Decent Small Business Gigabit switch?

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KapsZ28

2[H]4U
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May 29, 2009
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I was looking at the Cisco SRW2008 since for one, I like Cisco and two, it has WebView which should make it easy for an idiot like me to manage. Here are some of the features I am looking for.

VLAN support
ACLs
NIC Teaming
Gigabit - Up to 16 ports
Easy to Manage
PoE - Not necessary
No more than $500

There will be 2-3 physical servers connected to it, and many VMs in use.
 
I manage a few Dell 54xx and 62xx series switches. not bad, has both the CLI and Web. I recommend learning the CLI just because its easier to do mass port changes but you can also configure things via the Web Interface.
 
I'll second the 54xx and the 62xx series from dell, but might be a little out of the $500 price tag your looking for.
 
Like a Dell PowerConnect 5424 switch? Might be doable. Dell shows a price of $769, but the company I work at gets a pretty good discount. But how loud are they? I don't really want anything too loud since the small business is in my apartment.
 
It has a few fans in it but the 62xx is louder. Ours are in the data center so sound isn't an issue but I had two of them running on my desk for an hour or so while configuring. It wasn't too bad. Unfortunately they are in production now so I cannot pull one to do a dB test.

Two 5448 switches cost us $1,835.60. I would contact dell, give them the range you need to be in. They will hit it.
 
RiDDLeRThC said:
It has a few fans in it but the 62xx is louder. Ours are in the data center so sound isn't an issue but I had two of them running on my desk for an hour or so while configuring. It wasn't too bad. Unfortunately they are in production now so I cannot pull one to do a dB test.

Two 5448 switches cost us $1,835.60. I would contact dell, give them the range you need to be in. They will hit it.
Click to expand...

Is 24 ports the least amount it comes with? That is already more than I need. I could probably move everything into my closet, so maybe noise won't be too big of a deal.
 
The 28xx series would work for you if you need fanless. I have a brand new 2816 and a brand new 2824 for my own network, and I have to say they have come a long way. They have all the features as the 54xx series do including CLI and serial, just are fanless. I wouldn't suggest the 2848 because it is basically two 2824s strapped together in the same chassis (so when fully saturated things get slow).

HP 1810 also work in this situation well, you are just stuck with the web GUI.
 
So with the PowerConnect 2816 I can definitely team two 1GB Intel Pro adapters to get a 2GB connection?
 
KapsZ28 said:
So with the PowerConnect 2816 I can definitely team two 1GB Intel Pro adapters to get a 2GB connection?
Click to expand...

I currently have 1 team connecting the 2816 to the 5324 acting as my core, and a second team of 4 NICs on my Backup NAS.

You aren't going to have an issue.

The only issue I have with it is lack of LACP.
 
C7J0yc3 said:
The only issue I have with it is lack of LACP.
Click to expand...

Isn't this what I need to team two NICs from the server into two ports on the switch to achieve 2GBps?

If I remember correctly on the NIC setup, I would need to select Static Link Aggregation. Does the 2816 support this?
 
RiDDLeRThC said:
I manage a few Dell 54xx and 62xx series switches. not bad, has both the CLI and Web. I recommend learning the CLI just because its easier to do mass port changes but you can also configure things via the Web Interface.
Click to expand...

I don't see anything on Dell's website about the 5424 being Web-Managed. It just states CLI. The only web managed switch they shows is the 28XX series.
 
I promise you, it is...

Dell%20OpenManage%205448.jpg
 
RiDDLeRThC said:
I promise you, it is...
Click to expand...

Yeah, I just read this on the Overview page. I was focusing on the Tech Specs.

"PowerConnect provides numerous management options including an industry-standard CLI, remote management using an embedded web server or support for SNMP-based management applications."

So, would you say the Dell or Netgear if price is not an issue?
 
KapsZ28 said:
Isn't this what I need to team two NICs from the server into two ports on the switch to achieve 2GBps?

