[PLUG] Gigabit switch recommendations
Eric Wilhelm
scratchcomputing at gmail.com
Tue Aug 14 07:00:21 UTC 2007
# from John Jason Jordan
# on Monday 13 August 2007 10:11 pm:
> On the other hand, I don't understand
>what some of the features of the expensive models really do.
I got a 3Com 3C16485 switch for $140 that was a 'last generation'
closeout. The features include 4 SPF ports (for fiber modules which
apparently cost $150 each or so), trunking (ability to parallelize
multiple ports into a single link (to another switch or a multi-nic
linux box), and port mirroring (mirror all traffic onto one port for
network analysis.) There's also VLAN (partitioning) and basic
monitoring/limiting.
While I don't actively use any of those features (though I definitely
plan to use the trunking at some point), I find that it has
significantly reduced the flakiness of my network compared to the
couple of unmanaged linksys switches that I had previously. It does
have a fairly loud fan, but no wall-wart.
If you're actually plugging 16 computers into it, managed is probably
the way to go.
--Eric
--
"...the bourgeoisie were hated from both ends: by the proles, because
they had all the money, and by the intelligentsia, because of their
tendency to spend it on lawn ornaments."
--Neal Stephenson
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