Please recommend managed switch for home use?

nitewolfgtr · Jul 18, 2017, 8:46 PM

Hello, I just built a pfsense firewall/router for my home and want to get into creating multiple VLANs (guest wifi, home wifi, media, server, home automation). I may also do some link aggregation via LACP.
I have been looking at all the different posts and looking at ebay for various used managed switches and can't figure out which one to really get. My budget is around $100.

I've been looking at the following switches:
- HP 1810-24g v1
- HP 1810-24g v2 (alittle outside of my budget… )
- anything else?

Is HP 1810-24g a good switch for my use case?
Is there any benefit to getting version 2 for extra $50-75?

Are there any other make/model that I should consider instead? I have no bias towards HP.

Thanks!!

johnpoz · Jul 18, 2017, 8:54 PM

LACP in the home really little use.. You do not have enough devices in a home to make it worth anything.. Do you really think a port or cable is going to fail.. aggregation is not 1+1=2, it just 1 and 1

Do you really need/want 24 ports.. Why would you not just buy NEW you can get new 24 port smart switches that do vlan for around your $100

https://www.amazon.com/Zyxel-24-Gigabit-Managed-Rackmount-GS1900-24/dp/B00I126P8U
$115
https://www.amazon.com/TP-Link-24-Port-Gigabit-Ethernet-TL-SG1024DE/dp/B00CUG8ESM
$110

VAMike · Jul 18, 2017, 9:12 PM

@johnpoz:

LACP in the home really little use.. You do not have enough devices in a home to make it worth anything.. Do you really think a port or cable is going to fail.. aggregation is not 1+1=2, it just 1 and 1

with aggregation, 1+1 = 1+X, where X is dependent on the hashing mechanism. You may get double performance if you have more than one client, but most of the time the network isn't saturated enough with enough clients to let the aggregation deliver much in the way of results. Depending on the allocation mechanisms on each end, you may get a bit more of a boost from a LACP server pushing stuff to the network than the other direction, or vice versa. It's generally not worth implementing LACP on a home network to improve performance, but if you've got the gear and want to play with it, go for it.

To really increase performance, 10gbe is a better answer. (And the hardware is getting much more affordable.) If nothing else, if I was concerned about performance I wouldn't buy anything in 2017 that didn't at least have a good path to 10gbe–including not buying a 1gbe switch with room to grow.

Soyokaze · Jul 19, 2017, 12:03 AM

All D-Link DGS-12xx series is okay for home. I even run a small company back in the day.
HP 1810, 1910 is okay too.
And, IMHO, for home use you only need VLANs. If you go further with LACP, R/STP and L3 routing - thats not a home setup (and another budget).

pfBasic · Jul 19, 2017, 4:46 AM

I'd recommend the Zyxel GS1900-xHP (or no HP if you don't need PoE).

They are affordable and great for home use. They include the features you are looking for and more.

You can even access it via CLI or add a console port to the header. IMO it's a sweet spot for home users looking for more room to experiment and learn.

Jul 19, 2017, 4:05 PM

I would recommend to save more Money for a good one or a better one.

Layer2

Cisco SG200
Cisco SG220
Zyxel GS1910

Layer3

Cisco SG300
Cisco SG350

Layer3 & 10 GBit/s

MikroTik CSR series
With 10 GBit/s and CLI and Web configuration Layer3 and many features and options, and able to get
for low budget often might be also a nice try out, but with a deeper learning curve.
D-Link DGS1510-20
This would be my personal choice here to prevent from the LAG and get CLI, Webfig and Layer3 on top
able to get for ~210 Euros, for your budget would also match the Netgear GS108Tv2.

occamsrazor · Jul 19, 2017, 12:18 PM

I can't compare with other switches but have been very happy with my Netear GS108Tv2 and GS110TP (adds 2 x SFP ports). Just another option….

s_mason16 · Jul 19, 2017, 1:30 PM

I have a dell powerconnect 2824, when I put it into my network I was thinking it'd have a web-interface that I could go to in my web browser and edit and configure it from there. but from what I searched it doesn't…..I got it for free so im not that upset about it, but I'd like something a little easier to configure seen as I'm still less experienced with pfsense and smart networking.

Should I look at something a little newer with a web GUI or buy some sort of work around cable so I can access the console and configure it?

Flamez · Jul 19, 2017, 3:18 PM

@pfBasic:

I'd recommend the Zyxel GS1900-xHP (or no HP if you don't need PoE).

They are affordable and great for home use. They include the features you are looking for and more.

You can even access it via CLI or add a console port to the header. IMO it's a sweet spot for home users looking for more room to experiment and learn.

I just ordered this Zyxel model from Amazon today.

Jul 19, 2017, 4:13 PM

Should I look at something a little newer with a web GUI or buy some sort of work around cable so I can access the console and configure it?

I would at first try out to get it configured by using the CLI and if this is not your "world" and thing you may be
able to buy another one, it is for home usage and with no special concern or needs better then spending extra money.

@nitewolfgtr
With the DGS1510-20 model you will be able to get 20 RJ45 GB LAN Ports, 2x SFP Ports and 2x SFP+ Ports
perhaps something to connect faster and easier your equipment, likes DMZ and LAN Switch to your pfSense
firewall or your LAN server and your NAS/SAN to the entire network, think about, mostly better then setting
up LAGs and the gain is only so minimal that you often will be nothing really see highs up in numbers.

nitewolfgtr · Jul 19, 2017, 4:29 PM

Thank you all for your recommendations. Although I agree the DGS1510-20 is better for future proofing myself, I think the price is a bit out of my budget at the moment. Not really looking to spend that much. Based on everyone's input, I think I will go with Zyxel GS1900. It looks like it has everything I need and the price point is great! I don't see myself upgrading to 10Gb anytime soon and really have no need for it at the moment.

