4G55B does not include FC encryption capability. If in-flight encryption is a requirement, you will need to evaluate an alternate switch platform.

Q: What is the warranty on the R4G55B?

A: The R4G55B carries a 1-year limited warranty from HPE.

Q: Can firmware be updated without a maintenance window?

A: Yes. The R4G55B supports hot code load, which allows firmware updates to be applied to active ports without taking the switch or the fabric offline.

Q: Which HPE storage platforms are verified compatible with this switch?

A: HPE has verified compatibility with HPE Disk Enclosures, Apollo 4200, and Apollo 4500 platforms. Compatibility with other platforms should be verified against HPE's SAN interoperability matrix before deployment.

James Everett

The R4G55B is the switch I'd specify for a small HPE-standardized SAN fabric that needs 32Gbps FC headroom today but isn't ready to buy 24 ports of active capacity all at once. The 24/8 chassis-plus-license model is genuinely useful here — you're not paying for idle ports upfront, and when the workload grows, you add the E-LTU without pulling the switch from the rack.

Technical Highlights:

• 768 Gbps Non-Blocking Fabric: Even with only 8 active ports, the full 768 Gbps aggregate bandwidth ceiling means you won't create a fabric bottleneck as you load those ports. That matters when you're pushing flash-array throughput through all 8 simultaneously.
• Hot Code Load: In production SAN environments, every maintenance window carries risk. The ability to patch firmware on active ports without a fabric outage is a meaningful operational advantage — it means patching cycles align with your schedule, not the storage team's downtime window.
• 16Gb SW SFP+ with 32Gbps Backplane: The transceiver/backplane split is worth understanding: the backplane runs at 32Gbps, but the active ports use 16Gb SW SFP+ optics. You're getting the switching capacity of a 32Gbps platform while maintaining backward compatibility with 16Gbps HBAs already in your environment.

Deployment Considerations:

• Verify your HBA firmware and driver support for the SFP+ transceiver type before deployment — 16Gb SW SFP+ requires multimode fiber (OM3 or OM4); single-mode runs won't work with short-wave optics.
• No FC encryption on this model — if your compliance framework requires in-flight data protection at the SAN fabric layer, this is a hard blocker and the switch family needs to change, not the configuration.

For HPE Apollo 4200/4500 environments running mixed 16Gbps and 32Gbps HBAs where SAN fabric expansion needs to stay incremental and budget-controlled, the R4G55B is a well-matched entry point. It's less suited to multi-fabric enterprise deployments requiring encryption or dense port counts out of the box.