HPE Aruba CX 8320 Series

Campus cores must support growing traffic while maintaining consistent policy and uptime. Fixed designs with limited capacity can increase redesign frequency. The HPE Aruba CX 8320 Series addresses this with high-capacity switching for core and aggregation roles, combining performance with integrated policy control.

They are deployed at the centre of campus networks connecting access layers and services. These switches reduce network complexity, maintain stable operation, and support long-term growth without frequent replacement.

HPE Aruba CX 8320 Series Quick Specs & Key Features

Fixed Data Centre Switching Platform: Provides high-performance Layer 2 and Layer 3 switching for aggregation and spine roles in data centre networks.
High-Density 10/25/40/100GbE Ports: Supports multiple interface speeds to connect servers, storage, and network layers within modern data centre designs.
Low-Latency Switching Fabric: Delivers predictable forwarding performance for latency-sensitive applications and high-throughput workloads.

Advanced Routing Capabilities: Supports dynamic routing protocols to manage large-scale network segmentation and traffic flows.
EVPN-VXLAN Network Virtualisation: Enables scalable multi-tenant network overlays across Layer 3 fabrics.
Network Analytics Engine: Provides real-time telemetry and event monitoring to support operational visibility and troubleshooting.

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Find your ideal HPE Aruba CX 8320 Series

Full technical specifications are available on each product page.

Model	Popularity	Deployment	Target Organisation Size	Primary Use Case	Access Ports	Port Configuration	Maximum Port Speed	PoE Budget (W)	Maximum Switching Capacity (Gbps)	Stackable	Operating System / Management Platform
HPE Aruba CX 8320 48-Port SFP+ Switch	★ ★ ★	Data Centre	Enterprise	Leaf	48	48×SFP+ + 6×QSFP+	40G	None	2560	Not supported	AOS-CX	View
HPE Aruba CX 8320 32-Port QSFP+ Switch	★ ★ ★	Data Centre	Enterprise	Spine	32	32×QSFP+	40G	None	2560	Not supported	AOS-CX	View
HPE Aruba CX 8320 48-Port 10GBASE-T Switch	★ ★ ★	Data Centre	Enterprise	Leaf	48	48×RJ45 10G + 6×QSFP+	40G	None	2560	Not supported	AOS-CX	View

HPE Aruba CX 8320 Series Deployment Scenarios and Industries

Data Centres & Top-of-Rack Switching

Data centre teams connect compute, storage, and application platforms where low latency and consistent throughput are required. HPE Aruba CX 8320 supports these environments as a top-of-rack platform, maintaining predictable data flow across high-density workloads.

Finance & Core Application Networks

Finance organisations operate transaction and analytics systems where performance and availability affect operations. Aruba CX 8320 supports these environments with switching suited to latency-sensitive applications and centralised data processing.

Media & Production Infrastructure

Media teams move large files between editing, storage, and rendering systems where throughput affects production timelines. Aruba CX 8320 supports these workflows with high-capacity switching across production and storage networks.

Software Development & Platform Environments

Development teams run virtualised platforms and container environments where system-to-system traffic can scale rapidly. Aruba CX 8320 supports these environments with switching designed for consistent performance across application infrastructure.

Enterprise & Campus Core Networks

Enterprise teams connect users, applications, and services across campus environments where reliability and scalability are required. Aruba CX 8320 supports these deployments as a core switching platform, maintaining consistent connectivity across central networks.

HPE Aruba CX 8320 Series Management and Licensing Options

Aruba Central

Manage your entire switching, wireless, and WAN estate from a single cloud-native dashboard. Aruba Central delivers AI-powered network insights, automated configuration and firmware management, and real-time anomaly detection across all sites — reducing operational overhead and giving your team full visibility without being on-site.

Ask us about Aruba Central

Aruba ClearPass

Enforce consistent, policy-driven access control across wired and wireless networks regardless of device type or user role. ClearPass authenticates every endpoint before granting access, segments traffic dynamically, and provides full visibility into who and what is connected across your environment — reducing your attack surface and simplifying compliance reporting.

Ask us about Aruba ClearPass

As an authorised HPE partner, we’re here to help your organisation select, configure, and manage the right combination of platforms and services to efficiently scale and support your new solution long-term. Contact our HPE specialists for guidance today.

Shop All HPE Aruba CX 8320 Series Models

Browse our full range below, or contact our team for tailored configuration advice.

HPE Aruba CX 8320 32-Port QSFP+ Switch
Price range: £2,500.00 through £5,271.00 Ex. VAT
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View models This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page
HPE Aruba CX 8320 48-Port 10GBASE-T Switch
Price range: £6,638.00 through £25,251.17 Ex. VAT
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View models This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page
HPE Aruba CX 8320 48-Port SFP+ Switch
Price range: £3,800.00 through £18,673.56 Ex. VAT
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View models This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page

Designing & Supporting HPE Aruba CX 8320 Series Solutions

Backed by decades of expertise in the IT sector, our specialists support every stage of your deployment — from initial selection through to long-term lifecycle management.

