Dell Networking SONiC How to configure Breakout Ports

Summary: This article explains how to configure Breakout Ports in Dell Networking SONiC. This article uses a switch running Dell SONiC 4.1.

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Instructions

Prerequisites
We are using standard interface naming to demonstrate the Concepts. See the article Dell Networking S-Series: Basic Interface Configuration – SONIC 4.0 for more information regarding interface naming.



Breakout Ports in Dell SONiC

Using a supported breakout cable, we can split a 40GE QSFP+, 100GE QSFP28, or 400GE QSFP56-DD Ethernet ports into separate breakout interfaces. All breakout interfaces must have the same speed.

Points to Remember
  • Dell Technologies recommends to not reconfigure the speed of a breakout interface.
  • On a Z9332F-ON switch, Dell Technologies recommends to use the one of the breakout modes to configure a port to run at 100G. The speed 100000 command is not supported.
  • Use Dell-Qualified transceivers on DELL Networking Switches running Dell SONiC
 
NOTE: Breakout ports are supported on S5212F-ON, S5224F-ON, S5232F-ON, S5248F-ON, S5296F-ON, Z9264F-ON, Z9332F-ON, and Z9432F-ON switches. 
 

Configuration Syntax

 Use the following command to configure Breakout Port. 
admin@DELLSONiC:~$ sonic-cli
DELLSONiC# configure terminal
DELLSONiC(config)# interface breakout port slot/port mode {1x100G | 1x40G | 2x100G | 2x50G | 4x100G | 4x25G | 4x10G | 1x400G | 2x200G | 4x50G | 8x50G | 8x25G | 8x10G}
 
Explanation
------------
slot/port — Enter the physical port location. For example Eth 1/1
1x100G — Set a port to operate at 100G speed.
1x40G — Set a port to operate at 40G speed.
2x100G — Split a port into two 100G interfaces.
2x50G — Split a port into two 50G interfaces.
4x100G — Split a port into four 100G interfaces.
4x25G — Split a port into four 25G interfaces.
4x10G — Split a port into four 10G interfaces.
1x400G — Set a port to operate at 400G speed.
2x200G — Split a port into two 200G interfaces.
4x50G — Split a port into four 50G interfaces.
8x50G — Split a port into eight 50G interfaces.
8x25G — Split a port into eight 25G interfaces.
8x10G — Split a port into eight 10G interfaces.

To verify the configured breakout interfaces, use the show interface breakout command

Sample Output
  
DELLSONiC# show interface breakout


Sample configuration
  
admin@DELLSONiC:~$ sonic-cli
DELLSONiC# configure terminal

DELLSONiC (config)# interface breakout port 1/2 mode ?
  <1x400G/1x200G/2x200G/1x200G/4x100G/2x100G/1x100G/8x50G/4x50G/2x50G/1x50G/2x40G/1x40G/8x25G/4x25G/2x25G/1x25G/8x10G/4x10G/2x10G/1x10G>  breakout mode

DELLSONiC(config)# interface breakout port 1/2 mode 2x100G 
Dynamic Port Breakout in-progress, use 'show interface breakout port 1/2' to check status.
DELLSONiC(config)# end
DELLSONiC# 

DELLSONiC# show interface breakout port 1/2
-----------------------------------------------
Port  Breakout Mode  Status        Interfaces          
-----------------------------------------------
1/2   2x100G         Completed     Eth1/2/1            
                                   Eth1/2/2

Affected Products

Enterprise SONiC Distribution, PowerSwitch S5212F-ON, PowerSwitch S5224F-ON, PowerSwitch S5232F-ON, PowerSwitch S5248F-ON, PowerSwitch S5296F-ON, PowerSwitch Z9264F-ON, PowerSwitch Z9332F-ON
Article Properties
Article Number: 000218535
Article Type: How To
Last Modified: 23 Apr 2025
Version:  2
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