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    Low cost smart switch

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    • AndyRHA
      AndyRH
      last edited by

      I am looking for a smart switch to hide behind my TV. It needs to support VLANs for my AP. It will have a TV, DVR, AP and uplink.
      I have seen that there are issues with Netgear and TP-Link. What is a reasonable choice for the brand?

      o||||o
      7100-1u

      bingo600B johnpozJ 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • bingo600B
        bingo600 @AndyRH
        last edited by

        @andyrh

        I like the D-Link DGS-1100-08.

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        • fireodoF
          fireodo @bingo600
          last edited by fireodo

          @bingo600 said in Low cost smart switch:

          I like the D-Link DGS-1100-08.

          I got a used Cisco SG200-08 - works well in my Lab!

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          • johnpozJ
            johnpoz LAYER 8 Global Moderator @AndyRH
            last edited by

            @andyrh said in Low cost smart switch:

            It needs to support VLANs for my AP

            Are you using unifi for your AP, if you want to continue into their infrastructure - their little mini switch is like $30, and you can even power it via poe if you want. Is only 5 ports, but for behind a tv should work..

            Its not all that feature rich, and its a bit of a pain in setting up vlans.. But it is cheap ;) and its a tiny little thing.. Great for if you have space constraints.

            Im a fan of the cisco sg300 line (eos though) I have little sg300-10 in my av cabinet. And my main switch is a sg300-28.. But they can be a bit pricey if you really just need vlan support.

            The mentioned DGS-1100-08, is prob good choice.. for cheap and get the job done little switch.

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            • AndyRHA
              AndyRH
              last edited by

              Thanks for the suggestions. I thought Unifi required a 3 digit price...

              o||||o
              7100-1u

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              • johnpozJ
                johnpoz LAYER 8 Global Moderator @AndyRH
                last edited by johnpoz

                @andyrh said in Low cost smart switch:

                I thought Unifi required a 3 digit price..

                no they have this.

                https://store.ui.com/collections/unifi-network-switching/products/usw-flex-mini

                I was actually surprised how tiny it is.. If you have a controller running already, and just want to do some vlans hanging off pfsense.. it would work.. At some point going to replace the switch I have behind my tv now, the dlink model linked above. I had it in my office/ computer room for a bit playing with it.. You can not really prune vlans on it, so the uplink is going to be all vlans, you have to prune them at the source into the mini switch. There is no way to only allow vlan a and c out of vlans a,b and c. But you can then put a port on it only in vlan c.

                If you have your foot into the unifi space already with AP and you are running the controller (atleast for configuration) - It would be a low cost viable option from my play time with it. You can do vlans on it. Since you can power it via poe, and its a such a tiny little thing if for sure has some use cases, especially at that price point.

                If your not already into the unifi space, I sure wouldn't suggest it since you need to run their controller software to manage it. Unlike some other $40 smart switch that you could manage via a web gui on the switch.

                An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools
                If you get confused: Listen to the Music Play
                Please don't Chat/PM me for help, unless mod related
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                • AndyRHA
                  AndyRH
                  last edited by

                  I have 2 Unifi APs and the software on a VM somewhere. Too bad that little switch does not pass through POE, then it would be perfect. I will have to use an injector for the AP.

                  o||||o
                  7100-1u

                  johnpozJ 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • johnpozJ
                    johnpoz LAYER 8 Global Moderator @AndyRH
                    last edited by johnpoz

                    @andyrh yeah if could also power something poe that would be the cats meow for sure ;) heheh

                    But thought you wanted for something for behind your tv? Is that where your AP connect to the network?

                    I need a little switch behind my tv because the tv is wired vs using wifi, and I have a shield tv behind there as well that also like to use wired vs wifi.

                    To me wifi is for mobile, if it sits in 1 spot it really needs to be wired ;)

                    An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools
                    If you get confused: Listen to the Music Play
                    Please don't Chat/PM me for help, unless mod related
                    SG-4860 24.11 | Lab VMs 2.7.2, 24.11

                    AndyRHA 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • AndyRHA
                      AndyRH @johnpoz
                      last edited by

                      @johnpoz I had 1 AP, but due to the house construction there was a dead spot near the TV so I added a 2nd AP behind the TV since there was a switch there. The cable goes to the AP (PoE) then passes through to the switch.
                      Recently the connection to the AP dropped to 100Mb. I thought it was a firmware thing, but I just tested some things and it appears the cable in the attic is the issue.
                      There is a dumb Netgear back there and I am not sure if the VLANs will pass through to the AP if I reverse the cabling so I was preparing for "it does not work". But I like that little Unifi switch and may get one anyway.
                      I will have to re-run that cable which sucks. I may live with the 100Mb for now, it only hoses the really good 4k stuff, normal things don't know the difference.

                      o||||o
                      7100-1u

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                      • johnpozJ
                        johnpoz LAYER 8 Global Moderator @AndyRH
                        last edited by johnpoz

                        @andyrh yeah unless your doing some really high bitrate stuff off say your plex 100mbps is enough. My tv only has a 100mbps interface ;) seems stupid to me - I mean really how many pennies more would it cost to put in a gig interface into the damn thing.

                        The shield is gig, but normally just use the built in apps on the roku tv. The shield was gotten more as a play/test thing - haven't switched over to actually using it.. But its there if apps on the tv piss me off for some reason ;) hehe Got it on sale, and I am sucker for new toys ;) so couldn't pass it up..

                        Its slick and all - but teaching the wife a new interface is not normally a enjoyable experience ;)

                        An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools
                        If you get confused: Listen to the Music Play
                        Please don't Chat/PM me for help, unless mod related
                        SG-4860 24.11 | Lab VMs 2.7.2, 24.11

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                        • AndyRHA
                          AndyRH @johnpoz
                          last edited by

                          @johnpoz Yep, not a problem until too many are playing games or watching videos on phones and iPads... Unless the cable fails it is likely to stay in place for a while.
                          But there is always hope that tiny switch will hear 1Gb calling through that cable.

                          o||||o
                          7100-1u

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                          • Q
                            qysotyvah
                            last edited by

                            @bingo600 said in Low cost smart switch:

                            D-Link DGS-1100-08

                            I opt for D-Link DMS-1100-10TP

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