The HPE Aruba R8Q68A is a 24-port Layer 3 managed stackable access switch from the Aruba CX 6200M Series, designed for enterprise branch offices, campuses, and SMB networks requiring modular resiliency with PoE+ density and 10G uplinks. The switch provides 24 10/100/1000BASE-T Class 4 PoE+ RJ-45 ports with a 740W PoE budget and up to 30W per port, alongside four 1G/10G SFP+ uplink ports with LRM support and MACsec 256 on two of the four ports. Switching capacity is 128 Gbps with a forwarding rate of 95.2 Mpps. The CX 6200M modular chassis includes two hot-swappable power supply slots and two fan tray slots for enhanced resiliency — power supply is ordered separately (JL086A or JL087A). The switch runs AOS-CX with the Aruba Network Analytics Engine (NAE) for real-time telemetry, automated troubleshooting, and time-series state data. VSF stacking supports up to 8 members across 6200F and 6200M switches for up to 384 ports per stack. Layer 3 features include static routing, Access OSPF, VXLAN, Dynamic Segmentation, and ACLs. No software licensing is required.
| Manufacturer | HPE Aruba |
| Part Number | R8Q68A |
| Product Line | Aruba CX 6200M Series |
| Product Type | Layer 3 Managed Modular Gigabit PoE+ Switch |
| Access Ports | 24x 10/100/1000BASE-T RJ-45 Class 4 PoE+ (up to 30W per port) |
| PoE Standard | IEEE 802.3af/at; up to 740W total PoE budget |
| Uplink Ports | 4x 1G/10G SFP+ (2x LRM; 2x LRM/MACsec 256) |
| Console Ports | 1x RJ-45; 1x USB-C; 1x OOBM; 1x USB-A host |
| Switching Capacity | 128 Gbps |
| Forwarding Rate | 95.2 Mpps |
| Latency | 2.28 µs (1 Gbps); 1.46 µs (10 Gbps) |
| MAC Address Table | 32,000 entries |
| Packet Buffer | 8 MB |
| Stacking | VSF; up to 8 members (6200F and 6200M); up to 384 ports per stack; 40 Gbps stacking bandwidth |
| Operating System | AOS-CX with Network Analytics Engine (NAE) |
| Layer 2/3 | VLANs; VXLAN; ACLs; QoS; static routing; Access OSPF; VRRP; IPv4/IPv6; no license required |
| Security | MACsec 256; Dynamic Segmentation; 802.1X; ACLs; DHCP snooping; Dynamic ARP; ND snooping |
| Management | Aruba Central (cloud); web GUI; CLI; NetEdit; CX Mobile App; REST APIs; SNMP; sFlow |
| Power Supply | 2x hot-swappable modular PSU slots; 1 PSU minimum required (order JL086A or JL087A separately) |
| Fan Trays | 2x hot-swappable fan tray slots; 1 fan tray included |
| Form Factor | 1RU rack-mountable; front and side-to-back airflow |
| Dimensions (H x W x D) | 1.73 x 17.42 x 15.11 in (4.39 x 44.25 x 38.38 cm) |
| Weight | 13.25 lbs (6.01 kg) |