Hardware for using pfsense as a managed switch?
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Hello all.
I'm not sure how practical this is. I am looking for a managed switch for vlans and such and was wondering if pfsense could do this? I'm already using pfsense in a routing capasity but baught a prebuilt hardware solution for that. This time i'd like to build my own.
The questions i have are this.
1, is it a practical use of pfsense to use it as a managed switch OS?
2, if so, what would you guys recommend for an 8 port box? It should be future proofed for updates and be under $200 if possible.
The switch will be on the lan side so should have full gigabit speeds.Thoughts?
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If you need a switch, get a switch.
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pfSense does in software what a switch does in hardware. Guess what's better suited.
When it's available this could be of interest to you:
https://www.netgate.com/blog/lord-vader-your-firewall-is-ready.html
But it won't even have 8 managed ports and surely will be a couple of times above your price tag. -
It's a bad idea, don't do it. On top of that, it's more expensive than buying a managed switch.
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Get a switch.
The cheapest OK managed switch i have is the DLINK 1100-8, fanless is a requirement for me.
The best managed switch i have is either the HP 1820-8G or the Linksys LGS308.
The HP is ultrastable , and receives updates several times a year , but is SNMP RO (ReadOnly).
The Linksys has more features (.1x , ACL's etc), is physically smaller , but haven't seen any updates in a long time.Due to the HP-1820 SNMP RO i got a DLINK DGS-1210-10P as my PoE switch , as i wanted to be able to turn off my AP's via SNMP.
Seems to have almost same feaures as the Linksys , but i's not "SuperCheap"I dropped the TP-Link TL-SG108E , due to the untagged Vlan1 problem. >:(
/Bingo
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Check out the zyxel lines. They have some very attractive options in terms of price/performance.
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watch in the mikrotik catalog
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I'd suggest looking for a second hand HP ProCurve switch. They are cheap, very easy to get, and do most of the just Just Right. There are web-only versions (SNMP RO) but there are telnet/serial/web/SNMP RW models too, mostly the more expensive ones.
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@johnkeates:
I'd suggest looking for a second hand HP ProCurve switch. They are cheap, very easy to get, and do most of the just Just Right. There are web-only versions (SNMP RO) but there are telnet/serial/web/SNMP RW models too, mostly the more expensive ones.
The HP (Now Aruba) 2530-8G series is fanless (Just the 8-port) , both the PoE & NonPoe
Still lifelong Warranty i think (for first owner).
https://www.amazon.com/HP-J9777A-2530-8G-Ethernet-Switch/dp/B00EAF7QRG/
https://www.amazon.com/HP-J9774A-2530-8G-PoE-Ethernet-Switch/dp/B00G2DLRUQ/That's a neat switch en'par w. most Cisco catalysts , & full CLI
I have a new customers that use this one , but it's outside my budget.But a nice switch.
Note it's a 1U height unit , might not fit in anywhere.
Make sure to get the 8G (Gigabit version) , as there is an 8' version too (Non Gb).
The Jxxxxx numbers are neat to use for searching, and matches both HPE & Aruba switches.HP 2530-8G (J9777A)
HP 2530-8G-PoE+ (J9774A)/Bingo
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J9783A HP 2530-8
J9780A HP 2530-8-POE+Great, those have 8x 10/100 Base-TX Ports and 2x 10/100/1000 Base-TX.
Who buys FastEthernet in 2017 if you don't need a zillion ports cheap? -
J9783A HP 2530-8
J9780A HP 2530-8-POE+Great, those have 8x 10/100 Base-TX Ports and 2x 10/100/1000 Base-TX.
Who buys FastEthernet in 2017 if you don't need a zillion ports cheap?I don't know who wants FE , and i did corect the links & prod names to the -G version before i saw your post.
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A CLI is probably not particularly useful for a home network.
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A CLI is probably not particularly useful for a home network.
What does a CLI have to do with home networking ?
I'd prefer a CLI anytime, but that's a user preference , not where it's used.But the learningcurve for using the CLI could be challenging for some.
/Bingo
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I'd take a CLI any day. Sure, it must not be a shitty CLI, but that goes for any interface.
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A CLI is probably not particularly useful for a home network.
What does a CLI have to do with home networking ?
I'd prefer a CLI anytime, but that's a user preference , not where it's used.But the learningcurve for using the CLI could be challenging for some.
/Bingo
Cha ching !!
I'd prefer working in the CLI too. Most times I go the CLI route even if a GUI is available. Not because I am contrarian, but only because I feel more comfortable in doing what I am doing. Man pages and help options explain much more in detail than a tooltip in the GUI ever would.
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A CLI is probably not particularly useful for a home network.
What does a CLI have to do with home networking ?
I'd prefer a CLI anytime, but that's a user preference , not where it's used.But the learningcurve for using the CLI could be challenging for some.
/Bingo
Cha ching !!
I'd prefer working in the CLI too. Most times I go the CLI route even if a GUI is available. Not because I am contrarian, but only because I feel more comfortable in doing what I am doing. Man pages and help options explain much more in detail than a tooltip in the GUI ever would.
On top of that, the 'interface' doesn't hide as much on the command line as text has to be either there or not there, it isn't graphically styled in some ambiguous way leaving it up to the user to figure out what it's supposed to do.
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Sorry, let me correct my statement.
I was speaking from the point of view of your average home users who does not already know a switch CLI particularly well.
But I didn't specify that at all.For someone who doesn't already know it probably isn't useful for a home because they will likely spend 20-30 minutes setting it up on a GUI once then never or rarely touch it again.
CLI would be very valuable and worth learning even for the uninitiated if you had even a small to medium network compromising a number of switches where you would be spending a notable amount of time managing them.
In that case it would be miserable to repeatedly make changes via the GUI.I do agree that for anyone who is already comfortable with switching CLI, it's a very valuable feature.
The zyxel I recommended earlier operates primarily off web GUI, however there is a CLI you can access via either telnet or ssh (don't remember which) and a console header you can utilize if you're so inclined.
I think it strikes a very attractive balance commercial and home user. -
For a new basic managed switch for home use, the ZyXel works fine indeed. But if you want to go bigger, used HP switches (or new) are a fine choice.
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I am searching for a cheap stackable switch for the WAN Side.
I have a HA CARP Setup with Multiwan (through AVM Fritzbox Routers).Any suggestions?
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Are cheap and stackable the only requirements?
(Note that those terms are usually mutually-exclusive. You might also need to define the term cheap)
