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  • 1.  HPE 6100 or 6200 for Layer2 Network?

    Posted Apr 20, 2026 07:15 AM

    Hello Everyone,

    We want to renew our access switches. The current state is a mix of HP ProCurve 2920 and HP Aruba 2930F 48G (JL262A).

    So far the 2930F switches are still fine, but the 2920 switches should be replaced.

    I always read that the 6200 is the new 2930F. But I am not really convinced to buy 6200, because we don't use Layer 3 features on these switches. 

    Layer 3 happens on our firewall (router-on-a-stick).

    I personally would buy the 6100 (JL675A) because it's cheaper, we don't need modular switches, and there are no redundant power supplies. So I think for only Layer 2 it's enough.

    With the change, we also want to use 802.1x and MAC-based authentication. This also works on the 6100.

    So I don't see the point of buying 6200. 

    Am I missing something, or would you also buy the 6100? When would you buy the 6200 rather than the 6100?

    The infrastructure right now:

    Router/Firewall: Fortigate 100F (Cluster)

    Core-Switch: Aruba 6300M (JL663A)

    Access: HP ProCurve 2920 and Aruba 2930 (Around 50 Access Switches).

    The use of the network is mixed for school and administrative workers.

    I am happy for some feedback!



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  • 2.  RE: HPE 6100 or 6200 for Layer2 Network?
    Best Answer

    Posted Apr 20, 2026 08:07 AM
    Hi Guido, technically the Aruba 6100 should fits your bill quite well, especially considering what you really need in your infrastructure (and also considering what you don't really need).

    AFAIK, HPE added the AOS-CX - VSF feature into the Aruba CX 6100 switch series and that makes the series - no matter if you don't need/use this specific frontplane stacking capability - more similar to what is available on the older Aruba 2930F (which is AOS-S - VSF capable).





  • 3.  RE: HPE 6100 or 6200 for Layer2 Network?

    Posted Apr 20, 2026 09:13 AM

    If you don't need UBT and as you wrote only L2 features, then 6100 is good enough. 10G uplinks, 4 switches in stack if needed. It's not really replacement for 2920. This would be 6200 as you discovered. More like 2530 replacement.

    Best, Gorazd



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    Gorazd Kikelj
    MVP Guru 2025
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    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: HPE 6100 or 6200 for Layer2 Network?

    Posted Apr 22, 2026 04:06 AM
    Edited by Holger Hasenaug Apr 22, 2026 04:26 AM

    Here are some of the limitations on the 6100 compared to 6200 switches which you might consider:

    • No VSF auto-stacking using the push-button method (this is the most commonly used method for automatically forming a VSF stack (6200 or 6300))
    • No VSF stacking via mobile app
    • VSF split detection via OOBM management port is not possible, as the 6100 does not have an OOBM port. => A separate additional data port is required for VLAN split detection
    • Max. six 6100 switches in a VSF stack; the 6200 supports eight, and the 6300 supports ten switches in a VSF stack
    • No option for modular and redundant power supplies for switches in the same switch series as with the 6200F/M, 6300F/M/L switch series
    • No option for SmarRate (Multi-Gig) switch version with PoE Class 6 (60 Watt) as on 6200M series
    • No support for static VXLAN tunnels, therefore not suitable for a campus VXLAN fabric
    • No UBT (User-based Tunneling) support (Dynamic Segmentation)
    • No NAE or NAE-light (required even for minor tasks, such as periodically backing up the configuration to an SFTP server)
    • No IP SLA (Service Level Agreement)
    • No Application Recognition. This means no behavioral analysis of client applications and web URLs, and thus Central cannot perform application recognition/web URL analysis or display this information (all fields remain empty)
    • No "Averaging instantaneous system power consumption," so Aruba Central cannot calculate the average of the system's current power consumption,
    • No Quick PoE (end devices are not powered immediately after the switch is turned on, but only once the OS has finished loading)
    • No PoE Always-on (PoE is therefore turned off during bootup) 
    • No remote mirroring (traffic cannot be mirrored across switches)
    • No device fingerprinting (for classifying clients connected to the port, meaning such data is not forwarded to ClearPass and Central/Central NAC)
    • No QoS DWRR scheduling (only basic QoS)
    • Slower CPU and only half the RAM compared to the 6200 Switch Series, which significantly impacts how quickly the devices respond on CLI as well as via network management protocols (SNMP, REST-API)
    • Older HPE Aruba ASIC generation compared to the 6200/6300 Switch Series, resulting in lower scalability, particularly in 802.1X/MAC port authentication and ACL areas. Certain functions are not available at all.
    • No RJ-45 console port
    • I have omitted the Layer 3 feature comparison (which is significant) since L3 functions are generally not needed in access networks.
    Always compare feature by feature which you are using on the feature navigator: https://feature-navigator.arubanetworks.com 
    In addition switch depth and loudness might be of interest for schools which you need to compare using the datasheets.
     
    If there were reasons why you choose the 2930 over the 2530 in the past, there may be good reasons why to chose the 6200 over the 6100 switch series now.


    I hope that helps a bit.

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    Original Message


  • 5.  RE: HPE 6100 or 6200 for Layer2 Network?

    Posted Apr 22, 2026 04:37 AM

    Hi Holger.

    Great comparison summary.

    Best, Gorazd



    ------------------------------
    Gorazd Kikelj
    MVP Guru 2025
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    Original Message


  • 6.  RE: HPE 6100 or 6200 for Layer2 Network?

    Posted Apr 22, 2026 06:42 AM

    Hello Holger

    This is very Helpful, thank you!

    I have some questions to your answer:

    1. VSF Stacking still works, i just have to do it manually, right? - Because i saw in quickspecs it is supported
    2. What do you mean with lower scalability for 802.1X/ MAC port authentication?
    3. Is there a console cable in the package included?

    I think the C6100 should still be fine for us. Lower CPU and RAM can be annoying.

    A thing that i will maybe miss is the remote port mirroring. Is it possible that features like this will also be available in the future?

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    Original Message


  • 7.  RE: HPE 6100 or 6200 for Layer2 Network?

    Posted Apr 22, 2026 07:32 AM
    Edited by Holger Hasenaug Apr 22, 2026 07:34 AM

    Hi,
     

    1. VSF Stacking still works, i just have to do it manually, right? - Because i saw in quickspecs it is supported?
      Yes, VSF is supported, even CLI-based autostacking but not using the push-button method, see VSF manual for details and differences or watch the VSF video for 4100i/6100 series.

    2. What do you mean with lower scalability for 802.1X/MAC port authentication?
      Use the feature-navigator and directly compare the switch series side by side. In addition, don't forget to switch on the "Scale" button on the upper right corner. In the "Port Access Security" section, you see entires like  " authenticated clients per port…", "multiple authenticated clients per system…", etc.

    3. Is there a console cable in the package included?
      No, that hasn't been the case for a very long time now on all CX switch series.

    4. A thing that i will maybe miss is the remote port mirroring. Is it possible that features like this will also be available in the future?
      I can't comment on roadmap topics. You may contact your SE for this.


    Best regards



  • 8.  RE: HPE 6100 or 6200 for Layer2 Network?

    Posted Apr 24, 2026 11:02 AM

    One thing I'd like to add:

    Although 6100 supports receiving downloadable user roles (DUR) it is not capable of the auto-vlan feature.

     



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    Greez,
    Uli
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    Original Message


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