Switches - What to look for, buy etc

[tj2419]

Hi

 

I have recently gone into school IT support and we are looking at upgrading our switches in the school. Are there any general things should look for or is it basically just higest speed for what money we have to spend on it? Never purchased switches so its a bit of a new area for me. We currently use 3com 4400 switches and need something that support gigabit.

 

Cheers

[Millgate]

The guys on here will be able to tell you what issues etc they've had better than me but I can give you advice on buying.

 

It really depends on which vendor you end up choosing. If it's HP or Cisco, then make sure you get a public sector bid because this will bring the price down a hell of a lot. If you end up choosing Netgear then it's a similar sort of routine but you need to make sure you choose a platinum reseller to ensure the best discounts and support. Make sure the kit is legit and the company you use are able to sort out support for you too.

 

Obviously there are a lot more choices but these seem to be the main 3 I get asked for. If you need any help, advice or pricing then let me know and I'll be glad to help

 

Cheers

 

Luke

[twin--turbo]

You need to determine what you need, then look at the options.

 

You need to consider the management/logging as well as speed.

 

And do you want vlans? Routing? Resiliance ( STP ) etc.

 

Plan for the future and try and have same brand across the board as this will help interoperability.

 

And consider your topology as you may want to look at devices for Core, Distro and Edge.

 

Rob

[cpjitservices]

Agree with all of the above and also to an extent look at the future plan what your going to need that way you'll get as long a life as possible out of your switches, so look at your existing infrastructure and try to determine whether that infrastructure will need upgrading (extra PC's added to network etc) or whether it will last for what you need.

[Chris_Cook]

Quality and management features are as important as raw speed in my opinion. And the structure of your current network as has already been said. There is little point in having a really fast and really cheap switch if it goes down regularly.

[PaulRenda]

If you are going to invest on switches, buy Managed switches.

We had two whole racks of Unmanaged switches and had a nightmare moving onto LGfL 2 (Virgin).

 

We bought Cisco SG 200-50 50-port Gigabit Smart Switch at £349.99 each.

[Davit2005]

Future proof your self with something that can handle 10Gb modules. Of good reputation, research into any shortlisted models.

[CyberNerd]

No-one mentioned the operating system on the switches. Every bit as important decision as the operating system on a desktop/server IMO.

[zag]

I like shiny blue netgear gigabit ones. Both managed and Unmanaged have been rock solid and never had a failure.

 

They are also a great price too.

[SYNACK]

HP E series FTW, lifetime warranty that actually works outside the US/UK too and quality fast software that does not chew itself every few months of runtime.

[mavhc]

We have almost all cisco switches, works better with cisco wireless and cisco voip phones. They have an option of 2 levels of OS, so you can save money there.

[PaulRenda]

I like shiny blue netgear gigabit ones. Both managed and Unmanaged have been rock solid and never had a failure.

 

They are also a great price too.

 

In just one year I had 3 netgear switches blown away... they are cheap and cheap is what you get.