I've seen that some vendors already list the new M4500 series and that that 2 models of this new line is listed on netgear.com. Yes, the prices seem to be quite a bit in a higher range than the M4300, but it's likely still significantly less expensive than what competitors ask for i.e. 48 SFP28 slots ...
Is the M4500 confirmed to remain a standalone model range or did I just not find the word stacking in the docs? Oh, and finding ONIE mentioned in the documentation made me quite a bit excited.
Touché - I was really not looking for the right teminology. Perfect! It seems like with this new line they could really up their game. The management plane runs on a C3000-series Intel processor. The CLI looks mostly like the M4300, the firmware mentions a QNOS name. I can only imagine that the switch to ONIE and and x86 management plane might have made the change to the underlying NOS a requirement.
Oh, and I realized I started the thread in the wrong section...stupid me.
As far as I have checked, here are some key points to note about the M4500:
a. These switches are managed through CLI only.
b. There is no web admin page available.
c. They are not stackable.
d. They are intended for deployment in ProAV environments.
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(Thanks for moving the thread into the right section)
I'd say that the lack of a web admin and being CLI shouldn't be an issue for the target audience. From my perspective the lack of stacking has its pros and cons that are partially alleviated by the presence of MLAG.
It would be interesting as to why and where specifically Netgear targets the ProAV marget with the M4500 series. They seem to be also a worthy look for DC usage I'd say.
It would be interesting to read some more information about QNOS. The shell syntax seems to be remain close to what the M4300 but under the hood we can clearly see a Linux distribution being executed on the x86 processor that controls the network chips.
There's no reason why you couldn't use M4500's in a non-ProAV deployment. If you think it fits yours or your clients needs, then I encourage you to take a look and contact sales. 🙂