Tailored Switch Selection: Our specialists evaluate your network environment from the ground up — port density, uplink requirements, PoE budgets, VLAN complexity, and throughput demands all considered before a recommendation is made. Whether you’re refreshing an office access layer, connecting a factory floor, or building out a data centre fabric, you get the right switch for your environment, not an over-engineered or underpowered compromise.
Deployment & Integration: Our engineers manage end-to-end switch installation and network integration — cabling infrastructure, stack configuration, inter-VLAN routing, and integration with existing firewalls, wireless controllers, and management platforms — fully configured and tested so your team inherits a working network from day one.
Network Visibility & Security: Choosing the right management software and licensing is critical to getting full value from your switching infrastructure. Our specialists help you identify the right vendor platform for your needs — covering network-wide visibility, switch management, security monitoring, and analytics and reporting.

Industrial & Harsh Environments: Our team has hands-on experience deploying managed switches in demanding conditions — production facilities, outdoor enclosures, transportation infrastructure, and sites with extreme temperature, vibration, or dust exposure. We specify and commission ruggedised switching hardware built to perform where standard office-grade equipment would not.
Data Centre & High-Density Switching: Our consultants provide specialist guidance on spine-leaf architectures, 25/100GbE deployments, low-latency fabrics, and ToR switching configurations — helping your team build scalable, resilient data centre networks without starting the design process from scratch.
Lifecycle Support & Management: We provide proactive switch monitoring, firmware management, and support packages built around your network infrastructure — with remote diagnostic capability and response times matched to the criticality of each environment, from a branch office to a production data centre.
Strategy & Roadmapping: Our consultants run structured sessions to assess your current network architecture, identify bottlenecks and risk, and produce a clear switching roadmap — whether you’re consolidating a multi-site estate, planning a data centre refresh, or introducing managed switching to an industrial environment for the first time.

HPE Aruba CX 8320 Series FAQ

What is the difference between the JL479A, JL579A, and JL581A within the HPE Aruba CX 8320 Series?

The JL479A has 48 fibre SFP+ downlink ports running at 1/10GbE, plus 6 ports at 40GbE for uplinks. The JL581A replaces those SFP+ downlinks with 48 copper RJ-45 ports at 1G/10G Base-T, connecting to servers without optical transceivers. The JL579A has no 10G downlink ports: its 32 QSFP+ ports all run at 40GbE, suited to pure aggregation and spine roles.

Does the HPE Aruba CX 8320 Series require cloud management to operate?

No. The HPE Aruba CX 8320 Series is fully manageable on-premises through CLI, web interface, and REST API. HPE Aruba Networking Central is optional, providing cloud-based monitoring and unified visibility across wired and wireless. Aruba NetEdit, which enables network-wide configuration automation and compliance checking, requires a separate licence and does not require cloud management to operate.

What does the 40GbE port breakout capability on the HPE Aruba CX 8320 Series allow?

The QSFP+ ports on all three models support optional 4x10G breakout using a breakout cable. This splits a single 40GbE port into four separate 10GbE connections, allowing more devices to connect without adding another switch. It is useful in data centre top-of-rack roles where servers run 10GbE but the uplink to the aggregation layer is 40GbE.

When does the HPE Aruba CX 8320 Series fit rather than a higher-capacity switch in the same role?

The HPE Aruba CX 8320 Series provides 2.5 Tbps of switching capacity with 10/40GbE connectivity — sufficient for campus core and aggregation environments where 100GbE uplinks are not yet required. It does not support EVPN or VXLAN, which are used in more advanced data centre fabric designs. Environments that need those protocols, or 25/100GbE port speeds, should evaluate the CX 8360 or CX 8325 instead.

How is security enforced on the HPE Aruba CX 8320 Series?

The HPE Aruba CX 8320 Series supports 802.1X port-based authentication and role-based access control, restricting access based on user or device identity. ACLs are applied to both IPv4 and IPv6 traffic at line rate, and can also protect control plane services such as SSH, SNMP, and NTP from unauthorised access. The Network Analytics Engine monitors for anomalous behaviour and can trigger automated responses.

How does the HPE Aruba CX 8320 Series handle high availability at the core layer?

VSX pairs two CX 8320 switches so they operate as one logical unit, each with its own independent control plane. If one switch fails or needs a software update, the other continues without dropping traffic. All bundles include two redundant power supplies and five fans as standard, all hot-swappable. Bidirectional Forwarding Detection (BFD) also provides sub-second link failure detection across connected paths.

Need a different solution?

If these options aren’t the right fit for your environment, we provide a wide portfolio of product series and solutions that may better suit your infrastructure. Explore below, or speak to our team and we’ll help you find the right match.

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