General Questions from a Noob
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I'm guessing that the OP was looking for recommendations on a POE switch, rather than NIC. I'm building an IP camera setup behind my pfsense router. I use a Netgear GS108PEv3 (8 ports total, 4 have POE) and a GS110TP (cannot remember version number - used from ebay, 8 port POE + 2 SFP). They seem to work, though they get warm (no fans) and the mgmt webserver on the GS110TP is quite slow. It's more than sufficient for powering a bunch of cameras (usually no more than 6W each). Both are VLAN capable, though it takes some experimentation to make that work right.
A few bits of unsolicited advice - I was initially thinking about doing something similar to what you're planning. However, I decided to buy an old, cheap Dell desktop off ebay ($150 for a used 3020 under warranty + $40 multiport NIC) to dedicate to the router. I think that's a better choice for manageability (updates to the NAS, cameras, or VM server don't take your entire intranet down) and security (new variants of spectre have already surfaced).
Although it sounds like a small thing, what you're planning is potentially a big, complicated project. Dividing it into separate, manageable chunks will dramatically reduce your workload and the consequences of making a mistake. If you're a *nix newbie, there's a LOT to learn.
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@jknott said in General Questions from a Noob:
No one suggested any 4 port switch, or Wifi devices.
- Avoid TP-Link
- Avoid TP-Link
I use TP link switches across my house as well as my cousins. No problems so far.
Router as AP, yes totally agree as I bought a TP link router two years ago, it needed to be re-booted every few days. I spoke to their friendly tech support and they could not solve it. Bought an Asus, works perfectly and I think their firmware is open source. Also third party firmware are also available. -
So you use those tplink switches with vlans? If not then sure they are fine - the problem with the tplink 105e and 108e versions is they do not actually do vlans correctly. They do not allow removal of vlan 1 from ports you want to put into a different vlan. So every interface is in vlan 1 be it you put in in a new vlan 10 or not.
So its not any better than a dumb switch running multiple layer 3 on.
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@waqar-uk said in General Questions from a Noob:
I use TP link switches across my house as well as my cousins. No problems so far.
As johnpoz says, some TP-Link switches don't handle VLANs properly. I also have the same issue with my TP-Link AP. However, other than that, it works well.
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@johnpoz said in General Questions from a Noob:
So you use those tplink switches with vlans? If not then sure they are fine - the problem with the tplink 105e and 108e versions is they do not actually do vlans correctly. They do not allow removal of vlan 1 from ports you want to put into a different vlan. So every interface is in vlan 1 be it you put in in a new vlan 10 or not.
So its not any better than a dumb switch running multiple layer 3 on.
I don't use VLANS, but I use them as 'dumb' switches that work fine for me.
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Yeah they are fine for dumb - but why would you have purchased a smart if all you wanted wanted/needed was dumb. Was your future plan to use them as vlans? If so the v2 version has not gotten a firmware update while the v3 models seems to have a firmware update out that is suppose to fix their mishandling of vlans.
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@waqar-uk said in General Questions from a Noob:
I don’t use VLANS, but I use them as ‘dumb’ switches that work fine for me.
One thing you can do with managed switches is port mirroring. This allows you to use a separate computer, running Wireshark, to monitor the traffic. I have one of those VLAN challenged TP-Link switches, but it works fine in the port mirroring role. I carry it in my computer bag, so I can use it when necessary to monitor an Ethernet connection.
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Yeah it would work for that because its like a hub ;) heheh with everything in vlan 1 ROFL hehehe So all broadcast/multicast is going to every port anyway. Your mirror just going to add the unicast traffic so it doesn't have to do much hehehehe
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@johnpoz said in General Questions from a Noob:
Yeah it would work for that because its like a hub ;) heheh with everything in vlan 1 ROFL hehehe So all broadcast/multicast is going to every port anyway. Your mirror just going to add the unicast traffic so it doesn't have to do much hehehehe
You set it up so that one port monitors another. I have mine configured so port 1 monitors port 2. I plug the computer running Wireshark into port 1 and pass the connection through port 2 and any other port. It does not turn a switch into a hub. The non mirror ports continue to work as a regular switch.
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Dude I know what a span port is ;) I was freaking joking..
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@johnpoz said in General Questions from a Noob:
Dude I know what a span port is ;) I was freaking joking..
Some less knowledgeable may not know that.
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@johnpoz said in General Questions from a Noob:
Yeah they are fine for dumb - but why would you have purchased a smart if all you wanted wanted/needed was dumb. Was your future plan to use them as vlans? If so the v2 version has not gotten a firmware update while the v3 models seems to have a firmware update out that is suppose to fix their mishandling of vlans.
I just bough a TP link 8 port switch to use as a way to pass my Pfsense LAN to many of my devices, be they a wireless AP, power line networking and my main desktop direct Ethernet connection.
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@waqar-uk said in General Questions from a Noob:
@johnpoz said in General Questions from a Noob:
Yeah they are fine for dumb - but why would you have purchased a smart if all you wanted wanted/needed was dumb. Was your future plan to use them as vlans? If so the v2 version has not gotten a firmware update while the v3 models seems to have a firmware update out that is suppose to fix their mishandling of vlans.
I just bough a TP link 8 port switch to use as a way to pass my Pfsense LAN to many of my devices, be they a wireless AP, power line networking and my main desktop direct Ethernet connection.
They're OK as a regular switch or even for port mirroring. However, you can forget about using them for VLANs.
