steveg Posted July 28, 2011 Posted July 28, 2011 How big is your network overall? How many of the advanced features do you need? It would be useful to get an idea of your overall network design, and which specific parts you are looking to replace to recomend an appropriate switch. I'm a big fan of the netgear kit, and now use it in all but the biggest of networks. We've purchsed over £25k worth of their switches (the most recent lot came from Millgate, who came in the cheapest) in the last 2 years alone, and have only had 1 device fail in that time, which was replaced under warranty. Steve
ServersPlus Posted July 28, 2011 Posted July 28, 2011 If budget is a huge issue, I think the cheapest that ticks all the boxes is a Zyxel switch - 91-010-217004B
IanT Posted July 28, 2011 Posted July 28, 2011 Netgear ekkkk! - horrible switches, would touch them at all! Im in the process of ripping out 2 schools with Netgear gig switches and replacing with new HP stuff.
localzuk Posted July 28, 2011 Posted July 28, 2011 If budget is a huge issue, I think the cheapest that ticks all the boxes is a Zyxel switch - 91-010-217004B Interesting name to throw into the game. Zyxel seem to be a new breed of Chinese manufacturer, providing cheap and good quality at the same time. I've used a couple of their wireless routers and find them flawless. I've only ever seen 1 person have anything bad to say about them too, and that was regarding them not providing warranty support after the warranty had expired (so, to be expected really), but that has been countered by other users having items repaired and replaced even out of warranty. So, I'd say not to discount their offering - it could very well be the ideal solution.
will_ Posted July 28, 2011 Author Posted July 28, 2011 Netgear ekkkk! - horrible switches, would touch them at all! Why's that?
will_ Posted July 28, 2011 Author Posted July 28, 2011 If your not looking for gig the ProCurve 2610-24-PWR are good switches But I am looking for gigabit! :-)
will_ Posted July 28, 2011 Author Posted July 28, 2011 If budget is a huge issue, I think the cheapest that ticks all the boxes is a Zyxel switch - 91-010-217004B Ah, this looks interesting - particularly taking on board localzuk's comments: Interesting name to throw into the game. Zyxel seem to be a new breed of Chinese manufacturer, providing cheap and good quality at the same time. I've used a couple of their wireless routers and find them flawless. I've only ever seen 1 person have anything bad to say about them too, and that was regarding them not providing warranty support after the warranty had expired (so, to be expected really), but that has been countered by other users having items repaired and replaced even out of warranty.
will_ Posted July 28, 2011 Author Posted July 28, 2011 (edited) How big is your network overall? How many of the advanced features do you need? It would be useful to get an idea of your overall network design, and which specific parts you are looking to replace to recomend an appropriate switch. I'm a big fan of the netgear kit, and now use it in all but the biggest of networks. We've purchsed over £25k worth of their switches (the most recent lot came from Millgate, who came in the cheapest) in the last 2 years alone, and have only had 1 device fail in that time, which was replaced under warranty. Hi Steve, We're about to undergo some fairly substantial changes to our network (both expansion and tidying of the existing infrastructure to cut out some old, daisy-chained hubs). The end result will be one core switch feeding: - four edge switches (three data and one VoIP) - seven wireless access points - a few servers - a router to the outside world. We have a suite of 16 computers (with their own edge switch), about as many classroom computers plus a few admin machines. On the wireless network, we have a trolley of 36 netbooks and 12 staff laptops. The VoIP network has 4 handsets and capacity for 3 more. A lot of my specifications are for future-proofing: - The uplinks are currently copper but I'd like the ability to replace two of them (those furthest away) with fibre in the future. - 16 ports would be enough at the moment but I'd like a bit of headroom for future expansion. - Most of our wireless access points have mains sockets reasonably nearby but I'd prefer to power them by PoE as they are occasionally unplugged by "helpful" people. - I'd rather avoid PoE midspans / injectors. Our cabinet's already pretty short of space. EDIT 1: The requirement for a managed switch is so I can get some idea of traffic and prioritise certain ports if necessary. EDIT 2: I consider 100Mbit to be old technology and would rather deliver gigabit connectivity everywhere. Edited July 28, 2011 by will_
Oops_my_bad Posted July 28, 2011 Posted July 28, 2011 (edited) Like others have said, also consider the netgear GS724TP. All ports are gigabit and you get 2 shared SFP uplink ports. You will get upto 802.3af class 4 PoE on all 24 copper ports. You will get a lifetime warranty although I believe this excludes PSU's and the fans. Probrand/ITindex are doing them for £340 + VAT Also bear in mind if you are using the fibre uplinks, for HP's you will be tied to using their tranceivers which are considerably more expensive than the generic ones you can use in Netgears (although you can buy netgear branded ones if you are particularly anal about your tranceivers) We have 2 dozen of the 48 port version of these switches at all our edges and they run sweet. Those who are cussing netgear probably got stung by using consumer products on their network Edited July 28, 2011 by Oops_my_bad
will_ Posted July 28, 2011 Author Posted July 28, 2011 Like others have said, also consider the netgear GS724TP. Well it turns out that's the only one I can install - the cabinet isn't deep enough for the HP or ZyXEL! Those who are cussing netgear probably got stung by using consumer products on their network So far only person has voiced any concerns about Netgear, and has not expanded on those concerns other than "ekkkk! - horrible".