If I remember correctly on the NIC setup, I would need to select Static Link Aggregation. Does the 2816 support this?
Click to expand...

LACP is not needed for teaming. LACP is an advanced version of LAG that deals with failover better.

As far as that netgear goes, for that price the Dell Powerconnect 5424, or HP Procurve E2510G-24 would be better options.
 
I want to go with the Dell PowerConnect 5424. Unfortunately our employee discount for Dell does not include these switches. Almost $800 seems like a lot to spend.
 
Sometimes you get what you pay for too. 800 bucks in a good gig switch like that really pays for itself in the long run. We have 2 of the 5424s and love them
 
calvinj said:
Sometimes you get what you pay for too. 800 bucks in a good gig switch like that really pays for itself in the long run. We have 2 of the 5424s and love them
Click to expand...

I hear you. I just also want to build a new VM box which seems like it is going to cost between $3-5k depending on whether I go with Intel or AMD.
 
KapsZ28 said:
Dumb question, where do you buy the HP switches from?
Click to expand...

Newegg, CDW, EBay.

HP doesn't sell any of their enterprise gear directly to the end user. They force you through a reseller which IMHO is retarded.
 
Love the life time warranty though. Had a switch die a couple weeks ago and they replaced it quickly. No questions asked.
 
Mindflux said:
Yeah it's totally retarded not to pay MSRP.
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The only time I have not paid MSRP through a reseller is when I was purchasing through my CDW rep for business projects, or a local reseller for the same reason.

For a end user needing a single switch, or maybe two, just going to HPs site and picking out the switch you want, adding quantity to the cart, and checking out is much easier then trying to navigate CDW on your own.
 
No need to deal with CDW at all!!!!!!
They are not worth the time and hassle and extra money.
 
Snufykat said:
No need to deal with CDW at all!!!!!!
They are not worth the time and hassle and extra money.
Click to expand...

That's funny. The company I am consulting at uses CDW. I've never used them before. I'll have to check my distributors.

Synnex
D&H
Ingram Micro
ASI
Ma Labs

I think that is about it.
 
Snufykat said:
No need to deal with CDW at all!!!!!!
They are not worth the time and hassle and extra money.
Click to expand...

For an end user you are correct. We get some pretty awesome discounts when we are doing large buys from CDW. Our rep is awesome, but getting exactly what we want is a bit hard sometimes because CDW sometimes has like 9 SKUs for the same thing (esp for warranty and licensing stuff).
 
Have only tried to use them for small buys and they where impossible to deal with. Ran into the issue you mention about SKU's for the same item, and not very competitive prices.
 
Dell now has limited lifetime on the switches, just saw it today on the 24 I ordered
 
Buying new network hardware without a support contract seems questionable to me. I just picked up an L3 48port / full gigabit Lucent switch with all the goodies (SNMP3, 802.1s, ad, q w/8 queues, ospf, vrrp, etc) for $150.

If you have an SLA by all means buy new so you don't have to carry spares. But if you're not getting support, you could buy many spares for the cost of a good switch.
 
KapsZ28 said:
That's funny. The company I am consulting at uses CDW. I've never used them before. I'll have to check my distributors.

Synnex
D&H
Ingram Micro
ASI
Ma Labs

I think that is about it.
Click to expand...


I used to use CDW where i worked many years ago. Problem is... i always had to email my sales rep to get better pricing then whats on their site. It became a pain in the neck. I switched to NewEgg for my business right now and we do a LOT of business with them. We order almost every single day. Their pricing is generally better then CDW anyway, and they basically take back anything from us we ask them to. Then again we also have a prefered account AND a business account and a huge line of credit. So with the amount of business we give them, they never argue with us.

I just sent them back a few used Netgear wireless devices. Full refund AND they paid shipping... stick with one company and they'll go above and beyond for you. Price shop and buy from a different place everytime, they may not treat you that well.
 
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