Thanks again for all your help!

Jul 19, 2017, 5:10 PM

I don't see myself upgrading to 10Gb anytime soon and really have no need for it at the moment.

Ok that I was not knowing, I was perhaps miss leaded by the LAG (LACP) and thought that an LAG with 2 or 4 cables
and ports will be aggregated 2 GBit/s till 4 GBit/s and the usual speed under real conditions from a 10 GBit/s interface
is also 2 GBit/s tpo 4 GBit/s pending on the used protocols and services.

gjaltemba · Jul 19, 2017, 5:52 PM

@s_mason16

What are you talking about? A Dell powerconnect 2824 does have a web interface in managed mode. Default address is 192.168.2.1 User admin no password.

http://downloads.dell.com/manuals/all-products/esuprt_ser_stor_net/esuprt_networking/esuprt_net_fxd_prt_swtchs/powerconnect-2824_user%27s%20guide_en-us.pdf

s_mason16 · Jul 19, 2017, 7:48 PM

@gjaltemba:

@s_mason16

What are you talking about? A Dell powerconnect 2824 does have a web interface in managed mode. Default address is 192.168.2.1 User admin no password.

http://downloads.dell.com/manuals/all-products/esuprt_ser_stor_net/esuprt_networking/esuprt_net_fxd_prt_swtchs/powerconnect-2824_user%27s%20guide_en-us.pdf

well thats great then, I did see that address while googling and tried going to it, but nothing and I did an IPscan and it didn't pick anything up. (managed mode was on) maybe I have to not be plugged into pfsense and try it again?

gjaltemba · Jul 19, 2017, 9:39 PM

@s_mason16

If you picked up a used Dell PC 2824 and do not have the necessary configuration details then the only way I know how to connect is by serial console. Use an inexpensive db9 null modem cable and putty if your computer has a serial port. You only need a few cli commands for a basic network and I find it handier than the web interface.

You may find better help in the Dell forum.

http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/network-switches/f/866

P3R · Jul 19, 2017, 10:33 PM

@Soyokaze:

And, IMHO, for home use you only need VLANs. If you go further with LACP…//...thats not a home setup (and another budget).

As far as I know the majority of switches that support VLANs also support LAG and today that normally means LACP as well.

Almost every NAS, even those specifically targeting small to medium home use, have multiple NICs, LACP support and the performance to take advantage of it. As an example we can take the €200 Qnap TS-231P.

L3 switching, that I very much agree is not home use and definitely a different budget.

pfBasic · Jul 19, 2017, 11:21 PM

The only conceivable way to utilize LACP on a small home network as I understand it would be to allow more than one user to utilize a NAS at full speed (or less speed penalty if >2 simultaneous users) simultaneously if the NAS is also configured LACP.
whether that is of any value to you depends on how you utilize your NAS, I would imagine the vast majority of home setups wouldn't benefit appreciably.

Jul 20, 2017, 2:47 AM

And, IMHO, for home use you only need VLANs. If you go further with LACP…//...thats not a home setup (and another budget).

LAG is also common likes VLAN and QoS as today home networking has changed to smaller and/or mid ranged networks
or networking knowledge. As an example, in the mid 90th (95) you where happy to find someone to set up your IPsec
VPN, today they watch "HowTo´s" over that at Youtube!

As far as I know the majority of switches that support VLANs also support LAG and today that normally means LACP as well.

My cheapest switches are only supporting VLANs (Netgear GS105E (25Euro) & Netgear GS108E (40 Euro)) and the LAG is
in the game play for some coins on top of their price (89Euro) with the Netgear GS108Tv2 so I consider that is more common as today.

Almost every NAS, even those specifically targeting small to medium home use, have multiple NICs, LACP support and the performance to take advantage of it. As an example we can take the €200 Qnap TS-231P.

But the benefit from that LAGs mostly over LACP is smaller then the most peoples will imagine or expect from to have.
Only if one line (cable or port) is failing or gets saturated the next one will be started to use!

L3 switching, that I very much agree is not home use and definitely a different budget.

Cisco SG350-10 for ~210 Euro
D-Link DGS-1510-20 ~210 Euro

What is home budget and what not? If you are a teenager you can work and earn here in Germany for 400 Euros per
month without paying tax. So the most of the younger peoples have today more money in the pocket as we where in
the past or in former days.

pfBasic · Jul 20, 2017, 5:01 AM

I think it's fair to say that 200 euros for a switch to handle Netflix is a bit over budget.

P3R · Jul 20, 2017, 11:23 AM

@BlueKobold:

My cheapest switches are only supporting VLANs (Netgear GS105E (25Euro) & Netgear GS108E (40 Euro))…

Yes the Netgear E-series, Web Managed (Plus) switches are the exception that I know of as well, that's the reason I wrote "the majority of" instead of "all" switches.

Only if one line (cable or port) is failing or gets saturated the next one will be started to use!

Yes of course but you forgot to mention the multiple concurrent nodes, that's the main requirement for LACP to be useful.

Cisco SG350-10 for ~210 Euro
D-Link DGS-1510-20 ~210 Euro

Thank you, you prove my point! Over €200 for a switch is definitely not what non-geek homes spend on a switch. If as the OP they require many ports, maybe roughly half of that is a reasonable home budget.