Switch recommendations
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Can anyone recommend a managed switch to use with pfSense in place of my unmanaged switch?
I have 3 server boxes on the LAN right now plus a WAP, and would like to impliment a CARP/failsafe in the future. I am also looking for 1000Mbps port speed.
I know it's not a complicated decision, but there are so many choices and I like to be as efficient as possible when spending money.
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Depends on your budget… you can get an smart, l2 managed or layer3 switch. Expect a significant price difference between those categories.
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Get a used one off ebay for dirt cheap.
Many people are dumping very nice 24 port gigabit switches, presumably updating to 10gb lines.
I got one for about $30 and I feel like a robbed the guy. The switch is fantastic.
Its boring really - it just always works.
Mine is a 3COM 2928-sfp plus (am also using another identical to it with lagg interfaces set up - works well)
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Another vote for the Ebay switches…There are tons of them.
Cisco, 3com, Dell PowerConnect, HP Procurve and more like that.Some time ago I bought a TP-Link 24 port from Amazon for about 100 USD, but next time I'll get a switch from Ebay.
Cheers.
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I like my HP-Procurve 1810v2 24g because it is fanless and has an absolute maximum theoretical power draw of 22watts. But a more featureful L3 switch would be more useful for a business.
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The 3 COMs and the procurve are the same switches.
I even updated my firmware with a procurve recent firmware.
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Another vote for the Ebay switches…There are tons of them.
Cisco, 3com, Dell PowerConnect, HP Procurve and more like that.Some time ago I bought a TP-Link 24 port from Amazon for about 100 USD, but next time I'll get a switch from Ebay.
Cheers.
Just got myself the TP-Link 24 as well, seems to be quite nice. Firmware updated it with ipv6 as well.
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I've got 2 Cisco switches stacked together that power my home network. One is a C3750-48-TS-S (48 port 10/100, with 4 SFP), & a C3750G-24-T-S (24 port 10/100/1000). Now granted I am interested in learning Cisco CLI to manage the switch. It's not hard at all to work CLI on a Cisco switch, but you will need to do some slight reading. Though I think all managed switches are going to require you to learn a CLI. A certain website with forums, has all the newest IOS versions for Cisco products for home use for free. I have both switches updated to the newest IOS version with advanced IP services.
If you don't need gigabit the C3750 is a excellent L3 managed switch. I paid about $125 for my 48 port on ebay. The gigabit was a bit more pricey at about $350. Though these are pretty much the best Cisco switches that you can find right now before you start getting into current market stuff for thousands.
These switches will do just about anything you could imagine. I have 12 VLANs setup with pfSense running behind it, router-on-a-stick.
Here is some stuff it supports;
Flow control, full duplex capability, layer 3 switching, auto-sensing per device, IP-routing, DHCP support, power over Ethernet (PoE), auto-negotiation, ARP support, VLAN support, auto-uplink (auto MDI/MDI-X), IGMP snooping, traffic shaping, stackable, IPv6 support, Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP) support, Access Control List (ACL) support, Quality of Service (QoS)Status Indicators, Port status, link activity, port transmission speed, port duplex mode, status
EIGRP, IGMP, RIP-1, RIP-2, RIPng, Static IP routing
RMON 1, RMON 2, RMON 3, RMON 9, SNMP 1, SNMP 2c, SNMP 3, SSH, Telnet
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I like HP, Cisco. But recently I found some Brocade 648P (Gigabit 48 port POE switches ) for $125 a piece. It was a steal so I had to grab everyone the guy was selling. I couldn't believe it and the cli is almost identical to Cisco.
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"I have 3 server boxes on the LAN right now plus a WAP"
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+1 for the HP procurve 1810G-v2 switch. The one I have is 8 port, and it only draws about 4W from the wall. no noise, no heat, very nice. If you want layer 3, there is a model for that too.
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I use two TP-Link TL-SG2216 switches. Using about 16 VLANs, switches trunked together, as they are located in separate areas of the building. pfSense as router-on-a-stick here too, works flawlessly. Low power, fanless, no heat and great price.
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It's been awhile, but I ended up getting a cisco switch. I love it! My performance seems to have increased without much configuration.
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SG200? SG300?
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300
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I think it will serve you fine.
The 300 series seem to have quite good specs, eg the SG300-28 is stated to have a 179141hs MTBF. That's 20y. And they give limited lifetime warranty.
(I have yet to see that if I send in my switch in the year 2033, they will service it for me. Maybe I should start reading the disclaimers more carefully :D)
Time will tell I guess… -
I have not had any problems with this one and I'm working with 2 of them.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lot-of-2-3COM-Baseline-Switch-2924-SFP-Plus-3CBLSG24-24-Gigabit-Port-/251800982483?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3aa08213d3
3Com Baseline Switch 2928-SFP Plus
Using the current HP Baseline Switch 2928-SFP Plus firmware from a couple months ago so they are under current active support.
$60 is pretty cheap for 2 24 port managed gigabit switches. Looks like these have fiber modules installed also.
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Rather old/used switches tend to draw a lot of power which makes them expensive in the long run.
I have a Dell PowerConnect 5224 laying around which I surely won't use anymore. It's loud as hell (4 fans IIRC) and really produces some heat.
Current hardware is way more energy efficient - but if you're mining your own power then it should be fine.The HP 1810G switches "only" have a web-interface for configuration IIRC. No CLI and no serial port. To set up VLANs that's absolutely sufficient, though.
Cisco SG300s are quite cheap and offer L3 as option (just change mode). Lots of bang-for-the-buck and only slightly above the price range of TP-Link devices.
I (still) have an 1810G in the office and at clients whereas I use TP-Link as well as SG300s at home. All without problems.
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Mine is quiet and runs cool. Easy web gui - I manage it via VPN.
Its quiet - At most, 80 watts. I assume much much less when its not doing much.
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SMBusiness
Cisco SG200-28
Cisco SG300-28
Cisco SG500-xxNetgear M4100-D12G
Netgear GS510TP
Netgear GS516TPD-Link DGS-1510-20
Home
Netgear GS105E v2
Netgear GS108E v2
Netgear GS108T v2
Netgear GS105PE
Netgear GS110T
Netgear GS110TPAll are running without any problems until now but
owed to the circumstance that you plan to set up in front of this a CARP set up
it would be better to have a dedicated look on the D-Link one, it comes with two
SFP+ Ports and this could be really interesting for your regarding the throughput.
