Dell Networking X1052 Smart Switch

The Dell Networking X1052 is a 1U smart managed switch with 48 auto-sensing 10/100/1000BASE-T ports and four dedicated 10GbE SFP+ uplinks, carrying up to 176Gbps of switch fabric capacity and a 131Mpps forwarding rate behind a browser-based GUI.

The X1052 is the non-PoE model - check which one you need

Dell shipped this switch in two versions and the difference is Power over Ethernet. The X1052 has none. The X1052P provides 24 PoE and PoE+ ports up to 369W total, draws from a 525W supply instead of a 100W one, carries four rear fans instead of two, and weighs 6.00 kg against this model's 3.80 kg. If phones, access points or cameras need power from the switch, the X1052 is not the right part number - and listings that describe an X1052 as a PoE switch are describing the P model.

Everything else is common between them: the same 48 copper ports, the same four uplinks, the same fabric, the same GUI.

Four dedicated uplinks, not combo ports

The four SFP/SFP+ ports are dedicated 10GbE uplinks. They are not combo ports and they disable no copper port, so the switch presents 52 physical connections in total - 48 access plus 4 uplink. That is worth stating plainly because the previous Dell generation, the PowerConnect series, used combo slots that took a copper port out of service for every fibre port installed.

Forty gigabits of dedicated uplink against forty-eight gigabits of access capacity is roughly 1.2:1 oversubscription at full line rate, which for a wiring closet is generous. Uplinks take 10GbE SFP+ optics or a 10GbE direct-attach copper cable to a top-of-rack or aggregation switch.

What "smart managed" means here

The X-Series sits deliberately between an unmanaged switch and a fully managed one. Configuration runs through a browser GUI built around step-by-step wizards and a single dashboard covering common tasks, alerts, port status and network visualisation, with multi-port selection for batch changes and port profiles for common device types. SNMP monitoring is supported. There is a CLI, but Dell describes it as limited - it is not the full command language you get on the N-series or the S-series, and it is not the tool you would script a fleet from.

Layer 3 is Layer 2+: IPv4 and IPv6 with static routing. There are no dynamic routing protocols - no OSPF, no BGP, no RIP - and the X-Series does not stack. Eight priority queues per port, a 16K MAC table and 1MB of packet buffer complete the picture.

That set of capabilities makes the X1052 a good fit for a branch office, a small campus closet or a lab that wants VLANs, QoS and visibility without a network engineer on staff, and a poor fit for a core, an aggregation layer or anything managed by configuration automation. Buy it for what it is.

Physical, power and environment

The chassis is full rack width at 1RU - 1.71 by 17.1 by 10.63 inches, 8.4 lbs - with two rear fans and a 100W internal supply. Maximum draw is 60.2W, which is 205.2 BTU/hr of heat into the room, and the switch is Dell Fresh Air 2.0 capable with an operating range of 0 to 50 degrees C. Acoustic output peaks at 56.7 dBA at 50 degrees C, so this is a switch for a closet or a rack rather than an office ceiling. The unit is 100% lead-free and carries Dell's patented locking plug and console port.

The half-rack-width members of the family - the X1018 and X1026 - mount two per 1RU in a tandem rack tray. That tray does not apply to this model, which is already full width.

Where it sits in the X-Series

The X-Series runs from an eight-port desk unit to a twelve-port 10GbE aggregation switch:

• X1008 / X1008P - 8 ports, fanless, wall or ceiling mountable; the X1008 can itself be PoE-powered.
• X1018 / X1018P - 16 ports plus 2 dedicated 1GbE SFP uplinks, half rack width.
• X1026 / X1026P - 24 ports plus 2 dedicated 1GbE SFP uplinks, half rack width.
• X1052 / X1052P - 48 ports plus 4 dedicated 10GbE SFP+ uplinks, full rack width (this page).
• X4012 - 12 ports of SFP/SFP+ at 10GbE, 240Gbps fabric, for aggregating the others.

If the requirement is an enterprise-managed 48-port gigabit switch with a full CLI, stacking and dynamic routing rather than a smart managed one, the Dell campus families are the place to look instead - the N2048 adds stacking and a full CLI, and the N3048 adds full Layer 3 routing.

Condition, testing and support

Every unit is professionally refurbished: inspected, cleaned, configuration-wiped, firmware-checked and functionally tested on every port before it ships, and it ships with warranty. The X-Series is out of production and the secondary market is the supply, which is the right way to buy a switch class whose job is to keep working quietly for another five years.

This model is listed for quotation rather than immediate purchase. Tell us the quantity, whether you need SFP+ optics or direct-attach cables fitted, and confirm whether you need PoE - if you do, you want the X1052P and we will quote that instead.