HP 1810-8G v2 vs Netgear ProSAFE GS108T

Hello, all!

I am working for a school outside the US, and we are going through and improving our network. In the process, we require 2x 8-port managed switches. The main required functionality is VLAN management, gig speed, and manually choosing transmission speed (we've got some bad wiring here (another thing on my list for this year), and have had trouble negotiating a speed between a couple switches, so need to be able to set it manually). Other than that, there aren't a whole lot of requirements other than it needs to be <$100. A feature that would be nice would be SNMP (still haven't entirely wrapped my head around it, but that's one thing I am planning on tackling this year).

So, it looks like it is down to two switches:
HP 1810-8G v2 (J9802A):
http://www.amazon.com/HP-1810-8G-v2...&qid=1414028717&sr=8-1&keywords=HP+1810-8G+v2

NETGEAR ProSAFE GS108T (sounds like it's a v2):
http://www.amazon.com/NETGEAR-ProSA...4020945&sr=8-1&keywords=8-port+managed+switch

I am leaning heavily toward the Netgear for a few reasons... 1. Price. 2. We are already running an older 24-port Netgear switch for our core switch, so I am familiar with configuring the webgui (and some continuity would be nice). 3. I don't like the wording for the HP... "fixed-configuration." Does this mean that it cannot be configured as much as the Netgear? (it says you can configure the VLANs, but I am unsure about other aspects).

However, HP switches have a stellar record, from what I have been reading online.

Which would be recommended?

Thanks!
ElectroPulse

HP definitely. Hard to beat the lifetime warranty with overnight replacement (though that could be US only). It's called a fixed switch not on account of its configuration options, but because it has a fixed port count/types. There's no CLI on it and the web interface is pretty simple and straightforward. You'll be able to do all the things you've requested so far. You won't get much out of SNMP though if it's anything like the older 1800 series models.

Blue Fox said:

HP definitely. Hard to beat the lifetime warranty with overnight replacement (though that could be US only). It's called a fixed switch not on account of its configuration options, but because it has a fixed port count/types. There's no CLI on it and the web interface is pretty simple and straightforward. You'll be able to do all the things you've requested so far. You won't get much out of SNMP though if it's anything like the older 1800 series models.

Click to expand...

Thank you for the reply!

I don't know about the comparison of customer service for both companies, but it looks like both products have the same warranty... Which for our case are nearly useless (it'll take several weeks to get it replaced).

Are there any functional differences then, if both have the same/similar warranties, and it looks like both have similar features? At this point, I am leaning toward the HPs, since it sounds like it offers the functionality we need, and because of the reputation.

I'm curious... I saw no mention of "ProCurve" in that listing... Is that a different line of products? If so, does this other line hold the same reputation?

That switch is under the ProCurve line. The Amazon link you have appears to be from a third party seller, so they might have neglected to include that. The only thing that stands out about the Netgear one is the fact that it can be powered by PoE. I'd still go through the entire feature listing to see if there's something else that you might need, but usually web managed switches only include so much, so they shouldn't differ much.

Well, if I'm not mistaken the Netgear needs an application to configure. I'm not that fond of the HP 1810 myself but it's way better than the Netgear. Kinda hard to find something decent with that small amount of ports. Are these on separate locations? There's no point in going 2x8 vs 1x16....
//Danne

Thank you for the replies!

Blue Fox said:

That switch is under the ProCurve line. The Amazon link you have appears to be from a third party seller, so they might have neglected to include that. The only thing that stands out about the Netgear one is the fact that it can be powered by PoE. I'd still go through the entire feature listing to see if there's something else that you might need, but usually web managed switches only include so much, so they shouldn't differ much.

Click to expand...

Alright, sounds good. I Googled it, and there were a few mentions of "ProCurve" when the model number showed up on the page, so wasn't 100% sure and am glad for the confirmation.

As for being powered off PoE, we have no PoE switches (currently... we may be getting one for an AP deployment), and on both ends I believe that there will be power available.

diizzy said:

Well, if I'm not mistaken the Netgear needs an application to configure. I'm not that fond of the HP 1810 myself but it's way better than the Netgear. Kinda hard to find something decent with that small amount of ports. Are these on separate locations? There's no point in going 2x8 vs 1x16....
//Danne

Click to expand...

I've read that as well. However, with the one we have here, it's just a management program to reassign the IP address, but you can do that through the webgui. I believe that on this Netgear, there is a webgui as well (as per the reviews).

And yes, these switches are going to be at two separate locations (on two ends of an underground cable run). We don't need any more ports than that at either locations (only need 6 ports on one, and 4 ports on the other (including uplink, and the forwarding port for one of them)). Thank you for the reminder, though!


So, sounding like we'll be going for the HP then. I'll be sure to look up some detailed feature lists to compare them and make sure that there's nothing on the one that we need that the other does not have.

Fixed configuration just means it doesn't have ports where you can plug in SFPs (Small Form Factor Pluggable Transceivers) or other modules. If you're not going to be using fiber SFPs, then it doesn't matter to you. Both switches are "fixed configuration" in this regard.

Sounds like you've already decided, but I'd go HP over NetGear anyday.

Also, I wouldn't award any points to the NetGear for continuity of interface until I verified that that's actually true. I would not be surprised at all if the switch in question had a completely different interface than the NetGear you're already using.

I've made good use of ProCurve's lifetime warranty (not so say their products fail more than others - a few in a few years on a network of 100 or so switches). I thought they had removed it on their lower end models, but it looks like this one is still covered.

Bear in mind the HP has a much smaller feature set than the netgear, I have both and I can't say I'm a great fan of the hp as there is a lot you can't do with it. You only need the netgear setup utility if you need to reassign the ip if you can't access the web interface and don't want to factory reset the switch.

markwo said:

Also, I wouldn't award any points to the NetGear for continuity of interface until I verified that that's actually true. I would not be surprised at all if the switch in question had a completely different interface than the NetGear you're already using.

Click to expand...

They're similar, but different. Some differ quite a bit. I was disappointed by this. Also relates to the age of the switch. We have some older smart netgears powering APs where the last firmware released was in 2009, and for example changing the management IP and VLAN is in two very different locations, and the way VLANs are configured is substantially different as well - and those are common features - not even getting into how the spanning tree configuration has changed over time. Jarring.

All that being said, to the OP, I have a GS108T at home and I love it. They're inexpensive and they work. For the right application / network they're perfectly serviceable.

Stay away from Netgear for the time being, they are stalling on releasing patches to fix for Shellshock for the ProSAFE Lines.

Is this even a comparison?

1810 v2 is the easy winner.

What are you going to be using the switches for?