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[ecrabb]

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OK, my third Netgear Pro ethernet switch just died... That's the third in about 4-5 years, so I'm NOT buying another Netgear. It's been rock-solid for probably 18 months... I was taking Christmas decorations out from under the stairs and knocked the AC adapter from the outlet, but didn't realize it until later. Plugged it in later and it's been dicked up ever since. I tried plugging and unplugging - nothing fixes it. I guess it needs to be replaced. It was an FS116 and the other two the died were and FS105 and FS108. I should have known after the second one, I guess.

Anybody have any recommendations? I need at least a 16-port; a 24-port would probably be better as the 16 was completely full. I was looking at gigabit, but I don't know that I really need it. I'm thinking maybe a good used Cisco or other commercial 100T switch would be a better buy so I don't have to replace something again in 12-18 months.

Opinions? Recommendations?

SC

[beun]

I have a 16 port gigabit Cisco hanging on my wall now for about 5 years. Works perfectly although recently lightning knocked out one of the ports. It is a noisy bugger though.

[zaphod]

every laughs at my old blue linksys (100baseT) but it does the job and works fine. so do the linksys routers and wireless waps, and the waps i run in bridge mode to get from point A to B across the house without wire.

but they work. and keep working. and i've replaced D-link and logitech and other brands while mine keeps on working. i stick with success, so at consumer level i recommend linksys to people.

at business-world level i've used Cisco for about 20 years, back when the 3XXX series were new. At my current job we are pulling out our last few 35XX series switches and they work fine, but we need 10G uplink speeds so we are replacing all our core ethernet with Brocade gear. Brocade bought into the ethernet world (coming from SAN/fibre world) by acquiring Foundry which i have been using and recommending since about 2002. So i can also recommend used cisco or foundry gear.

i've had HP gear in my various sites and while it works, i also have a lot of it siting on the shelf because a module or a power supply died. i REALLY like HP server gear, but their networking product line has always left me cold.

so, i'd recommend linksys for consumer level gear, and used cisco or brocade/foundry gear if you want "business class" stuff.

FWIW.

[akajester]

I've had really good luck with Dell switches. I was running an 8 port then a 16 port, both gigabit, never had an issue. It's been 6 years now that I've had them.

Yes, it's more expensive than most;
http://www.dell.com/us/business/p/powerconnect-2816/pd?refid=switch-powerconnect-2816&baynote_bnrank=0&baynote_irrank=1&~ck=dellSearch

Dale

[ecrabb]

Thanks for the help, guys... I just sent an email to a guy on craigslist that says he has some Cisco 3550's... I'm sure they'll be out of my price range... Gawd, they're expensive new!

So, I was just flipping though Amazon and found this:
http://www.amazon.com/Cisco-SR224-24-port-100-Switch/dp/B0000C20HX

It looks like it's a carryover product from Linksys' small business line, and it's last year's model, but $47?!?! Newegg has it for $89.99 and Amazon has the newer model for $101. Everybody seems to like the Linksys stuff...

Unless somebody has a reason not to, I might just snag it. IIRC, that's less money than I paid for the POS Netgear 16-port.

SC

[akajester]

I've never had problems with linksys stuff, except power adapters dying. I've been told by others they've gone down in quality since partnering with cisco. That's just second hand chit chat though.

EDIT: I thought you were looking for a gigabit switch. sorry.

[ecrabb]

No problem, Jester.

I just went ahead and ordered that Cisco/Linksys switch. It'll be here tomorrow for $50.98 including $3.99 next day shipping (with my Prime account). Too cheap to pass up. I'm sure I'll want to upgrade to gigabit at some point, but until I do, this one sounds great.

Thanks for the help, guys.

SC

[zaphod]

[km987654]

I think Linksys is part of Cisco so probably good no matter which you buy although the stuff with the Cisco brand would likely be commercial grade and cost more. You could also try HP switches they have some really good 8 port switches which will reduce cost if you don't need any more than 8 ports.

[ecrabb]

No doubt the Cisco enterprise gear is excellent quality durable equipment and yes - the prices even on used equipment reflect that. The Cisco 3550's the local guy on Craigslist has seem to run from $750 to over $2500 new depending on the model. So, even if the used gear is is a quarter of new price, it'll still be WAY more than I want to spend on my home network.

Even if it's clearly not built for enterprise, I'm assuming that the Cisco-labeled Linksys small business gear is good stuff and I'm hoping it's better than the Netgear junk that doesn't seem to last for me (even though it's technically Netgear's SOHO/pro line, too). It seems like people had a pretty favorable opinion of Linksys even before Cisco bought the company, so I'll give it a try.

SC

[km987654]

[maniak]

Another option for 10/100 switches would be 3com. You can usually get great deals on the 3com 10/100 switches. I run a 3com 3300 superstack III at the house and I use a superstack II (still a 3com 3300) at the office. I paid $18 for the last 3com switch (superstack II) from ebay.

These switches don't have QOS (I wish), but they do support Vlans. That comes in handy so I can use a single switch to make multiple networks. It also supports snmp so I can use a program like PRTG traffic grapher to keep an eye on bandwidth used.

Of course, with ebay, you are rolling the dice some and you can't beat Amazon prime for shipping (I love getting 100 lbs items for $4 overnight shipping)

~Mark

Edit: I just noticed that used 3com 3300 superstack III's are going for < $20 used on amazon.com too.

[WanMan]

I'm not going to defend Netgear, here, but unmanaged Ethernet switches is a dated technology. I wouldn't pay for anything unmanaged and treat them as disposable--and be fine with buying used.

[ecrabb]

Wan, I get that a managed switch is higher-end and useful (necessary?) for the enterprise, but what does it offer a home user like me? What can I do with a managed switch that would be helpful in a home (even power-user) environment?

The Craigslist guy got back to me and he has a 24-port Cisco 3550 that he'd sell for $300. I think that's like a $2000+ switch. That's obviously a great deal, but it's just too damn much money for me... But I'd sure love to play around with one and learn more networking.

At one point, I toyed around with getting a CCNA certification because I've always wanted to understand IP networking better. I can get the courses for free from work, but then you still have to pay for tests and you need an equipment lab to learn on, right?

Thanks,
SC

[greg_mitch]

With a managed switch can you give priority to certain traffice?

(VOIP, Netflix, iRule, PS3, etc.)

[TheVerge]

You don't need a lab for ccna... 90% of it is subnetting.


Having a managed switch at home is kinda pointless unless you have a few hundred computers. It'll just sit there and run up your electricity bill.

[zaphod]

[TheVerge]

[zaphod]

one thing to keep in mind is that enterprise gear is designed to be in a server room and the fans can be horridly noisy. the Brocade FCS series makes your NEC sound quiet. absolutely unlivable.

[zaphod]