Dell PowerSwitch N3048EP-ON PoE+ Switch

The Dell Networking N3048EP-ON is a 1U managed campus access switch presenting 48 x RJ45 10/100/1000Mb PoE+ (to 30.8W); the first 12 also deliver PoE 60W, 2 x SFP+ 10GbE, 2 x GbE combo media, rated by Dell at a 260Gbps non-blocking switching fabric and a 193Mpps forwarding rate. It is the Power-over-Ethernet member of Dell's N3000E-ON refresh: '-ON' denotes Open Network Install Environment support, so the unit can boot an alternative network operating system instead of the factory image.

PoE across all 48 ports

Every one of the 48 copper ports delivers 802.3at PoE+ up to 30.8W, and the first twelve step up to PoE 60W for higher-draw devices - multi-radio wireless access points, pan-tilt-zoom cameras, or powered displays. Those are per-port ceilings, not a total budget: what limits a real deployment is the installed supply. This chassis ships with one 1100W unit and has a second hot-swappable bay. A floor of 802.3af access points drawing 12-15W each is a completely different load from a camera estate running at 60W, so size from your actual device list rather than from the port count.

Power cord note: like every PoE chassis in this family, the N3048EP-ON uses a C16 inlet and requires a C15 cord. A standard C13 cord will not seat.

What the E-series changed

Same 1U chassis and same OS 6 command set as the original N3000, with two documented differences. Stacking scale: on Dell EMC Networking OS 6.5.1.x and later the original N3000 series is capped at 8 stack members while the N3000E series keeps the full 12. Memory: the E models carry 2GB of system memory and 1GB of flash, against 1GB and 256MB on the base N3000 - headroom that supports an ONIE-installed alternative operating system. Compared with the original N3048P, which is the same 48-port PoE+ shape on the pre-refresh hardware, the E revision is the one to specify for large stacks on current firmware.

Uplinks, stacking and expansion

Two dedicated front 10Gb SFP+ ports carry the closet uplink and stay free in a stacked configuration, because stacking runs on two separate rear ports at 21Gbps each for 84Gbps full duplex. Two GbE combo media ports add copper or fiber flexibility, and the hot-swappable expansion bay takes a 2-port 10GBASE-T or 2-port 10Gb SFP+ module to double the 10Gb uplink count.

Routing and software

Dell EMC Networking OS 6 provides full Layer 3: static routing, RIPv1/v2, OSPFv2 and OSPFv3, VRRP, PIM-SM/PIM-DM, policy-based routing, BGP and VRF-lite, with Multi-chassis LAG for active/active redundancy without spanning tree. It interoperates with Cisco RPVST+ and CDP. Scale: 32K MAC addresses, 4,094 VLANs, 8,160 dynamic IPv4 routes and 4MB of packet buffer.

Availability and sourcing

Dell has retired the N-Series, so there is no new-unit channel for this model - the secondary market is the only market. We are not holding stock of the N3048EP-ON at the moment; this page exists so the model is quotable and so we can source against a request. Tell us the quantity, the PoE load you need to support and whether you want a second power supply fitted, and we will come back with availability. Every unit we supply is refurbished, tested and supplied with warranty. Compare against N3048ET-ON (the non-PoE E-series twin) and N3048P.