Managed or unmanaged switch

[Owentdc]

Even though I've had good success with an AirPort Extreme wireless home network, I'm going to plunge into the world of wired. The prompt came from a possibility of purchasing a Simaudio Mind 180. They suggest wired for any file larger than 16/44.1. Also, the AppleTV 3 is bing used more and more for HD rented movies. I've only had one "pause" in about 10 rentals.

 

Devices connected to the switch would be the AppleTV, Oppo BDP-93, and a future purchase of a Mind 180 and a NAS. I would only be using one device at a time. What is there to "manage" given this setup?

Any device (model number) recommendations would be helpful.

[Audio_ELF]

I would buy a managed switch. They don't tend to be much more expensive and are more flexible allowing you to reduce broadcasts across your network which can be important especially if you have multiple streaming devices.

 

Eloise

[Paul R]

Not sure it will matter in your situation, unless you have VoIP phones in your home or something like that. Given that, I run all managed switches for the core network at home, but I use Airport Extreme switches for the music and video.

 

Here is a cool little marketing PDF thing from Cisco that talks about the differences between them.

 

-Paul

 

 

Even though I've had good success with an AirPort Extreme wireless home network, I'm going to plunge into the world of wired. The prompt came from a possibility of purchasing a Simaudio Mind 180. They suggest wired for any file larger than 16/44.1. Also, the AppleTV 3 is bing used more and more for HD rented movies. I've only had one "pause" in about 10 rentals.

 

Devices connected to the switch would be the AppleTV, Oppo BDP-93, and a future purchase of a Mind 180 and a NAS. I would only be using one device at a time. What is there to "manage" given this setup?

Any device (model number) recommendations would be helpful.

[Owentdc]

Here is a cool little marketing PDF thing from Cisco that talks about the differences between them.

Paul,

I read what you linked to and it sounds as though a managed switch is overkill in MY situation. I cannot see the need for a traffic cop or prioritization when I'm the only "USER". No multi-tasking here, no sirree!

If the price difference is negligible, then I'll go with the managed.

[ipeverywhere]

I use Netgear Smart or Plus switches at home. These are not fully managed switches since they don't have a command line interface or support SNMP but they support all the standard protocols and most can be managed via a web GUI. They are very affordable and reliable as well.

[dnoyeB]

Absolutely no need for a managed switch in your case. A managed switch allows you to isolate your network into effectively multiple networks. You don't have any reason to do that yet. As the other poster mentioned, if you start using your phone with VOIP over the network, or if you start downloading files while playing music, you might consider it then. But in that case, you will need more than just a managed switch...

 

They definitely cost more.

[Owentdc]

Absolutely no need for a managed switch in your case.

What a great reply...someone who read my post, looked at my situation and responded clearly. Thank-you dnoyeB!

[roccoriley]

You can run a much larger network then you describe without using a managed switch and the configuration of a managed switch takes time and effort and is unnecessary in your case.

[Pale Rider]

I agree with what has been written here that you might not need a managed switch, and that it does require a little extra work, but I will throw in my two cents that it might still be worthwhile. I have been running a multiple AirPort Extreme base station network for a few years in a multi-floor house. I love my AEBS units, but with occasional network conflicts, especially after the installation of a newer wireless alarm system, VOIP dropouts, etc., I came to the conclusion that I needed a little bit more control over the network. So, this weekend, I am trying out both a Cisco SG300-10 and a SG200-08. Do I need this/these? Maybe now I do. Did I need them 2 years ago, before the NAS, the Lumin, the PWD, and the Baetis? No. But I do wish I had looked at managing my network a bit sooner.

[spdif-usb]

https://www.asus.com/Networking/GXD1051_V3

 

https://www.asus.com/Networking/GXD1081_V3

 

[accwai]

I agree with what has been written here that you might not need a managed switch, and that it does require a little extra work, but I will throw in my two cents that it might still be worthwhile. I have been running a multiple AirPort Extreme base station network for a few years in a multi-floor house. I love my AEBS units, but with occasional network conflicts, especially after the installation of a newer wireless alarm system, VOIP dropouts, etc., I came to the conclusion that I needed a little bit more control over the network. So, this weekend, I am trying out both a Cisco SG300-10 and a SG200-08. Do I need this/these? Maybe now I do. Did I need them 2 years ago, before the NAS, the Lumin, the PWD, and the Baetis? No. But I do wish I had looked at managing my network a bit sooner.

 

So how did your trial go? Does that solve your problem? I'm running out of disk space on a number of computers in the house so I'm looking in a NAS. But I'm out of switch port so I need to get a bigger switch first. Cisco 300 is layer 3 so it should be able to isolate jumbo frame subnet without help from an external router. The idea of having a link aggregated NAS sitting together with the fastest machines in a jumbo frame segment while not ignoring the needs of slower devices is rather intriguing.

 

Anyway, general thoughts on the Cisco 200 and 300 would be appreciated.

 

Andy

[jcn3]

i agree that your situation doesn't require a managed switch. a managed switch is helpful in partitioning your network, managing traffic priorities, and taking some of the burden off of the router. in most home networks, it is serious overkill.

 

i would pocket the difference in cost or better yet go buy more music with the $ you saved. i recommend netgear prosafe gigabit switches -- never had any issues. you can get a gs116 (16 ports) for about $125.

[Paul R]

MMM- I am going to give you some advice that might be disputed, but I'll stand by it.

