What Managed Switch Would You Buy?

Guest

I often buy used HP switches, they work fine, and you can get a 24 port Gbit switch for 50,- which is pretty good if you don't mind some wear marks. Unless the switch is abused (which doesn't happen often) they still last forever..

Chrismallia

I found TP-LINK are great switches and very low priced

johnpoz

What switches are you using now?

When you say managed do you mean with full feature set, or just vlan capable "smart"

If more than just vlan - what kind of other features you looking for/required?

Biscuitsntea

Thanks everyone for your $0.02… Appreciated.

@johnpoz:

What switches are you using now?

When you say managed do you mean with full feature set, or just vlan capable "smart"

If more than just vlan - what kind of other features you looking for/required?

Moving from a "dumb" (d-link i think) switch in one location and adding two managed switches for vlan capabilities. PoE on the 16 port will provide forward-proofing for the one client who is talking about implementing VOIP and cameras. Then again, 16 may not be enough "pipes."

Guest

@Presbuteros:

Thanks everyone for your $0.02… Appreciated.

@johnpoz:

What switches are you using now?

When you say managed do you mean with full feature set, or just vlan capable "smart"

If more than just vlan - what kind of other features you looking for/required?

Moving from a "dumb" (d-link i think) switch in one location and adding two managed switches for vlan capabilities. PoE on the 16 port will provide forward-proofing for the one client who is talking about implementing VOIP and cameras. Then again, 16 may not be enough "pipes."

Keep in mind that 'good' PoE switches are expensive if they also have to be 1Gbit/s. A 24-port Gigabit PoE switch might set you back anywhere from 300 to 600.
I'd suggest that depending on your options and connections, you go for two switches, a normal Gbit one and a 100Mbit one, as those can be had cheap with proper PoE.

Biscuitsntea

Ok, only spend the $ for the ports that need the PoE and nothing more. Makes sense. Time to have the budget talk.

heper

a basic 24P GbE switch with vlan support costs around $150
the same switch with PoE would be around $380

if you go higher up the ladder & need more features (L2+, stp / basic routing / igmp / …)
a 24P GbE switch will then cost around $350-$400
the same PoE would be around $650

if you are in need of stackable switches you head into an entire different price range >$1000-$2000 for 24P
the price difference between 16P or 24P is minimal, some brands even stopped making them

you will probably be able to find even cheaper stuff that does the trick, but those are the average prices I keep mind when building an estimate in my head ;)

johnpoz

Reasonable priced poe managed switch 16 ports gig.. done!

https://www.ubnt.com/unifi-switching/unifi-switch-16-150w/

https://store.ubnt.com/collections/routing-switching/products/unifi-switch-16-150w?variant=27264136129
16 Gigabit Ethernet ports offer 802.3af/at PoE+ or 24V passive PoE sharing a total of 150W PoE.
$300

P3R

@Presbuteros:

1. 8 port $50 range

I use Netgear GS108T and I haven't been disappointed yet. There are even cheaper alternatives.

If you have the time, interest and knowledge to evaluate and buy used equipment, especially at bankruptcy auctions, you can make great deals.

I've bought a 24 port gigabit PoE Cisco 3750 for $105 and a 12-port 10 GbE Netgear for $150 but to find and win those gems take a lot of time… ;)

w0w

I think cheap TP-link is a good choice for home but not for business environment, google it and you'll find out why.
I've preferred Netgear and Ubiquiti, the last one is not cheap at all but it have very strong support and security.

Chrismallia

@w0w:

I think cheap TP-link is a good choice for home but not for business environment, google it and you'll find out why.
I've preferred Netgear and Ubiquiti, the last one is not cheap at all but it have very strong support and security.

Whats wrong with TP-LINK ? in my country they are used for many businesses with no problems, actually on the contrary I mostly hear people and reed on the net not to trust Netgear. If then you really want a business switch you go Dell, Intel, Cisco, or HP

w0w

Poor support on the first place and on the second is security vulnerability that they don't care in embedded software everywhere, but on the other side their hardware looks strong enough for this price.
May be you are right and consumer products at Netgear are also have the problems, but at least support looks a little bit better.
Ubiquiti is highly comparable to business lines of well known manufacturers and have very strong support and software.
May му I am just paranoid, because in most cases the switches in internal networks will never be attacked and you can use the cheapest one you found on ebay or local store.

Chrismallia

Switches aren't exposed to the internet. So there isn't much that can be compromised. For business it would be better to put the switch management IP on a management VLAN (and subnet) that is not accessible to normal LAN users

Biscuitsntea

I should start by saying that I only now realize this post probably should have gone in the Hardware section. Sorry Admins.

Thanks everyone for your input. After a budget talk I think I like these.

For the first location needing the 8 port:

Netgear GS108PE-300NAS

For the second location needing the 16 port:

Netgear GS716T-300NAS

I looked at the Ubiquiti gear and it looks great but cost was (always is) the factor.