Michael Posted July 28, 2011 Posted July 28, 2011 From reading this thread, PoE seems more critical rather than gigabit. The cost and hassle of installing injectors everywhere, you may as well buy a decent switch from the start. A lot of networks I support these days are going down the wireless route, so other than gigabit at the core and the links, I don't think gigabit to the desktop is really needed. Only with high bandwidth applications you may notice the difference with a gigabit switch. It really depends how good the workstations are at the other end too Whatever you decide, try and stick to the same brand throughout your network. It does make all the difference.
will_ Posted July 28, 2011 Author Posted July 28, 2011 Whatever you decide, try and stick to the same brand throughout your network. It does make all the difference. That's interesting. Is that along the lines of "it shouldn't make any difference but it just does" (rather like "Windows shouldn't have crashed then but it just does")?
localzuk Posted July 28, 2011 Posted July 28, 2011 Well it turns out that's the only one I can install - the cabinet isn't deep enough for the HP or ZyXEL! You should never buy your switches based on the depth of existing cabinets. When we upgraded our network from D-Link unmanaged switches to HP managed ones, we replaced pretty much all our cabinets with deeper ones. I understand money is tight, but to choose something based on a non-functional aspect of the equipment would be a bad decision IMO. My problems with netgear are as follows: The management side of it is messy. We put a couple of them in some of our feeder schools and I hated every second of configuring them. When deciding on whether to use HP, Cisco, 3Com, Netgear or D-Link back when I did our upgrade, I found many people complaining that the netgears were 'buggy' and that their support was nowhere near as responsive or good as HP's (next day swap our lifetime warranty is pretty sweet - even if we've never used it). Bad experiences with their consumer grade gear (not a good metric on its own, but helpful to include). That's interesting. Is that along the lines of "it shouldn't make any difference but it just does" (rather like "Windows shouldn't have crashed then but it just does")? Things like VLANs have a few 'issues' when you mix brands from many reports I've seen, as different manufacturers implement features with tiny differences. So, for stability and sanity, sticking with a single brand is the best bet.
robk Posted July 28, 2011 Posted July 28, 2011 That's interesting. Is that along the lines of "it shouldn't make any difference but it just does" (rather like "Windows shouldn't have crashed then but it just does")? Exactly, everything SHOULD interoperate, however you do find issues, keeping to one vendor does reduce the complexity from a support perspective. If its all HP Procurve then HP support can't blame netgear.
Michael Posted July 28, 2011 Posted July 28, 2011 That's interesting. Is that along the lines of "it shouldn't make any difference but it just does" (rather like "Windows shouldn't have crashed then but it just does")? What I meant was, if you purchased a gigabit switch and/or a PoE switch, make sure you keep to the same brand (as confirmed by others above). You should never buy your switches based on the depth of existing cabinets. I agree with this too. It really isn't a good reason. Technically you don't even have to install it in a cabinet if you're tight for cash, it's only recommended.
snoerre Posted July 31, 2011 Posted July 31, 2011 Sorry guys. But lifetime warranty is not everything that counts. i need a switch that support the protocols and features that I need, constant software updates. Therefore a HP V1910 (== 3Com 2928) will beat e.g. a HP 1810 switch.
