bman9111
asked on
network switches
what is the difference between
- layer 3 managed
- layer 2 managed
- smart switches
- Unmanaged
which is good to use in a business that is needing a contact point for about 10 pcs.
- layer 3 managed
- layer 2 managed
- smart switches
- Unmanaged
which is good to use in a business that is needing a contact point for about 10 pcs.
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Depends on what you want to spend.
But for a small network of 10 PC's ,a cheap unmanaged 16 port at about $100 is a no brainer.
All of the others mentioned are good for an enterprise situation that requires SNMP reporting to things like HP Openview, Tivoli or ManageWise.
Layer 3 switches act like routers using the network layer(vlan),layer 2 switches build switching tables using a MAC address (data link).
Smart switchs can be managed to do things like spanning tree and port mirroring.
You can get fairly granular on what you want to do,but you pay a premium for the utilites as opposed to a dumb or unmanaged switch.
But for a small network of 10 PC's ,a cheap unmanaged 16 port at about $100 is a no brainer.
All of the others mentioned are good for an enterprise situation that requires SNMP reporting to things like HP Openview, Tivoli or ManageWise.
Layer 3 switches act like routers using the network layer(vlan),layer 2 switches build switching tables using a MAC address (data link).
Smart switchs can be managed to do things like spanning tree and port mirroring.
You can get fairly granular on what you want to do,but you pay a premium for the utilites as opposed to a dumb or unmanaged switch.
ASKER
I have 2 in mind can u guys give me some advice on these 2
netgear fs526t
netgear gs524t
netgear fs526t
netgear gs524t
They both look fine.
But the question is,do you need all the bells and whistles or will a basic switch at 1/4 to 1/8 the price do the job?
I would get a basic swich and spend the saved $$ on more RAM or faster disks on the file server.
Unless you are doing video editing or have some monster app that will saturate the bandwidth of the switch,a 10 user network will never even come close to needing gigabit.
But it's your call.
But the question is,do you need all the bells and whistles or will a basic switch at 1/4 to 1/8 the price do the job?
I would get a basic swich and spend the saved $$ on more RAM or faster disks on the file server.
Unless you are doing video editing or have some monster app that will saturate the bandwidth of the switch,a 10 user network will never even come close to needing gigabit.
But it's your call.
It looks like the fs526t is managed, but it's 24 ports of 10/100.
It looks like the gs524t is UNmanaged, and its 24 ports of 10/100/1000.
Unless your clients need gigE, which I doubt, I would highly recommend putting in Managed switches - they give you more flexibility in the future, and the ability to troubleshoot issues. So, you can look like the hero later, when they want to do more or they have problems. If you're stuck with unmanaged, lack of capability, then you look like a fool later when you can't troubleshoot and they can't grow because YOU suggested equipment which didn't have scability.
It looks like the gs524t is UNmanaged, and its 24 ports of 10/100/1000.
Unless your clients need gigE, which I doubt, I would highly recommend putting in Managed switches - they give you more flexibility in the future, and the ability to troubleshoot issues. So, you can look like the hero later, when they want to do more or they have problems. If you're stuck with unmanaged, lack of capability, then you look like a fool later when you can't troubleshoot and they can't grow because YOU suggested equipment which didn't have scability.
For your small network, I'd go with the FS model. Plug it in and forget about it.
Layer 3 lets you set up several "networks" and route between them.
Managed means you can program/configure options on the switch, such as QoS, VLAN's, port speeds, etc.
For 10-node network you are fine with just a standard 10/100 layer-2 switch. Go with a Netgear JFS516 or JFS524 - both are great products which are cheap and reliable.
Managed means you can program/configure options on the switch, such as QoS, VLAN's, port speeds, etc.
For 10-node network you are fine with just a standard 10/100 layer-2 switch. Go with a Netgear JFS516 or JFS524 - both are great products which are cheap and reliable.
- unmanaged: none of the above, just a switch
- Layer 3 - aware of IP addresses, capable of IP routing
- Layer 2 - only aware of MAC addresses, no IP routing
- smart switch - marketing term referring to plug & play features