New network: switch recommendations

[djones]

I have little knowledge when it comes to switching so I'm looking for recommendations for suitable switches for a new build primary school (one form entry in the first instance but likely to increase in the future). Third parties will be using the site too so will need to be able to separate parts of the network as I guess many others do. HP switches have been quoted as part of the build but with the absence of model numbers on the paperwork (I've asked and currently waiting on more info), I'd like to be a little ahead of the game! What would you spec that would provide a good infrastructure for the future but not overkill in the money stakes?

 

Cheers,

 

Dave

[DarrenG]

Are you able to supply further detail? Maybe a network diagram and an idea of the volume of users etc aswell as how you plan to interconnect the switches e.g fibre or copper?

[Michael]

For a Primary school, HP switches are generally recommended and typically come with a lifetime warranty too.

 

Recently I installed some 2910al series at a few sites and they're excellent switches. Alternatively there's the 2810 series or the 2610 series.

 

The 2910al and 2810 series are gigabit switches and the 2610 a 10/100 switch.

 

Other considerations are PoE for Wireless Access Points (WAPs). Planning ahead and buying at least one switch with PoE can make managing and indeed powering WAPs considerably easier!

[CyberNerd]

It depends entirely on the anticipated network capacity as to which switches you should go for.

[steve]

As you have mentioned a phone system in another post, I'd second the Power over Ethernet requirement. This will allow the phones / wireless to be powered remotely - reducing the need for sockets around site.

 

Good quality manages switches as other have said will do everything you want.

[djones]

Thanks everyone, that's really helpful! I suppose, realistically, there would be no more than 100 devices connected at any one time when the school is at full capacity. Managed WiFi will be going in at the same time and is being specced separately with its own PoE switch. A phone system could tag along with that (although at the moment what has been quoted for that initially seems very similar to what I have seen installed in most primaries a century ago hence my other thread!).

 

As far as connections between switches go, I haven't got a clue! Fibre modules I suppose are better but more expensive?

 

I'd prefer 1Gbps to each point too.

[Michael]

If you have say two switches in the same rack, connecting them with gigabit uplink ports using CAT5e is recommended. Depending on the switch you buy, you may or may not need to buy additional transceiver modules either for copper or fibre connections.

 

You only need fibre in the following scenarios -

 

- The length between cabinets exceeds 100m

- The cable needs to go outside. Fibre is better as it won't suffer from electrical interference

- You plan on running 10Gbps in future, so you should install OM3 fibre

[cpjitservices]

I would definitely recommend the HP Procurves... especially since they are cheap and reliable!

[nicholab]

Sounds like you need to be careful not to end up with two networks if they are talking about POE switches and the wireless. In a primary you want Ruckus wireless as it works like a DVD player plug it in and turn it on.

[K.C.Leblanc]

I would definitely recommend the HP Procurves... especially since they are cheap and reliable!

 

Another vote for ProCurve,

 

However at the moment their range is a bit of a muddle since some of their models are the old 3Com models. I'm sure these are fine, but I can't recommend them and from a standisation point you don;t want to mix them with other HP kit.

 

Also avoid the 1800, it's got different software to the rest of the range.

[psydii]

HP again but this time the recommendation is the HP 1910 Series, comes in 24 48 and POE varieties, all ports are 10/100/1000.

These products are based on the 3COM/H3C (Comware 5.2) lines that HP bought a couple of years ago. They have life time warranties and software support.

 

The 48 Port has highly rated energy efficiency. They are dead simple, and yet powerful enough in their configuration options. They are also dead cheap for what you get.

 

If you end up needing something fancy at your edge you can always put in a beefier core switch (like the e4800G/5500 EI) later.

 

 

 

I'd agree that if you have already got Procurve that unless you are planing to rip and replace, sticking with that range (as per the recomendations in the posts above). However if you are going for new end to end give the Comware based lines a look - the choice is open.

Edited April 30, 2012 by psydii

[akuma]

+1 to HP Procurve. Using the 2600 series 48 port POE over here and would recommend them highly.

[gshaw]

Another +1 for HP, we have a 5406zl at the core and 2600s on the edge... solid, easy to manage and lots of deals on educational pricing (not sure if they still do trade in as well as that can get you a nice sum back on a larger order)

[sonofsanta]

I've just put some HP 5800 and 5120 switches in - i.e. the old 3COM kit - and they're lovely, and cheaper than the equivalent ProCurve stuff. I worked with SwitchShop on getting them in, well worth a call - if nothing else, once you're on their list, you get an advent calendar at Christmas and a bar of Dairy Milk for Easter

[djones]

Can anyone tell me what the difference is (in real life, easy to understand terms!) between the HP ProCurve 1410-24G and HP ProCurve 2510G-24 switches? Besides about £200, obviously! I guess I don't really understand the difference between managed and unmanaged.

 

If an existing network has 2 switches (one managed, one unmanaged both 10/100) and the server(s) is plugged into the managed switch but there is a need (or simply desire!) to upgrade to 10/100/1000. What would the drawbacks be in adding a 10/100/1000 unmanaged switch into the mix and simply moving the server(s) and key clients to that switch?

[localzuk]

As you say, the difference is one is managed, one is unmanaged.

 

Managed means you can control lots of the capabilities of the switch. Unmanaged means it is effectively a dumb unit which just follows whatever its default rules are.

 

So, you couldn't use the unmanaged switch in a situation where you have different VLANs for example - you could only have it handle a single vlan which is actually being handled by another 'managed' switch which this one would hang off.

 

The questions you need to answer really is not would an unmanaged one be any trouble but what features you need your switches to do. How big is your network - from the sounds of it is is pretty small, and then unlikely to utilise any complex networking capabilities.

 

If your network is less than 100 devices, I'd not be looking at managed switches at all personally.

[djones]

It was more hypothetical really as I'm just trying to clarify a few things in my head. However, considering a small Ruckus install into an existing network with one managed (LA owned) and another unmanaged switch. If I wanted to upgrade to 10/100/1000 and also wanted to be able to utilise a guest SSID which gets internet access but not access to the rest of the school's network, how would I go about it? Would the only way be to upgrade the core managed switch or could I simply add an unmanaged 10/100/1000 switch and plug key devices into that? I'm not sure how Ruckus handles the guest SSID bit.

[localzuk]

It was more hypothetical really as I'm just trying to clarify a few things in my head. However, considering a small Ruckus install into an existing network with one managed (LA owned) and another unmanaged switch. If I wanted to upgrade to 10/100/1000 and also wanted to be able to utilise a guest SSID which gets internet access but not access to the rest of the school's network, how would I go about it? Would the only way be to upgrade the core managed switch or could I simply add an unmanaged 10/100/1000 switch and plug key devices into that? I'm not sure how Ruckus handles the guest SSID bit.

 

If you're wanting a guest SSID and the like, you'd want an entirely managed switch infrastructure IMO. That way you can put the guest wireless into its own vlan separate from the rest of the network.

 

However, I believe you can create a guest SSID in ruckus without different vlans, as you can specify IP addresses that the client machines on the ruckus system wouldn't be allowed to connect to.

 

I'd suggest speaking to someone like Net-Ctrl and see what they suggest.

 

The thing is - if you're looking at these sort of features now, I'd be erring on the side of caution and going for managed gear as you're more than likely to want some other feature a short while down the road and its best to buy good stuff once, rather than cheap stuff twice.