Cheap gigabit switch?

Sorry, I forgot to mention I need something rack-mountable. Do you happen to know if that is?
Also, I prefer managed.. am I asking too much there? haha
 
substream said:
Sorry, I forgot to mention I need something rack-mountable. Do you happen to know if that is?
Also, I prefer managed.. am I asking too much there? haha
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Don't really know what keenan's deal is with the HP switches (he seems to appear in every "gigabit switch" thread recommending a switch that costs twice as much as its competition). Maybe he's a shill for HP?

That Dell switch you found looks like a pretty good deal but why only 8 ports? If this was for office use, why not pay up front for a 24-port switch? If it's for home use, why a managed switch?
 
I'm kind of curious as to the intended use of the switch, as well? Maybe if you described what you need it for we'd be able to throw out a suggestion more specific to your needs?
 
sap said:
Don't really know what keenan's deal is with the HP switches (he seems to appear in every "gigabit switch" thread recommending a switch that costs twice as much as its competition). Maybe he's a shill for HP?
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LOL. No. Just very happy with them. Well designed, very well built, solid performing, good interface and a lifetime warranty with next-day cross shipping. They're the only vendor that makes low-end 'enterprise class' gear. I have deployed quite a lot of this low-end HP gear in SMB environments and have never had it fail, which is not something I can say for any of the vendors you're probably thinking of like NetGear or D-Link.

It's your money. As I said, you can get a passable switch for less money. I think the HP is great value, you don't have to spend hundreds of dollars for features you don't need to get the reliability of something from the likes of Cisco.

Sorry, I forgot to mention I need something rack-mountable. Do you happen to know if that is?
Also, I prefer managed.. am I asking too much there? haha
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I don't think rack brackets are available for it, though it seems odd to me to want a rack-mountable 8-port switch.

Managed switches at that price are available, the Dell you linked is probably a good choice at its price point (though I strongly dislike Dell's web interface for their switches, at least the previous 27xx and 53xx generation anyway), I didn't realize it was a web managed switch. Netgear has GS108T which I have a couple of and have been happy with, but that's not rack mountable either.
 
keenan said:
I would personally much rather have an HP 1400-8g, and it's cheaper too.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833316076&Tpk=1400-8g

Though there are reasonable options at half the price.
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I have one of these for my desk at work and it is absolutely awesome for a small workgroup unmanaged switch, I also have 3 Dell 2816s at home for small scale LANs.

It all depends on what features you are going to use. Personally I was between a Dell 2708 and a HP 1400-8G for my desk switch and even though unmanaged the HP did jumbo frames and the Dell did not. If I needed a switch that was capable of VLANing or LACP then I would have bought the dell. Now the 2816 (16 port version of the 2808) does do jumbo frames as well as all the other functions, and thus I bought 3 of them for small scale LANs as they are a better option then the HP 1400-24G (though if I had the money I would have bought 1810Gs from HP instead of the dells, but $75ea on eBay is a hard deal to pass up.)
 
FWIW I've been using the cheapo Dell 27xx series switches (I have the 2708, 2716 and 2724 now). Certainly not the best switch or deal out there but I got the 2724 for $85 shipped (ebay) with rack ears. I've never had one crash (owned for ~18mo, 9mo, and 2 mo. respectively) so for something that works that well and is so cheap, it is hard to spend more.
 
Hey guys, sorry I forgot about this thread.. haha thanks for all the feedback so far

Regarding the use: It will only be home use. I have wi-fi going on, so only a few machines are hard-wired. I'm looking for gigabit mainly to connect the HTPC and NAS for dealing with large data transfer like streaming blu-rays. I won't need more than 8 ports. Rackability, so to speak, is kind of important to me just because I'm a neat freak.. I want something I can stick in the cab in my closet where all the rest of the equipment is. Managed isn't a must, it's just my technolust talking. haha I want as much control and as many features as possible, but the price is the bottom line here.

As far as the HP switches go, I think the lack of rackability is going to be the dealbreaker there. Also, I have a passionate hatred for HP because of computers of theirs I've dealt with in the past, when I was a tech, but I know that the quality of any company's enterprise-grade equipment can vary drastically from their consumer stuff.

Thanks again for the feedback. If anyone else has suggestions for something ~8 ports, gigabit, and rackable, I'd love to hear them!

pjkenned said:
FWIW I've been using the cheapo Dell 27xx series switches (I have the 2708, 2716 and 2724 now). Certainly not the best switch or deal out there but I got the 2724 for $85 shipped (ebay) with rack ears. I've never had one crash (owned for ~18mo, 9mo, and 2 mo. respectively) so for something that works that well and is so cheap, it is hard to spend more.
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Also, what is the difference between the 2708 and 2808?
 
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substream said:
.............Why have I never run across that one before? haha that looks perfect, thanks :)
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No problem, I have been running it for a few years, get great speeds. The only con to it is it is not silent. It is not terribly loud, but it is far from silent. I don't mind it in my office and it is not to far away from me. The rack may dampen some of the noise.
 
cooter said:
No problem, I have been running it for a few years, get great speeds. The only con to it is it is not silent. It is not terribly loud, but it is far from silent. I don't mind it in my office and it is not to far away from me. The rack may dampen some of the noise.
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Yeah, that's not a problem. It'll be in my closet inside a cabinet. And I like the fact that it HAS fans, as opposed to that first PowerConnect I found. Even if they might not be entirely necessary, it just kinda makes me feel like it's a more... serious device, you know? haha
 
substream said:
Yeah, that's not a problem. It'll be in my closet inside a cabinet. And I like the fact that it HAS fans, as opposed to that first PowerConnect I found. Even if they might not be entirely necessary, it just kinda makes me feel like it's a more... serious device, you know? haha
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I also just looked and I don't think it supports jumbo frames. I was looking to see if changing my network for jumbo was possible, it looks like it is not.

Anyway, I get from 25-40mb over this switch. depending on the transfer.
 
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cooter said:
I also just looked and I don't think it supports jumbo frames. I was looking to see if changing my network for jumbo was possible, it looks like it is not.

Anyway, I get from 25-40mb over this switch. depending on the transfer.

Bill
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I actually don't even know what a jumbo frame is... is that a big deal?
 
The 2808 is newer, so probably better. The 2708 is $60 or less on ebay. All of my 27xx switches just work. Then again, if you look for a week or two, you should be able to get a 2724 off ebay for <$90 or the price of the 2808.
 
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