[DEAD] Zyxel 24 port gigabit SMART L2 Managed Ethernet switch w/POE - $89.99 AC / FS

[tthurman]

Not sure about the backplane here, but still seems like a solid deal for SOHO setup. I doubt most environments in a SOHO would be unleashing full duplex across 24 ports anyway.

I this in a post by engineer over at anandtech.

Code: EMCAWKP34

Rack mountable and fanless
$149.99 - $60.00 = $89.99 with FREE shipping.

[hansolo77]

I recently started considering whether or not something like this could be useful to me. As it is right now, I have a Netgear 4-port Wireless Gigabit router. It works great for home use, plug the modem in, split it into 4 computers, or "virtually" 254 wireless devices. However, the current setup is limited to just the 4 ports. I have an xbox, my server, my main computer, and my dad's computer all connected to it. I also have a BluRay player in my room, which has to go wireless (and suffers connection issues because of it) as well as a PS3 and a Wii which I have to swap the LAN plug from the Xbox to use. My new server's motherboard I'm planning on buying has 3 RJ-45 ports, 1 for a dedicated remote management, and 2 for Gigabit connections. Now clearly my little 4-port router can't do it all. I thought about adding another 4-port router I have to the mix, to give me 3 more ports, but it's only 10/100, and I have no idea how to do it, or how to even go about configuring the IP addresses through something like that....

Would something like this alleviate all my headaches? Would it be a simple task to just plug this into the router, and get 24 ports out of it? Or is this more of a business use device, and wouldn't work in the home networking environment.

[Kustom Kid]

Just get a switch. I have an 8 port switch connected to the cable modem/router then to the Ethernet cables running through the walls of the house. Another switch is in the living room connected to the wall RJ45 jack with an Xbox 360, Roku, and soon to be my HTPC/Emulator box. It's a much cheaper solution. I don't use the ports on the router itself save one for the internet connection as they're 10/100. All of the switches are 10/100/1000. You're router should assign all IP addresses accordingly.

[Draco1962]

Besides, with a programmable switch, I am willing to bet that you may need to be running some sort of server to enable/disable the ports, whereas you can get a gigabit switch for under $50. Or, even better still, for those connections that don't require gigabit throughput (we probably talked about this in another thread), you can also turn an old router into a switch if you were so inclined or in a pinch.

[tthurman]

You could do link aggregation layer 2 trunking to improve performance throughput of your server, but at home you're unlikely to see much more in the way of performance gains elsewhere (that immediately comes to mind anyway), unless you need jumbo frames support. Even that feature is becoming increasingly available today on the most price conscious gear.

Depending on what you desire to accomplish you could also segregate all your traffic with q tagging and prioritize with QOS profiles.

If your satisfied with your current setup, and don't need the ports, then there is really not much reason to look at this. This product has a nice price point, but I have no experience with their performance or longevity. As far as the config goes, if your cool with sub-netting, almost all the GUI's I've seen are pretty straight forward. This isn't something to be concerned with like IOS or anything.

[hansolo77]

You guys went way over my head, or at least tthurman did lol! I'm not afraid to learn though. All I need is some extra ports. This 24-port monstrosity isn't exactly what I need. But 8 might not be enough since I'm always finding more stuff to plug in. On a managed switch, how does it work with a router. Would I even need a router? I'm probably not going to get rid of the one I have, I just bought it for like $249 a few months ago, and it's wireless. I ask about needing a router because it sounds like if the switch has an uplink (as these switches do in the newegg sale), you would plug your modem into that. In my situation, I think it would go MODEM -> ROUTER -> SWITCH -> COMPUTERS. And just connect the router to the switch's uplink port. I could then remove all the other LAN ports on my router, and plug them all into the switch. If that's the case, how would I configure the router to know that the switch will be using additional IP addresses? This is new territory for me.

[tthurman]

You could go about it different ways, but if you want to continue to use your routers DHCP server, the most common solution is what you're describing, just get a un-managed 8 port switch (The one Draco linked is a good pick IMO), and uplink to a router switch port. The router should fulfill the DHCP address requests as well as manually configured ip's just as if they were plugged directly into it, essentially they are.

This overview at Smallnetbuilder pretty much sums it up.