localzuk Posted July 31, 2011 Posted July 31, 2011 Sorry guys. But lifetime warranty is not everything that counts. i need a switch that support the protocols and features that I need, constant software updates. Therefore a HP V1910 (== 3Com 2928) will beat e.g. a HP 1810 switch. Remember the saying 'buy cheap, buy twice'.
featured_spectre Posted July 31, 2011 Posted July 31, 2011 Lifetime warranty is much more valuable to me than the need to buy extended warranty or additional warranty requirements. Yes support, updates and features are important, but if possible, look for features and protocols, as well as warranty. As @localzuk quite rightly said, buy cheap, pay twice.
glennda Posted July 31, 2011 Posted July 31, 2011 Sorry guys. But lifetime warranty is not everything that counts. i need a switch that support the protocols and features that I need, constant software updates. Therefore a HP V1910 (== 3Com 2928) will beat e.g. a HP 1810 switch. I'm sure nobody is saying that you shouldn't buy anything that doesn't fit your requirement simply because it has a lifetime warranty. But i would splash the cash a little more now simply becuase the more expensive the switches are the better/more reliable they are.
snoerre Posted July 31, 2011 Posted July 31, 2011 Remember the saying 'buy cheap, buy twice'. Hm, I do not unterstand your argument: HP 1810G (24 port): price: ~170,-€, data sheet: HP V1810 Switch Series (QuickSpecs/c02891932.pdf) HP V1910 (24 port): price: ~230,-€, data sheet: HP V1910 Switch Series (QuickSpecs/c02711798.pdf)
glennda Posted July 31, 2011 Posted July 31, 2011 Hm, I do not unterstand your argument: HP 1810G (24 port): price: ~170,-€, data sheet: HP V1810 Switch Series (QuickSpecs/c02891932.pdf) HP V1910 (24 port): price: ~230,-€, data sheet: HP V1910 Switch Series (QuickSpecs/c02711798.pdf) personally as mentioned previously i wouldn't use the v range and look to something like the E range 2810 which is circa £900 (1000 euros) for a 24 port gigabit switch I use the E2610 (mix of 48 port and 24 port) simply because i don't need gigabit to the desktop (although it would be nice!)
localzuk Posted July 31, 2011 Posted July 31, 2011 Hm, I do not unterstand your argument: HP 1810G (24 port): price: ~170,-€, data sheet: HP V1810 Switch Series (QuickSpecs/c02891932.pdf) HP V1910 (24 port): price: ~230,-€, data sheet: HP V1910 Switch Series (QuickSpecs/c02711798.pdf) Cheap doesn't necessarily refer to purchase price alone. We're supposed to get 'best value', and part of best value is total cost of ownership over the lifetime of the device before planned replacement. So, figure in that you replace network gear every 7 years, add in the likelihood of failure, warranty, etc... and the device with the lifetime warranty is overall the better value one.
snoerre Posted August 2, 2011 Posted August 2, 2011 (edited) Well, of course without the warranty for year 4 till replacement, I will have no next business day. But for this I could buy several additional non lifetime switches for instant replacement and save also money. I once bought a 2910al because of its warranty and hey I saw that looking at performance, it has higher specs than a 3500yl/6200yl, but its feature set is limited. I also have some HP 8000M and hey I have lifetime warranty, but what about features? Give me a working vlan aware loop detection feature on one port instead of lifetime warranty. Of course I like HP´s warranty and I was happy when HP aquired 3Com/H3C. Now I have some nice 3Com switches with HP label and some even not got HP´s real lifetime warranty. Talking about the V1910, for the price it´s a bargain, if you want lifetime warranty buy something else. (Do not take the V1905 series. It´s completely different) Edited August 2, 2011 by snoerre
ExplodingLemur Posted January 20, 2012 Posted January 20, 2012 Old thread, but to answer the original question the E series switches are HPs original Procurve line, and the A series are acquisitions from 3Com/H3C running Comware.
snoerre Posted January 22, 2012 Posted January 22, 2012 Nowadays V1910 switches also have lifetime warranty. So no more argument against it ;-) http://h17007.www1.hp.com/us/en/products/switches/HP_1910_Switch_Series/index.aspx
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