A couple of switches to upgrade

[timbo343]

We are looking at upgrading some of our old HP Switches around school but finding the new switch ranges are very expensive. We used to be able to replace a couple of switches each year but with budgets being cut, the weak £ to $ exchange rate, network switches seem to have exploded in price.

 

We have seen the HP / Aruba 6100 range but even the 24 port is around £1500! We would require 48port switches.

 

We then saw the HP / Aruba 1930 range which seemed promising but heard these are for small offices. We have some HP 1910s and HP 1920s around school which seem to be doing the job for us so would have thought the HP 1930 would have been ok.

 

I feel like with the little budget I have, i wont be able to do a right lot with it.

[FragglePete]

Go speak to Switchshop - you'll get the 48 Port PoE CX6100 Switch four around £1400 - these have gone up in price quite a bit over the last few months.

 

I've recently purchased 4 x CX6100 over the recent months, replacing some of our older 2610/2626/2520 range. Good switches, but be warned that the OS is different from the ProCurve / Aruba stuff. Took me a little while to get my head around it but got there in the end.

 

Of course, there is always UniFi stuff, which their Gen2 is very good, but warranty is unbeatable on the Aruba kit and for a bit more it gives me a better nights sleep.

 

Pete

[DalekSec]

Unsure where you're getting 24 ports 6100s for that much! We are in the process of ordering a new lineup of 6100s from SwitchShop. 24 Port POE 6100 for is £1158 Inc VAT, 48 Port POE 6100 is £1794 Inc VAT

 

Also worth looking at the 6000 series if you dont have a 10GB backbone. 6000s only have SFP and not SFP+ but we're getting a few in places where we dont have any plans to have 10GB in the future. tend to be around £300-400 cheaper than 6100s

[robyholmes]

I to would suggest Unifi for edge switches. Yes you don't get the warranty but the price is 1/2, sometimes 1/3 of the price. Keep some spare and swap if they fail. As we all know, heat is the killer of any electronic device (If it's kept dry mind you, ha). So put the spare cash in to decent sized cabinets with good cable management & a UPS to smooth power supply.

[Chris_Cook]

There are other switches in the Aruba instant-on range. I think they have the 1960 IIRC which is a bit more powerful.

 

Recently we've got a lot of unifi which has worked really well, but its getting harder to get hold of recently. The instant on range looks like it might be a good alternative. I think Cisco are coming out with a similar sort of cloud managed range as well.

 

I think for school use, you don't need to go super high spec. The core switch is a bit different, but for the access layer, you need web management (ideally centralised cloud management like Unifi), vlan support, and preferably 10g uplinks. As long as it isn't bargain basement stuff it will probably be ok.

[FragglePete]

If you want a good giggle, or a cry into your tea and jaffa cakes as you look at your budget, take a look at this lot:

 

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/meeting-digital-and-technology-standards-in-schools-and-colleges/switch-standards-for-schools-and-colleges

 

This is the recommended spec for a school network switching infrastructure. Quite an eye opening that it expects your uplinks to be 2 x 10Gb, each taking a different route.

 

Due to the age and structure of our site, we have a large number of cabinets dotted around the site. We're trying to update the larger cabinets to 10Gb where possible but our aging Core Switch (5406zl) is holding us back a bit. I'm having to purchase 2nd hand 8xSFP+ Modules so we can get these 10Gb links.

 

Pete

[Vegas]

Take a look at MikroTik, very affordable.

[Jaan]

FS.com

 

looks good

 

We're looking at the Sophos POE edge switches moving away from our old HP v1910 switches

[timbo343]

Hmmm, i've been given a quote for the 1960 48 port which came in around £775 each (non PoE version)

[Mr.Ben]

If you want a good giggle, or a cry into your tea and jaffa cakes as you look at your budget, take a look at this lot:

 

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/meeting-digital-and-technology-standards-in-schools-and-colleges/switch-standards-for-schools-and-colleges

 

This is the recommended spec for a school network switching infrastructure. Quite an eye opening that it expects your uplinks to be 2 x 10Gb, each taking a different route.

 

Due to the age and structure of our site, we have a large number of cabinets dotted around the site. We're trying to update the larger cabinets to 10Gb where possible but our aging Core Switch (5406zl) is holding us back a bit. I'm having to purchase 2nd hand 8xSFP+ Modules so we can get these 10Gb links.

 

Pete

I have to admit I read this and thought it was a little ridiculous, especially for primaries.

 

We are all cloud based now - some primary schools have 1Gbps Internet links and ultimately this is the bottleneck that means anything above 1Gbps switching wise is pointless at the moment.

 

This year I've totalled an IT spend of £1million plus across 36 schools but of that only £80k is in the budget for WiFi and switching, so we are using Unifi unless the DfE fund sites.

 

I have to say I'm a little 'meh' about Unifi - they make some odd ui choices and compared the functionality of Aruba it is lacking but for 1/3 of the price it does the job and I can manage centrally.

Edited June 23, 2022 by Mr.Ben

[mikkydoos]

I've got a few Cisco SG / SX range switches and they are very good, plenty of options and not too pricey either.

[Andycat]

Getting stock is the current issue. We'll be driven by what's available for a couple of urgent ish requirements....

[mikkydoos]

@Andycat decide what you want and go speak to some of the big suppliers. There's tons of stock around from my experience.

[Andycat]

@Andycat decide what you want and go speak to some of the big suppliers. There's tons of stock around from my experience.

 

Who would you say are big for switches? As, for instance, Insight don't have them?

[mikkydoos]

Many will disagree I'm sure, but first port of call for me is always Ebuyer Business. They always come up with the goods for me and always cheaper, maybe after a haggle... or they'll give you options.

They've knocked 15K off the last couple of big purchases I've made compared to others.

Insight IMO are too big for their own good and aren't competitive.

 

I was speaking to Misco recently about a fairly significant purchase and wasn't impressed. Used to use them a lot but they just don't cut it so I wouldn't personally.