As for the rest

You mentioned your motherboard will have 2 gigabit network cards. With link aggregation you could configure the switch to use both of these network interfaces, thus increasing the amount of data throughput. Would you see and advantage, perhaps, if multiple people in your household are accessing data off the server as well, as it would no longer be limited to 1 gigabit of bandwidth. If you only have a 1 gig network adapter in your gaming rig, and you're the only one accessing the server, then the network adapter in the gaming rig becomes the limiting factor.

With q tagging you could create vlans, say one for you, your server, and any other devices you may have that you wish to isolate from the rest of the house. These would reside in your own virtual lan, and could or could not be discoverable to devices rising on other vlans.

You can have multiples of these, one for you, another for the rest of your family, etc..

The quality of service profiles prioritize the traffic, and could be used to do things like ensure traffic to your vlan isn't effected by someone else streaming etc. It's just a way of managing network traffic to ensure other devices on the network fail to function properly because someone else is using all the bandwidth.

In a large home with multiple users, I could see some practicality in something like this, but for the vast majority of home users, it's overkill. I just amazed at how much switch a $100 gets these days.

[Draco1962]

For a simple solution for most homes the 8 port should be more than sufficient. Depending on the router you have, you may be able to assign static IPs within your DHCP range via each device's MAC address. You may also be able to set QOS profiles for one or more devices accordingly. My router allows for these, in addition to setup of a separate guest wireless range that is separate from the home network of devices.

EDIT - Just picked up an 8-port TrendNET router for $17.99. Should be a perfect pairing for my same branded router.

[tthurman]

You don't happen to have a kill a wat do you? I'd love to see if what the real world difference is in the green switch.

I'm a big fan of the metal chassis on these small switches, especially after working with so many ones with plastic enclosures that can't handle the weight of the cables.

[Draco1962]

I don't anticipate a huge savings with this as it will power down the port if no signal is registered on the transmission layer, however, instead of being always on, it should help extend the life of the switch due to lower heat as to being always on.

At any rate, it'll replace an old Netgear 5 port 10/100 switch, allow me to cable the Tivo unit in our MBR for better Netflix streaming, and give me a few extra ports spare.

[Kustom Kid]

For a simple solution for most homes the 8 port should be more than sufficient. Depending on the router you have, you may be able to assign static IPs within your DHCP range via each device's MAC address. You may also be able to set QOS profiles for one or more devices accordingly. My router allows for these, in addition to setup of a separate guest wireless range that is separate from the home network of devices.

EDIT - Just picked up an 8-port TrendNET router for $17.99. Should be a perfect pairing for my same branded router.

Thanks, Draco. You've explained my post better than I did. You even linked to the same "dummy" switches I use. Ha.

[Draco1962]

Any time! I let the router assign dynamic IPs to the cell phones and mine and my wife's Kindle and Kindle Fire. Otherwise, all wired devices are assigned.

[Adultery]

Same with me Drac. I leave a DHCP range for wireless devices and don't broadcast my main network. All my wired devices are assigned. There's also a guest broadcast for visitors to use which is isolated from my home network.

My network also faces outward to the internet using DDNS which is controlled by my router. I use this for my OwnCloud setup, NAS administration, file access via FTP, web serving and Transmission which can now be controlled from anywhere thanks to some port mapping.

Best of all, my coding projects are available anywhere so I can develop using several computers and don't have to worry about backups (they're already safely on the NAS in a raid array and backed up to a second array using a cron job daily).

I have two 8 port Netgear switches in the server closet and a Wi-Fi extender upstairs so the patio in my back yard is also covered. There is also a 4-port Netgear switch on the entertainment center in my living room.

I really dig the Netgear gb switches, they're well built with metal cases and affordable/reliable.

I also do my own cable runs from the server closet in the basement to each room (to a wall plate of course) with gold plated cable.

Networking is much easier than one might think, just gotta buy a couple tools and roll up your sleeves. Do it right and it will increase the value of your house too.

[hansolo77]

Is it better then to have an unmanaged switch, so you don't have to do a lot of configuring?

[Adultery]

You really shouldn't need a managed switch for a home network. Save that money, you won't see any notable benefit anyway.