Which 24 port "smart" gigabit switch?

[Stereodude]

I'm looking for a 24 port "smart" / quasi-managed gigabit Layer 2 switch (10/100/1000 on all 24 ports). Noise is not an issue. If it matters, this is for my home network. I need VLAN support and jumbo frame support also. I would like the ability to mirror ports as well.

I'd like to stay under $500. The further under the better. I've seen at least one review praise the Linksys SRW family, but the reviews on Newegg (SRW2016 review) seem far less enthusiastic.

Does anyone have any opinions about the 3com Baseline Plus series of smart switches? Specifically the 2924-SFP?

 

[P5-133XL]

Sorry to say, but when dealing with managed gigabit switches with lots of ports, the cheapo's generally don't satisfy: There always seems to be a significant issue. That's not to say that they don't have promise but I've yet to have a good experiance.

 

[Stereodude]

Can you detail what type of significant issue you've encountered with them. I would suspect that what has been an issue to you, presumably in more of an enterprise environment may not be an issue to me at home.

Right now I have an 8 port unmanaged Netgear gigabit switch and I'm reasonably satisfied with it (just not enough ports now). A 24 port unmanaged one would probably make me happy also, but I though I'd rather pay a little bit more and have some more features to play with to enhance my network.

 

[Stereodude]

FWIW, the HP ProCurve 1800-24G was suggested to me by several people on other forums.

 

[Mercutio]

Can you get a Procurve ANYTHING for under $500?

 

[Stereodude]

Can you get a Procurve ANYTHING for under $500?

Yeah, the HP ProCurve 1800-24G is about $400 from reputable online stores. However I'm still not sure it's the "right" answer to my question or if it's just this week's flavor of the day.

 

[P5-133XL]

The biggest issue I had with one of these cheapo managed switches was a 16 port Netgear ProSafe a couple of years back. It supported only one VLAN and what's the point of a VLAN, if you can't have two or more?

They still offer them, so either they are still ripping people off or they fixed the problem ...

 

[blakerwry]

We've used a few Dell managed gbit switches. Anything more than the basic models support Jumbo frames and VLANs as well as mirroring.

They're not as configurable as a Cisco or HP... for example, management is always VLAN1 (switch can't tag its own packets) and you can't control which VLANs are allowed/denied on trunk ports... But for home use with just the 1 switch they should be more than sufficient.

 

[Stereodude]

The biggest issue I had with one of these cheapo managed switches was a 16 port Netgear ProSafe a couple of years back. It supported only one VLAN and what's the point of a VLAN, if you can't have two or more?

They still offer them, so either they are still ripping people off or they fixed the problem ...

All of the "smart" gigabit switches I looked at support at least 24 VLANs, with some as many as 255, so I guess they've taken care of that.

 

[Stereodude]

We've used a few Dell managed gbit switches. Anything more than the basic models support Jumbo frames and VLANs as well as mirroring.

They're not as configurable as a Cisco or HP... for example, management is always VLAN1 (switch can't tag its own packets) and you can't control which VLANs are allowed/denied on trunk ports... But for home use with just the 1 switch they should be more than sufficient.

I hadn't really thought to look at Dell. Thanks for the idea.

 

[Bozo]

We had some Dell switches at work. When sat side by side with a DLink, the only difference was the Dell label and the price tag.
The DLink switches were considerably cheaper than the Dells.

Bozo :joker:

 

[Stereodude]

Ok, so I have it narrowed down (I think) to either the HP Procurve 1800-24G or the 3com 2924-SFP. FWIW, the 3com will cost about an extra $4.50 a month to power due to the increased power draw.

So, which one do I buy?

 

[ddrueding]

If the features of the Procurve work for you, the lack of fan, low power and low heat swing the deal IMHO. Even if the fan noise is a non-issue as stated, if the switch is dependant on a fan than that makes it less reliable than one that can work well without.

 

[Stereodude]

If the features of the Procurve work for you, the lack of fan, low power and low heat swing the deal IMHO. Even if the fan noise is a non-issue as stated, if the switch is dependant on a fan than that makes it less reliable than one that can work well without.

Well, that's just it. The features of either one work, but the 3com is definitely more versatile in the QoS department even being Layer3 aware, as well as offering access restrictions. However, those probably aren't features I'm likely to utilize, at least not in the short term. I don't want to have to upgrade the switch in 18 months though because I bought the wrong one.

I will probably buy the HP though.

 

[ddrueding]

I highly suspect that both (and managed switches in general) are overkill for your house. I should know, I specialize in that kind of overkill

 

[Stereodude]

Well, it's done! (I think) I ordered the HP.

 

[ddrueding]

Sweet. Let me know how it works out. You've got me interested in playing with this stuff again as well.