m0bov Posted November 13, 2019 Posted November 13, 2019 Hi all, we had to replace a failed switch here, the cab as another 4 or so all with fan errors. They are quite old 3COM switches, they are fed with a Distribution switch which is HP. We engaged a VAR who suggested Aruba switches and using their cloud management. However, they struggled to get the Aruba working with our existing network. The switch was setup locally with the GUI. Does anybody here have experience of Aruba switches and Aruba Central? Is it worth it or should we stick with HPE? We do need to replace more switches over the coming years and we have not had much engagement with our current VAR or Aruba. We have Aerohive and this needs replacing in a couple of years, possibly with Aruba so I wanted to try and tie it all into one brand and manage from one place. Lookng for anyone with experience of Aruba switches, Aruba Central, wifi and also of HPE to give me their feedback. Cheers.
Davit2005 Posted November 13, 2019 Posted November 13, 2019 All our new switches are Aruba but run ProVision OS (i.e. 2530, 2540 or 2930). Some run ComWare OS so probably more appropriate if you work exclusively in the command line like us. The below link will shed some light on it. https://community.arubanetworks.com/t5/Wired-Intelligent-Edge-Campus/Comware-ProCurve-ProVision-and-Aruba-Switches/td-p/490258 1
Net-Ctrl Posted November 13, 2019 Posted November 13, 2019 If you're open to considering other manufacturers we have a lot of clients very happy with the Ruckus ICX switch family - previously Brocade campus portfolio which goes all the way back to Foundry Networks. They come with NBD replacement should parts fail. There's a number of promotions running at the moment as well. Also, if you're looking for co-management you can manage the switches and Ruckus WiFi together on the same management platform - some clients are even managing their switch deployment only with the Ruckus management console for easier day-to-day management.
m0bov Posted November 13, 2019 Author Posted November 13, 2019 The Var does do Rukus, never used that myself. Thanks for the info. 1
Primus Posted November 13, 2019 Posted November 13, 2019 If you want everything in one place (switching and WiFi) and far far cheaper - Ubiquiti Unifi.
Davit2005 Posted November 20, 2019 Posted November 20, 2019 (edited) Unifi/Ubiquiti gear is great but it simply does not have some of the enterprise functionality in my opinion i.e. High Availability/Redundancy etc. Bear in mind the 1 year standard warranty where you can get up to lifetime for some switches you need to bear that in mind as well. Edited November 20, 2019 by Davit2005
Primus Posted November 20, 2019 Posted November 20, 2019 Unifi/Ubiquiti gear is great but it simply does not have some of the enterprise functionality in my opinion i.e. High Availability/Redundancy etc. Bear in mind the 1 year standard warranty where you can get up to lifetime for some switches you need to bear that in mind as well. Indeed, I wouldn't use it at my core. However for edge switching or WiFi it has all the functionality a school would require. In terms of redundancy etc their new switching line does have redundant PSUs now. Yes only a 1 year warranty but it's so cheap you can buy spares of everything and still be saving a fortune!
Net-Ctrl Posted November 20, 2019 Posted November 20, 2019 @Primus - out of interest, what model of Ubiq switches did you opt for at your edge?
DGardiner Posted November 20, 2019 Posted November 20, 2019 Unifi/Ubiquiti gear is great but it simply does not have some of the enterprise functionality in my opinion i.e. High Availability/Redundancy etc. Bear in mind the 1 year standard warranty where you can get up to lifetime for some switches you need to bear that in mind as well. the new gen 2 ubiquity switches look alot better!
Primus Posted November 20, 2019 Posted November 20, 2019 @Primus - out of interest, what model of Ubiq switches did you opt for at your edge? We use US-48-500w for PoE and US-48. Very very happy with all our Unifi kit. 1
ITGURU Posted November 20, 2019 Posted November 20, 2019 I was converted to D-Link back in 2003 from HP and have been D-Link ever since. Still have switches from 2003 in service running 10gb uplink and 1gb to each machine without issues. Just converted one of our other schools from HP to D-Link to replace their own 10/100 switches and 1gb uplinks. Maybe had 2 or 3 fan failures in the last couple of year but other than that rock solid. New series switches are all backed with redundant PSU and stacking is great in ring topology,
Primus Posted November 20, 2019 Posted November 20, 2019 I was converted to D-Link back in 2003 from HP and have been D-Link ever since. Still have switches from 2003 in service running 10gb uplink and 1gb to each machine without issues. Just converted one of our other schools from HP to D-Link to replace their own 10/100 switches and 1gb uplinks. Maybe had 2 or 3 fan failures in the last couple of year but other than that rock solid. New series switches are all backed with redundant PSU and stacking is great in ring topology, A switch from 2003 with a 10Gb uplink made by D-Link? Sounds unlikely???
synaesthesia Posted November 20, 2019 Posted November 20, 2019 Replaced all our aging 3com 4400's with a batch of Dlinks 9 odd years ago. Did quite well for a basic setup, but quite a few dead ports and some "interesting" interpretations of STP & loop protection meaning they held very little in way of protection. Aruba everywhere now (whatever version of OS uses the older HP Procurve CLI) and certainly a few steps ahead
ITGURU Posted November 20, 2019 Posted November 20, 2019 A switch from 2003 with a 10Gb uplink made by D-Link? Sounds unlikely???sorry 2006 for definite. it was our first phase 10gb install with core switch and 10gb to IT rooms.
