[PLUG] Small network managed switch?

[Louis Kowolowski]

Depending on what the goal is, managed switches can be relatively cheap, or quite expensive. At some level, the line between switch and router becomes a bit fuzzy.

Typically, (not low-end) managed switches provide:
vlan capability (802.1q)
link aggregation (802.3ad)
spanning tree loop detection (802.1d, w, s)
individual port controls (duplex, speed, on/off, mac filtering)
access control lists (or firewall capability) that can apply to layer2, 3, 4
interface counters (bits in/out, errors in/out, packets in/out, port up/down)
quality of service/traffic shaping
port mirroring (can be useful for IDS ingestion)
SNMP (v1, 2c, 3) export
802.1x endpoint access control
scriptable interface, or integrated automation hooks for tools such as puppet
many now support virtualization with the ability to define virtual routers, and software defined networks

It might be more helpful to think of a managed switch as a computer with a lot of ports. And, just like a computer, there can be lots of flexibility in what you can see and do on the network.


> On Nov 16, 2015, at 9:49 AM, Don Buchholz <buchholz at easystreet.net> wrote:
> 
> They track more than traffic.  They also track errors, types of errors, and traffic statistics are often broken down into different packet sizes.
> 
> VLANs are another reason to need a managed switch.
> 
> On November 16, 2015 9:20:28 AM PST, wes <plug at the-wes.com> wrote:
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> One member of the family that owns the plant also owns some sort of a
>>> business computing consulting or services company. He wishes that I
>> had
>>> used a managed switch so he could know how busy my network was and I
>>> don't know what else a managed switch would tell him.
>>> 
>>> 
>> A managed switch offers tracking of the traffic on each port,
>> accessible
>> via SNMP so you can easily create graphs and such.
>> 
>> -wes
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--
Louis Kowolowski                                louisk at cryptomonkeys.org <mailto:louisk at cryptomonkeys.org>
Cryptomonkeys:                                   http://www.cryptomonkeys.com/ <http://www.cryptomonkeys.com/>

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