Unmanged Switch

btw....It would need to be 24port

No. Unmanaged switches don't use IP Addresses.
But if you have two devices connected to the same switch and can ping one device from the other, you can rest assured it's working!

I just need a cheap switch at a remote location. The users won't necessarily report that the connection is down(to me anyway) and it always gets hit by lightning.  Pinging one device to another on the same unmanaged switch wouldn't verify what I need.  Maybe it's time for the company to install lightning rods.

I guess a cheap workaround would be install a cheap unmanaged switch and connect a cheap ip device and ping that to verify if the switch is up.

Odd problems bring odd solutions :)

indeed they do...

You could use software like GFI to monitor the workstation and have it report if it goes offline?? though not a cheap solution!

While one of the issues is an electric issue, you might use a small UPC that a) might protect the network environment from the voltage spkes and secondly might be queried by snmp ... just as another solution - which besides the lightning rods might help you in improving the failure rate of devices connected.

How about this one:

http://www.amazon.com/NETGEAR-JFS524-24-port-Ethernet-Switch/dp/B00006B9H6

It says it is just $30 after rebate. As for testing whether it is up or down, you could try pinging one of the hosts / devices that come off of one of the 24 ports.

To amend the above, the rebate is $30, so the switch is $56 after rebate...

Thanks all for the input.  Sorry if my question seems to have more emphasis on unmanaged than on cheap and ability to verify connectivity.  Re-reading this morning, my question isn't as clear as I thought yesterday :)

fmarshall has a good option, $130 for a managed switch, cheap and configured with ip....I don't think it can get cheaper than that and doesn't matter if it gets hit by lightning, I could have a few spare at that price.