ITGURU Posted November 20, 2019 Posted November 20, 2019 Replaced all our aging 3com 4400's with a batch of Dlinks 9 odd years ago. Did quite well for a basic setup, but quite a few dead ports and some "interesting" interpretations of STP & loop protection meaning they held very little in way of protection. Aruba everywhere now (whatever version of OS uses the older HP Procurve CLI) and certainly a few steps ahead Interesting.. I've always used the dlink loopback detection and been flawless. all.switch ports are monitored as soon as a look back occurs it disables the 2 ports sends the switch and port details to systlog server and emails me the details. rechecks every 10 seconds and if look back cleared enabled ports of not they remain disabled until it clears.
3s-gtech Posted November 20, 2019 Posted November 20, 2019 From HP to D-Link? Are you sure it wasn’t the other way round?! We have a mix of HP V-Series (3-Com) and Cisco SG300 SMB switches, 1Gb to desktop and 1Gb uplinks. All have been excellent. The uplinks never hit very high utilisation, even when the switch at the other end is packed full, so 1Gb still working out okay. Core is an HP 5406ZL (packed with expensive modules!) Looks like the Welsh Government are going to insist that we scrap it all to install 10Gb uplinks. Far more pressing/important things needed IMO.
ITGURU Posted November 20, 2019 Posted November 20, 2019 From HP to D-Link? Are you sure it wasn’t the other way round?! We have a mix of HP V-Series (3-Com) and Cisco SG300 SMB switches, 1Gb to desktop and 1Gb uplinks. All have been excellent. The uplinks never hit very high utilisation, even when the switch at the other end is packed full, so 1Gb still working out okay. Core is an HP 5406ZL (packed with expensive modules!) Looks like the Welsh Government are going to insist that we scrap it all to install 10Gb uplinks. Far more pressing/important things needed IMO.Yes both sites from HP to Dlink!
Primus Posted November 20, 2019 Posted November 20, 2019 So this is going to sound at odds with my setup of using Unifi but there's not a chance I'd have D-Link anywhere near my network. Each to their own though!
ITGURU Posted November 20, 2019 Posted November 20, 2019 Indeed. when we went 10gb HP wouldn't come in and advise on kit and setup. Dlink came in drew it all out with devices required and had 2 case studies done over the years. Also when I report firmware bugs I get Taiwan remoting on determining the issue and then they give me a custom fixed firmware before it's released to public! can't fault their service.
Davit2005 Posted November 21, 2019 Posted November 21, 2019 Indeed, I wouldn't use it at my core. However for edge switching or WiFi it has all the functionality a school would require. In terms of redundancy etc their new switching line does have redundant PSUs now. That does cover the power side and is a good bit cheaper than getting HP, Cisco, Juniper etc with redundant switches but I was thinking more or routing redundancy, gateway redundancy or Stacking especially if you are using as a layer 3 switch, but no I would not use them as a core switch. I did have a few ES-16-XG switches at home but sold them as they did not support IPv6 routing, VRRP etc., apart from a few lockups solved by updated firmware they seemed reliable enough and at least a third of the cost of competitors.
Primus Posted November 21, 2019 Posted November 21, 2019 That does cover the power side and is a good bit cheaper than getting HP, Cisco, Juniper etc with redundant switches but I was thinking more or routing redundancy, gateway redundancy or Stacking especially if you are using as a layer 3 switch, but no I would not use them as a core switch. I did have a few ES-16-XG switches at home but sold them as they did not support IPv6 routing, VRRP etc., apart from a few lockups solved by updated firmware they seemed reliable enough and at least a third of the cost of competitors. Yes I think in terms of routing etc it's not really enterprise ready. What we did was save as much as we could at the edge to allow greater investment into an HP Core switch. At the edge I don't need stacking whatsoever. You buy what fits your needs but for more than 95% of schools Unifi would meet their edge and WiFi needs comfortably. 1
Davit2005 Posted November 21, 2019 Posted November 21, 2019 (edited) We have over 100 HP Switches that are 15 years old, up to a few years back the Firmware was upgraded. We still get NBD replacement from HP for these switches. They are still good enough for what we need and no Business drive/incentive to replace. Edited November 21, 2019 by Davit2005
Primus Posted November 21, 2019 Posted November 21, 2019 Indeed. when we went 10gb HP wouldn't come in and advise on kit and setup. Dlink came in drew it all out with devices required and had 2 case studies done over the years. Also when I report firmware bugs I get Taiwan remoting on determining the issue and then they give me a custom fixed firmware before it's released to public! can't fault their service. Sorry just coming back to this - why would you expect HP to come in and advise you? If you needed advice around purchasing etc you'd normally go to a partner distributor? Essentially you're expecting free consultancy from HP.
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