Re: Switches

[Tom Jedrzejewicz <tomjedrz@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

My experience is that they all work when you plug them in, but the "off
brands" get flaky sooner and work better with most of the ports connected.

YMMV, but I like HP ProCurve.  Cisco is great but pricey. Netgear is good,
and Linksys/Belkin/DLink/3com are OK. Avoid the off-the-wall brands for
obvious reasons.

Big price differentiators ...
1- Support for Power over Ethernet adds a bunch of cost. You don't likely
need it unless you will be deploying IP phones, IP webcams, or distributed
wireless access points.

2- "Managed" switches are more expensive.  Basically, a "managed" switch
allows you to assign it an IP, has a console where you can control settings,
and can talk SNMP. I prefer to deploy managed switches in a business
setting, because troubleshooting network problems is easier, and because it
is generally advisable (IMO) to set port speeds for servers rather than use
negotiation.




---------
Tom Jedrzejewicz
tomjedrz@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx


On Wed, Dec 8, 2010 at 7:51 AM, Pat Barber <mboceanside@xxxxxxx> wrote:

> Has anybody seen any significant differences in the many
> Ethernet switches ?
>
> I have gotten in the shopping mode for a client and I can't
> believe how many folks are building these things, yet they
> all appear to be identical in form and function.
> (Over 35 suppliers from my distributor)
>
> I am looking for a simple 12 and 6 port switch(s) and have found
> them from $10 to $300, with a few going waaay up in price.
>
> I am talking about a 10/100/1000 wired switch  for a very basic
> network of   1- 15 devices.
>
> I don't really need the gigabyte version but I thought, why not since
> we are doing a whole new deal.
>
> Is the Netgear stuff really any different than the HP Procurve stuff  ?
>
> I tend to avoid the really off the wall brands from China but who knows ?
>
>
>
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