48-52 port managed switch suggestions

WhatTheSchmidt

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jun 4, 2007
Messages
324
Don't have an exact budget for it, don't want to break the bank of course, want something really good 1k-1500 perhaps tops.

Managed because I want to be able to see everything going on in the network to trouble shoot things (I have never used a managed switch before though, so a GUI would be necessary).

I'm thinking one of the Cisco small business ones?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833150093

Maybe a ZyXEL? no clue on how the managed part of it is...warranty is also worse than most
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833181250

Any advice would be awesome, thanks.
 
Sorry guys, been way too busy this week hence the quick post in the first place. Here is a diagram of the current network:

3CcBR2R.jpg


It's for work. 20 or so computers on the network + 6-7 netbooks + some mobile phones + a couple other pieces of equipment.

I don't really want to go over 1500 bucks for it, willing to go over the price of those ones I listed if it's worth it.

Our internet speed at work is 50Mbit down, 10Mbit up if that matters.

Doesn't need to be stackable, it's a small business. POE I feel doesn't matter but might be nice? We have a separate DVR security system setup already not sure what we would use POE for.

I like the HP switch comparison tool but there are no prices so it doesn't help me much.
 
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The SG-300 gets a lot of good press around here.

Its one of those things, that, can you really go wrong with Cisco?
Granted that is more in their Linksys relationship model as it once was
but still, its a solid switch with a GUI.

Truthfully once ya learn the cmdline stuff on a switch, you can do things much
faster with more direct control over them though. So keep that in mind, don't be
afraid to learn, 80% of what you will gain will be adaptable to other product lines.
 
The Zyxels are nice, I have a GS1910-24 and its a good value switch. It's a bit different from HP 1910-series but in generll I'll rate it to just as good.
In your case I think that either that or 1910-series would be "good" enough and I would rate these higher than the SG300-series.
//Danne
 
The Cisco/Linksys SG300 is a layer 3 switch. The Zyxel SG1900 is a layer 2 switch.

Two totally different categories.

The HP 1810 and 1910 series are comparable with the Zyxel SG1900s.

The Cisco\Linksys SG300 is more on par with the Zyxel XGS-4526

Honestly the SG300 is a great value, if you need more reliability your next logical choice would be an HP 2920, but that's going to cost you 80% more.

There are great layer 2 devices that can perform VLAN routing, but real layer three devices cost money.

Another crazy possibility is to use a good layer 2 switch and buy something like a Ubiquiti edgerouter to perform routing across the VLANs. It all depends most on what you are trying to do, what performance metrics you have in mind and how much money you are willing to spend to get there.
 
IF you want a fully managed, gigabit switch, take a look at the hp 2520 series. They are L2 only, no routing. They will be MILES better than the cisco/linksys / zyxel, or even the 1800/1900 procurve.

http://www.provantage.com/hewlett-packard-hp-j9775a-aba~7HEWN2M7.htm
http://www.provantage.com/hewlett-packard-hp-j9772a-aba~7HEWN2LR.htm


J9775A for 48p Gigabit
J9772A for 48p Gigabit POE+

http://h17007.www1.hp.com/us/en/networking/products/switches/HP_2530_Switch_Series/index.aspx#J9775A

Good performance L2 switch....but you need to know what you want and what metrics you are shooting for.
 
Agreed, I have deployed a handful of these in buildings whose clients dont need larger switching buffers, etc. But they are a full CLI switch, not a "smart switch" with crippled feature sets and a terrible GUI.
 
I have the following at home and can give opinions on each:

1800-8G: Nice, but no spanning tree??? NO CLI :(
1910-16G: Nice, but very very limited layer 3. If you don't need L3, might want to look at this. CLI if you use the hack. Google it.
Dell Powerconnect 3524: Very old, performance probably not the best BUT does have a CLI & has way more features than the other two. CLI!!!
Old Linksys SW switch: Works OK, gigabit+poe, no longer sold, gui IE only (avoid)

With all that being said, I'd like to try the SG stuff, but not sure if used Cisco cats are not better. Don't worry about POE now as picking up a 10/100 poe l2-l3 used switch on ebay later shouldn't break $200-$300.

It really depends what op wants:
1) Need Layer 3?
2) Need more than static routing?
3) Need POE?
4) Need CLI?
 
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