[nzlug] Network switches (OT)

[Steve Holdoway]

On Fri, 19 Oct 2007 11:21:49 +1300
"Toby Collett" <tcollett+lists at plan9.net.nz> wrote:

> Hi all,
> This is slightly off topic, but im looking for some advice re network
> switches. I am looking for a 24 port network switch for a small office.
> There will be 10->15 computers on the network, plus a bit of space for
> expansion. There will be ~8 developers working on linux boxes, hopefully
> making use of handy technologies like distcc, so reasonable network traffic
> but not saturated with streaming media or anything like that.
> 
> Any suggestions of brands/families/models/features? If we go with managed
> switches are their any brands to avoid from a linux/firefox point of view in
> terms of the management software...
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Toby
> 
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If you've got a lot of developers accessing a small number of servers, then you may want to look at switches that offer plenty of 100mbit ports, and a couple of gigabit ports to put the servers on. Obviously, true gigabit switches would improve performance more, and their cost is falling -  I think I paid under $500 for a 24 port unmanaged gbit switch.

Sometimes it's much cheaper to get a couple of switches rather than get a managed one - space constraints may answer that one. To my knowledge, most switches are OSgnostic, as they usually offer http and telnet interfaces. I haven't had much problem with any but the cheapest and nastiest switches... my cisco xl2924 is still as sweet as after 10+ years of service, and I've got a mix of d-link/dynalink in the office. All are fine.

Steve