Recommendation for a Gigabit Switch

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nick496

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#64556 17-Jul-2010 22:25

Looking for a reasonably cheap and solid Gigabit switch for a Home network, only really need 5 ports.

And while I'm here: am I correct in assuming that buy plugging the (unmanaged) gigabit switch into the modem, the modem will still act as the DHCP server, and will able to see the IP addresses of things connecting to it from the switch (for usage monitoring)?

Thanks Guys (and Gals)

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#352828 17-Jul-2010 22:34

Correct... I have both D-Link 8 ports and Linksys 5 ports and they both are solid.

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webwat

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#352863 18-Jul-2010 01:12

Yes an unmanaged switch operates at Layer 2, so all Layer 3 stuff like IP addresses just gets forwarded on without any change. I like the TP-Link gear, but might be useful to get a switch with some PoE ports that could power a IP phone or other device in future.

Time to find a new industry!

nick496

52 posts

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#352913 18-Jul-2010 11:12

Was considering getting a TP-Link, but they are pretty cheap, so I was concerned about how good the quality was.

I recently got a Linksys SPA2102 for VOIP, so I'm not too concerned about PoE. But thanks for the suggestion.

cyril7

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#352917 18-Jul-2010 11:28

TP-Link is a good product (across all its gear) they are a large asian manufacture that seems to produce good app note products (ie they decide on a chipset and build a product based on the chip designers recommended reference design, plus add their own PSU and minor ancillary's ). The result is they have some pretty solid products at good prices.

I can also recommend Level One.

Cyril

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#353031 18-Jul-2010 17:40

For an unmanaged switch I don't think you can go wrong with any of the common manufacturers e.g Netgear, D-Link, Linksys, Levelone, TP Link etc etc

The only think I would consider if buying one would may be get one with a decent metal housing and not a crappy plastic one.

Phaedrus

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#353055 18-Jul-2010 18:57

I've bought many switches over the years, they appear to be one of the more reliable pieces of network equipment out there, most of the time I've replaced them only when upgrading.

That said I did try some Digitus 1G units within the last year or so, not sure what happened but they did appear to do something rather odd and some time after installation decide that they'd drop a management console across the same IP address as the router connected to the network :-(

The most trouble I've had has been with the plug-packs used by the smaller switches. Lately they seem to have improved however IMO. Personally I prefer metal-cased units too but can't really complain about the smaller plastic-cased D-Links I've installed. I insist on it [metal] for larger units though...

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#353769 20-Jul-2010 09:22

I purchased an HP ProCurve J9077A (8 port gigabit) for my home network not long back and have never had an issue with it. It has a nice tough steel case and is pretty much perfect for what I need.