This User Guide is for the platform version listed on the cover. This chapter introduces the main features and applications of the Switch.

The XMG2230 Series consists of the following models:

All models are referred to as the “Switch” in this guide.

The Switch supports NebulaFlex for hybrid mode which can set the Switch to operate in either standalone or Nebula cloud management mode. When the Switch is in standalone mode, it can be configured and managed by the Web Configurator. When the Switch is in Nebula cloud management mode, it can be managed and provisioned by the Zyxel Nebula Control Center (NCC).

The last four 10G ports can also be used for stacking. Use the four 10G fiber ports. When working in stacking mode, the Switch can operate together with other Switches of the same model and firmware version and allows you to remotely manage them from one switch using one single IP address.

The Switch uses redundant power supplies, AC power and DC power, to ensure no Switch downtimes in case of a power supply outage.

A 2.5 Gigabit port supports speeds of 2.5G if the connected device supports 2.5G and a Cat 5e (up to 100 m) is used. The speed drops to 1G if these criteria are not met.

If a network device such as a 5G network card, gaming computer, server, Network Attached Storage (NAS) or Access Point (AP) only supports 1 Gigabit connectivity, then the maximum speed potential of these devices is never reached.

Multi-Gigabit (IEEE 802.3bz) solves these problems by additionally supporting 1 Gigabit and 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet connections over Cat 5e and higher Ethernet cables.

See the following table for the cables required and distance limitation to attain the corresponding speed.

This section shows a few examples of using the Switch in various network environments. Note that the Switch in the figure is just an example Switch and not your actual Switch.

The following example figure shows a Switch supplying PoE (Power over Ethernet) to Powered Devices (PDs) such as an IP camera, a wireless router, an IP telephone and a general outdoor router that are not within reach of a power outlet.

The Switch is an ideal solution for small networks where rapid growth can be expected in the near future. The Switch can be used standalone for a group of heavy traffic users. You can connect computers and servers directly to the Switch’s port or connect other switches to the Switch.

In this example, all computers can share high-speed applications on the server. To expand the network, simply add more networking devices such as switches, routers, computers, print servers, and so on.

In this example, the Switch connects different company departments (RD and Sales (S)) to the corporate backbone. It can alleviate bandwidth contention and eliminate server and network bottlenecks. All users that need high bandwidth can connect to high-speed department servers through the Switch.

Moreover, the Switch eases supervision and maintenance by allowing network managers to centralize multiple servers at a single location.

The Switch is ideal for connecting two geographically dispersed networks that need high bandwidth. In the following example, a company uses the 10 Gigabit uplink ports to connect the headquarters to a branch office network. Within the headquarters network, a company can use trunking to group several physical ports into one logical higher-capacity link. Trunking can be used if for example, it is cheaper to use multiple lower-speed links than to under-utilize a high-speed, but more costly, single-port link.

A VLAN (Virtual Local Area Network) allows a physical network to be partitioned into multiple logical networks. Stations on a logical network belong to one or more groups. With VLAN, a station cannot directly talk to or hear from stations that are not in the same groups unless such traffic first goes through a router.

Ports in the same VLAN group share the same frame broadcast domain thereby increase network performance through reduced broadcast traffic. VLAN groups can be modified at any time by adding, moving or changing ports without any re-cabling.

Shared resources such as a server can be used by all ports in the same VLAN as the server. In the following figure only ports that need access to the server need to be part of VLAN 1. Ports can belong to other VLAN groups too.

IPv6 (Internet Protocol version 6), is designed to enhance IP address size and features. The increase in IPv6 address size to 128 bits (from the 32-bit IPv4 address) allows up to 3.4 x 1038 IP addresses. At the time of writing, the Switch supports the following features.

Use any of the following methods to manage the Switch.

The Switch can operate in either standalone or Nebula cloud management mode. When the Switch is in standalone mode, it can be configured and managed by the Web Configurator. When the Switch is in Nebula cloud management mode, it can be managed and provisioned by the Zyxel Nebula Control Center (NCC).

Use the DHCP-assigned IP address or 192.168.1.1 to access the Web Configurator. To know the IP address, use the NCC, the ZON utility, or the console port if available. You can also use the domain name “setup.zyxel” to access the Web Configurator when you are directly connected to the Switch.

Use the Web Configurator to configure and manage the Switch directly in standalone mode or use Nebula Control Center (NCC) to configure and manage the Switch in cloud mode. The Nebula Control Center (NCC) is an alternative cloud-based network management system that allows you to remotely manage and monitor the Zyxel Nebula Security Appliances (SA), Ethernet Switches (S1 and S2), and Access Points (AP). You may also access the Web Configurator in cloud mode.

To have Nebula manage the Switch, you must first register it at the Nebula web portal at https://nebula.zyxel.com, and ensure that Nebula Control Center (NCC) Discovery is enabled in SYSTEM > Cloud Management in the Switch Web Configurator.

See the NCC User’s Guide for how to configure the Switch using Nebula.

This section describes how to change the Switch’s management mode. Refer to the Switch’s standalone mode User’s Guide for LED descriptions, including CLOUD LED behavior.

To manage your Switch through Nebula, connect the Switch to the Internet, and register it to a site and organization at the Nebula web portal (https://nebula.zyxel.com).

See the following steps or the Switch Quick Start Guide for registering the Switch.

See Section 3.4 on page 56 for more information about the CLOUD LED or Section Table 31 on page 123 for more information about the Cloud Control Status field in the DASHBOARD screen to see if the Switch goes into Nebula cloud management mode successfully.

To return to direct management standalone mode, remove (unregister) the Switch from the inventory in the Nebula web portal.

To unregister the Switch:

It will take a while for the Switch to reboot and reset to factory default.

Aside from the Web Configurator in Standard mode, you can switch to Networked AV mode that is specifically designed to simplify configuration and management of the Switch for AVoIP (Audio-Video over Internet Protocol) application. In AV over IP, the AV transmitter is the transmitter, the AV receiver is the receiver, and the matrix switch is a standard IP Switch. See Section 4.4 on page 68 for details on using the Setup Wizard screen for configuring the Switch’s Networked AV mode’s basic and advanced settings.

The Switch is a Power Sourcing Equipment (PSE) because it provides a source of power through its Ethernet ports. Each device that receives power through an Ethernet port is a Powered Device (PD).

The Switch can adjust the power supplied to each PD according to the PoE standard the PD supports. PoE standards are:

The following table describes the PoE features of the Switch by PoE standard.