I currently have an old Cisco Catalyst 2960. I’m limited by the 100Mbps speed and it’s starting to really bothering me. I was thinking of maybe switching to a Mikrotik CRS112-8P-4S-IN but i’d like to you know what you folks are using.
Ive been really happy with Tplink omada stuff. I have the oc200 controller that you log into to commission and centrally monitor and configure all your hardware. I’m a little eccentric and have 4 switches and I think six APs on this point and it makes managing it all very easy and graphical.
Mikrotik switch is good value but there’s a learning curve if used to other cli. They have several levels of firmware; cutting edge broken to long term business ready. They are constantly adding features too. Can use webui or cli or winbox to program. I have an rb5009 working a treat as router and l009 as a switch.
Ruggedcom RX1510 can be picked up from eBay for a bargain sometimes. It’s not very port dense (8x1g per module, 4 modules) but it meant I could put the fanless device in the roof cavity and not worry about heat. They are a l3 switch so functions are good and the modularity is good for running off AC or any DC. 10inch form factor so won’t fit standard rack. Firmware is available for free but needs account. Can use webui or cli to configure; webui on older firmware (<2.16.0) uses old TLS which modern browsers block so you’ll need to disable depreciated TLS. Their documentation is great but there’s not a lot of support outside the Siemens forum. Forget finding how to guides. Siemens SFPs are expensive but switch worked fine for me on standard Cisco glc-lh SFPs. Bidirectional Cisco sfps didn’t work for me though. I like these but they aren’t available very often second hand as businesses run them until they fail.
Cisco gear is always around and there’s guides everywhere so if you just want something easy to get running go for that. I picked up a couple of SG300-28 for $50 each and they are really easy to configure. Not the full Cisco ios experience but more than enough for majority of home labs.
Keeplink KP-9000-9XHPML-X-AC I bought to play with has been really solid too. Simple webui and runs fine at moderate temperatures. Only downside for a $40 (AliExpress sale) switch is the management has to be on default VLAN. This could be fixed with a firmware update but I wouldn’t hold my breath for that. I also wouldn’t be confident to use on anything crucial but it’s been fine to power my iot projects. Worked with all the DAC and SFP thrown at it so far too.
TPlink switches are easy to use but my failure rate has been higher than other devices so I tend away from them now. I had a little unmanaged 5port one that I could power with USB that was great for working onsite but someone borrowed it from a rack on day and I haven’t replaced it.
Ubiquiti Tough switch 8poe and 5 has been good to me too. High temp range, easy enough interface and most VLAN features you could want. I’ve had one on for over a decade without issues. Ubiquiti still release occasional firmware too which is amazing.
Really detailed writeup, thanks for taking the time. Appreciate it.
Not that I can contribute anything useful here, but just yesterday I ended up needing to revive an old router to use as switch in some kind of “parents place has never what you need” situation
Ubiquiti/UniFi USW Pro HD 24
10 gb fiber go brrrrrr
Wallet goes grrrrr
Putin goes brrr
Old HPEs are pretty cheap and still quite capable devices. My main switch is HP 2530-48G, which is a complete overkill for my needs, but I got lucky at office e-waste pile.
I have an older Zyxel, been thinking of upgrading at some point too. Will probably just get another Zyxel, they’ve been rock solid IMO.
One thing to keep in mind, and I don’t know how much you care about this, a lot of these managed/smart switches nowadays try to force you into cloud management. You would need to create an account on the vendor’s website just to be able to access the management features of your own network switch… I’m not into that so personally I rule out any switch that has mandatory cloud management features.
Oh I might check Zyxel then.
Yeah i clearly don’t want any cloud crap
Just double check the specs when you buy :)
Zyxel has jumped into the cloud crap bandwagon with their newer switches. But AFAIK they do not force you to use it (most/all of them can still be run standalone) so at least they’re doing it right.
I’ve got a Brocade ICX6610 that’s been quite nice.
I have a mikrotik 10gb switch and managing it is super frustrating. The mikrotik cli just makes no sense imho
I gave it a ip and enabled snmp for metrics, then have never wanted to go near it again.
Is the syntax that horrible?
As someone is very comfortable on Cisco / Arista / juniper, yes. It’s the only platform I’d push someone to use the web ui on.
Ubiquiti isn’t perfect, but it’s what I’d recommend over mikrotik.
As someone is very comfortable on Cisco / Arista / juniper
It’s a “verb noun” ui with autocompletion, same as on old procurve switches, same as on most gear.
What is the issue you have with mt CLI?
It’s just a fair whack different from the standard cli. It’s not bad it just requires, for myself, a different mindset when configuring. If I used it more often then I would be used to it. Problem is it’s virtually non existent in corporate/ business networks around me and only need to do basic home setups with it so I just don’t use enough.
After having uses both a ubiquiti dream machine pro (not quite just a switch) and a Cisco catalyst 3850 both (ws-c3850-12S and the ws-c3850-24XU) whil got both insanely cheap (12S for 10€ and the 24poe+ 10gbit for 60€) because of there EOL this or next year they are insanely power hungry 100w for 12Sfp+ 10gbit ports and 300w for 24 poe+ ports both on idle mind you I don’t really use them in my homelab. I personally find iOS really clunky and the bar to actually do something is quite high compared to the prosumer ubiquiti stuff.
If I had solar or cheap power (Iceland,USA levels of cheap) id probably run the poe Switch because 10gbit on all ports and poe is really cool and nice to have its not 657€ levels of energy costs level of cool
“Managed”… fully CLI like your 2960, or just “configurable” with a webUI?
After 2 or 3 firmware updates the tiny little Netgears aren’t toooo bad, but you’re not going to get the level of config a Cisco Catalyst will give you… but the power consumption is waaay less.
Not gonna lie i like a good CLI but as long it supports VLAN tagging and it has Gigabit ports i’m fine with it.
Well, the GS105Ev2 and GS108PEv3 have been good for me 24/7 for years.
They support VLANs, QoS & IGMP, which is most of what anyone needs at home.
But make sure you update the firmware, I recall the older (shipped) firmware had some issues (security and functionality)
Zyxel XS1930-12HP
I have a ubiquiti 2.5g mini flex, one of their 8poe port switches, and a zyxel GS1100-16 unmanaged. The 2.5G is mainly for my NAS and some servers to communicate, I don’t have an ISP that can support that speed, nor can most of my devices.
If you don’t mind loud and hot, check out old Arista devices.
I’ve been tempted by the sodola line due to their price, but I’ve been hesitating pulling the trigger.
