Cheap LACP 802.3AD 1Gb switch for home lab
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Like it says on the subject line: I’m looking for a cheap 1GBASE-T switch that supports 802.3AD Link Aggregation (LACP) on at least two ports. Preferably known to work reliably with pfSense and Intel chipset NICs. I’m not interested in a stack or redundancy, this is just me messing around at home, hence “cheap” I don’t care if it’s new or used. By “cheap” I’m hoping for <$100. Web based administration/management preferred as Windows Boxen to run proprietary management utilities are rare around here. I’m guessing at least 16 ports for a practical test, although 8 would do. No transceivers unless they come with the switch.
So any suggestions from the brain trust here for a cheap but workable LACP switch? (Model numbers to look up on Amazon/EBay/etc. would be ideal.)
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It's hard to argue with an older Brocade ICX in my opinion. The 6430-24 for example can be had dirt cheap second hand (< $50) and that's a real switch with enterprise features and 24 ports.
The only drawback is it's not passively cooled. It's not excessively loud though.
Or step up to the 6450 and get some 10G ports.
A number of us here run those switches.Steve
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@stephenw10 those look ideal. I’m quite sure I can find a quieter fan/better heatsink combo in my box ‘o coolers somewhere...
Thanks!
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Ah, actually I'm wrong the ICX-6430-24 is fanless as long as you don't get the PoE model.
I have the 6450-24P so 10G ports and PoE. I swapped out the fans and have seen no issues. It's under almost no PoE load though.
Steve
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@stephenw10 POE I already have a dumb unmanaged switch for, so I don’t really care, but thanks.
It does Bring up one question: How easy is it to get updated firmware and from where? Presuming the used unit may not come with the last best version released.
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It's easy. It's still available and still being updated AFAIK.
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@stephenw10 I don’t need a support contract? I think running the SFP+ ports at 10G required a separate license at one stage?
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You don't need support to get the firmware. Or at least I have never had it.
The additional 10G ports require a license, yes. If you have one of the models with 10G ports.
Steve
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Everything you ever wanted to know about Brocade/Rukus switches. Read the first post carefully. He links to a number of articles about setup and firmware he authored. Also has information on licensing. It's an enormous thread but worth every minute if you are considering a ICX6xxx/7xxx series switch including cost free licensing.
https://forums.servethehome.com/index.php?threads/brocade-icx-series-cheap-powerful-10gbe-40gbe-switching.21107/
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@jwj ok I’ll give that a read. The last time I worked with Brocade it was Fibre Channel products and way before the Broadcom acquisition. I just tried to look at Broadcom’s support site, and it’s all kinds of a dog’s breakfast. Ugh.
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So, the fiber channel stuff went to Broadcom and the rest of switch line went to Ruckus who are now owned by CommScope.
https://www.commscope.com/product-type/enterprise-networking/ethernet-switches/
I have a ICX7150-48P. It has a silent mode that cuts the total power budget. I also have a Cisco Catalyst 1000-48P-4x. Both are nice switches.
Quiet is a winner for me, the Cisco is too noisy to use in the living space. -
@jwj said in Cheap LACP 802.3AD 1Gb switch for home lab:
So, the fiber channel stuff went to Broadcom and the rest of switch line went to Ruckus who are now owned by CommScope.
Well that explains it. Don’t I feel a twit? ;-)
Quiet is good. One of the (few) good things about using a recycled desktop for a pfSense router is a couple of big ass (technical term) 120mm fans that barely run at 10% along with the CPU cooler. What’s funny is: run a speedtest or two and the fans spool up to a barely noticeable, still quiet, 40% for about 30s... :-)
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@daplumber said in Cheap LACP 802.3AD 1Gb switch for home lab:
recycled desktop for a pfSense router
Every old PC in service as a router is one less toxic pile of rare earth elements in the landfill. Repurposing is awesome!
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@jwj Eh, I’ll give this project a B- on the green front. I forgot that the reason this system wound up in the closet was it kept having mysterious crashes that actually in this case turned out to NOT be Windows’ fault. My new diagnostic/post code card revealed a processor-Ram bus error, probably expiring capacitors. So one mobo replacement later the CPU, heatsink&cooler, ram sticks, PSU, case, and network cards are all transplanted and happy. The old mobo goes in the “parts only” box most of which goes to the recyclers every 5 years or so. The Radeon 3000 on the new mobo seems like a bit of a waste, but oh well... maybe it can do some protein folding or something if I get around to it.
I haven’t had to mess with thermal paste in quite a while. My unopened 12-year old tube of Arctic Silver seemed ok and tested ok, but I got a new tube anyway. Now I just need to dig out an old usb to RS-232 adapter that FreeBSD recognizes to use for the switch console ports, because guess what the new mobo didn’t come with? Com port. Not even a header on the board. Sigh. I feel old.
I have a bid on a 6450-24P and another backup option, wish me luck!
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@daplumber said in Cheap LACP 802.3AD 1Gb switch for home lab:
wish me luck!
Good Luck!
I'm also from the era of DB-9 serial ports. 20MB HDD's that seamed excessive. The one thing I cling to from those times is a mechanical keyboard. Click click click...
Somewhere there is a storage bin with Z80 and S100 (maybe not remembering correctly) bus parts. Guys with oscilloscopes who fixed things. Felt special and a bit magical to a young grad-student.
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@jwj Thank you!
Yeah I still own a temperature controlled soldering iron and know how to use it. I just don’t trust myself with most SMT stuff, too small for my old clumsy big hands.
I remember my first home hard drive, a 20MB MFM Seagate. It seemed huge! Before then my first “home computer” was a Sinclair ZX81, followed by a C=64, and several programmable HP calculators.
Talking of RS-232, I still have a breakout box. I need to look up if the Brocade uses the same RJ-45 pin out as Cisco et al.
Happy days those were!
