Refurbished Cisco switches any good?

c3k

2[H]4U
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Sep 8, 2007
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Folks,
I’m looking for a 1000 Mbps switch with 32+ ports. It’s for a home LAN. I’ve found some refurbished Cisco switches which look like a great deal.

Is a managed switch that much more difficult to use than a simple, unmanaged, switch?

Is the Cisco name sufficient to trust a refurbished unit?

Do Cisco managed switches have some sort of licensed OS I need to buy in order to use the switch?

Thanks
 
Folks,
I’m looking for a 1000 Mbps switch with 32+ ports. It’s for a home LAN. I’ve found some refurbished Cisco switches which look like a great deal.

Is a managed switch that much more difficult to use than a simple, unmanaged, switch?

Is the Cisco name sufficient to trust a refurbished unit?

Do Cisco managed switches have some sort of licensed OS I need to buy in order to use the switch?

Thanks

Cisco licenses are perpetual and attached to the hardware, meaning they don't have to be renewed.

For home, a refurbished one is going to be better than pretty much any Netgear or consumer grade switch you'd otherwise purchase.

"Difficult to manage" is relative to your capabilities and how many features you actually need. What are you actually looking to achieve?
 
Cisco licenses are perpetual and attached to the hardware, meaning they don't have to be renewed.

For home, a refurbished one is going to be better than pretty much any Netgear or consumer grade switch you'd otherwise purchase.

"Difficult to manage" is relative to your capabilities and how many features you actually need. What are you actually looking to achieve?

I’m looking for a single layer gigabyte speed switch to connect my home LAN’s 35 Ethernet runs, and a few peripherals. About 38 total connections. I’ve outgrown my D-Link DGS 1024 switch.

All I want is a simple plug and play for any of my Ethernet ports scattered around the house.
 
I’m looking for a single layer gigabyte speed switch to connect my home LAN’s 35 Ethernet runs, and a few peripherals. About 38 total connections. I’ve outgrown my D-Link DGS 1024 switch.

All I want is a simple plug and play for any of my Ethernet ports scattered around the house.

Then there's no reason to get anything managed if you never plan on messing with it. You don't need VLANs or anything like that right?
 
Then there's no reason to get anything managed if you never plan on messing with it. You don't need VLANs or anything like that right?

Right. But large, high-speed, unmanaged switches are more expensive (and less reliable?) than one of the managed Cisco refurbished ones. I figured I could ignore all the managed features...

Edited to add: My alternative would be a Netgear GS348. Thoughts on that unit?
 
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You didn't mention model numbers but if the Ciscos have fans, might want to check noise levels before buying. Some switch fans are loud.
 
My network gear is a separate room in the basement, so noise is not too much of a concern for me at the moment. However, that's certainly something to think about.

Currently looking at the above suggested TP Link SG1048 https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833122948

and at the Netgear GS348. https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833122948

They are close enough in pricing that the difference doesn't matter. They seem VERY close to one another. Is there are reason to avoid one brand or the other?
 
Refurbished electronics is "iffy" as at least one component has failed and likely stressed many others. The failure rate of refurbished will be pretty high as compared to new - so good price, probable shorter lifespan.
 
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