Switch recommendation

Networking & Firewalls
1

I’ll start off saying Im far from a networking pro. I know nothing about CLI for networking. Im looking for a recommendation for a switch for our colo setup. We are going to run 7-8 servers all with idrac so we need a minimum 24 port switch. I’d really like a GUI based switch. We don’t really need anything fancy as far as switching. I need to go from our Sonicwall firewall to a switch that can connect to all of the servers. We are running a separate storage network via a Microtik 10gb sfp switch.

We are capped at 1gbps network connection so I dont really feel like going 10gb will really benefit us. Looking for a switch that is reliable. Im completely good with used hardware as most of our servers are. Any recommendations?

We use Ubiquiti at our business but Im concerned about reliability at the data center. If we buy used, we will likely buy 2 to have a backup. Seems like people like HPE Aruba equipment. Used Fortinet switches are very affordable but Im not sure about any GUI. Anyways, just looking for some recommendations. I feel overwhelmed reading and can’t make a decision :smiley:

2

If you already have UniFi then that is what I would recommend. No sense is having a mixed environment IMO.

3

I agree, I was just concerned about all of the comments on forums of people saying its just not ready for an enterprise setup. Their firmware has bugs on most releases. Random resets

4

I ran 2 of the 8 port 10G aggregate switches in production just fine handling critical data. As long as you have a spare then there is nothing to worry about. It’s as simple as swapping the bad switch with a new one and applying the old config.

5

When I bought into UniFi I really had high hopes it looked great was easy to use but I dont’ think it would scale well in data centers. Just personal opinion.

6

Plus the support is total crap!

7

Why not another Mikrotik?

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8

Netgears are really cheap used (around $30-$40) and have a GUI. If you only need VLANs and 48 1G ports this would be a good option.

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9

Microtik is an option. Way more complicated than I was hoping though. I finally got the Microtik setup for the storage server network.

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10

This is what a lot of people seem to agree on…and the support is crap.

11

Mikrotik has some decent certification books available, and they are normally cheap if you buy the Kindle version.

The only high end Netgear stuff I’m familiar with are the AV Line M4250, the m4350 stackable probably would have made a nice core system for me if it was on the market a few years earlier. We have one of the M4250 in our Tricaster system, and it’s pretty simple to do some things because they have profiles prebuilt to help you. The GUI covers almost everything the CLI covers which means you can get hard work done. I think you can also spawn a terminal through the web GUI, much like the Mikrotik stuff can do. Pretty nice stuff in my opinion, one of the leading suggestions for people buying Tricaster video production systems.

12

Thanks, I’ll check them out. We have had plenty of consumer netgear stuff without issues

13

If you want enterprise support get Aruba (the old Hp) pro curves. Though frankly in 25 years of pro support I’ve never had a switch fail. I assume you don’t need switch routing so a layer two is fine.

14

Thanks Oldboy. I ended up picking up a couple of Aruba 2530 switches. One to use and one for a backup. After looking over the GUI it seemed simple enough for my simple mind. Lots of great reviews about their quality too