 

If your home network is at all getting complex, like mine is, avoid the Linksys derived low end switches from Cisco - save up and pick up a used Cisco 3750G 24 or 48 port gigabit switch.

 

They are hellishly expensive ($15K new) but you can pick them up for a couple grand on the used market now. Besides acting like a switch, it can also be your network router, DHCP, and so forth.

 

And you can easily - I mean *easily* - manage your entire network. In fact, you can do everything but firewall the network and provide local wireless networking. Its an investment you will *never* regret and are very unlikley to outgrow. You can stack those suckers for extended capacity *and* redundancy, much more too. They have very fast backplanes too.

 

The consumer grade gear works for most people in regards to audio. But the real gear is the best stuff. Let me put that in audio terms - the 200 series switches compare to a 3270 as the DAC in a $179 netbook compares to a full dCS Stack. More so.

 

If you are going with consumer grade gear, I recommend the Apple Airport Extreme. Functional, fast, tough, and they "just work." I built a separate audio/video network with Airport Extremes, and am very happy with them. I would not use them to route around the heavy traffic for the database and other work I do, but for an average home office, you won't exceed the capability of an Airport Extreme, even using NAS to serve up audio/video servers.

 

But if you are at the point where your home network is getting really complex - business level complex - go with the Cisco switch above, or a comparable switch from one of the other good companies- Broadcom, Juniper, etc. Don't go with the low end stuff.

 

-Paul

 

 

 

So how did your trial go? Does that solve your problem? I'm running out of disk space on a number of computers in the house so I'm looking in a NAS. But I'm out of switch port so I need to get a bigger switch first. Cisco 300 is layer 3 so it should be able to isolate jumbo frame subnet without help from an external router. The idea of having a link aggregated NAS sitting together with the fastest machines in a jumbo frame segment while not ignoring the needs of slower devices is rather intriguing.

 

Anyway, general thoughts on the Cisco 200 and 300 would be appreciated.

 

Andy

[phofman]

Connecting

 

the AppleTV, Oppo BDP-93, and a future purchase of a Mind 180 and a NAS

 

does absolutely NOT require an investment of thousands of dollars.

 

Owentdc, just get any 8port gigabit switch and you will be fine. Should it perhaps fail in a few years (very unlikely, sometimes the wallwarts do), just get a new one for a few bugs. Spend the money on music or better speakers instead.

 

BTW AppleTV as well as the oppo have only 100Mbps ethernet, the gigabit capability will not be used anyways. Basically any 100Mbps switch will do too, a few bucks expense literally. For this price it can be replaced anytime if needed.

[spdif-usb]

Don't go with the low end stuff.

 

[coxhaus]

I really like Cisco switches. I run an unmanaged Cisco switch in my house for years. I have never had a problem. A managed switch adds port management and vlans. Port management and vlans can be good in a large switch environment. The problem with port management is you can get ports out of sync and degrade your through put. Vlans isolate traffic but then again you have taken on another job. If you don’t see a reason for vlans just buy a good unmanaged switch.

[spdif-usb]

BTW AppleTV as well as the oppo have only 100Mbps ethernet, the gigabit capability will not be used anyways. Basically any 100Mbps switch will do too, a few bucks expense literally. For this price it can be replaced anytime if needed.

Too true. The VIP port on that Asus switch I linked in my first reply can also come in handy if, for example, you want to copy some files from one computer to another without causing the playback to start to stutter as a result from that.

[accwai]

MMM- I am going to give you some advice that might be disputed, but I'll stand by it.

 

If your home network is at all getting complex, like mine is, avoid the Linksys derived low end switches from Cisco - save up and pick up a used Cisco 3750G 24 or 48 port gigabit switch. [...] if you are at the point where your home network is getting really complex - business level complex - go with the Cisco switch above, or a comparable switch from one of the other good companies- Broadcom, Juniper, etc. Don't go with the low end stuff.

 

Hi Paul, thanks for the thought. But I don't really run anything heavy duty at home--a couple of desktops, a couple of laptop, plus various devices here and there. Been thinking about adding a NAS but started to have doubt about the usefulness of the bigger workgroup NAS.

 

For the switch, what I'm mainly looking for here is security features such as 802.1x dynamic vlan (so untrusted persons, e.g. my daughter , can be sent straight to a heavily firewalled DMZ) Do I really need this type of thing at home? Probably not. But at work, network stuff is handled by a separate group. So it would be fun to be able to try it at home. And the low end Linksys based Cisco does it without costing an arm and a leg. Thus the attraction for me...

 

In any case, just came back from Montreal visiting L'Atelier Audio listening to Ocellia speakers and electronics. I think I now have a pretty good idea what I'm going to do if I were to come across some spare cash--It certainly would not be on network equipment...

 

Andy

 

P.S. By the way Paul, haven't forgotten your request. Things have been really crazy at work and at home lately. Still have a few places to check...

[Paul R]

'Sall right - I know crazy first hand here!

 

With what you have, go for an Airport Extreme. Gives you everything you want including a "guest pan" just for the daughter and friends.

-Paul

 

 

 

 

Hi Paul, thanks for the thought. But I don't really run anything heavy duty at home--a couple of desktops, a couple of laptop, plus various devices here and there. Been thinking about adding a NAS but started to have doubt about the usefulness of the bigger workgroup NAS.

 

For the switch, what I'm mainly looking for here is security features such as 802.1x dynamic vlan (so untrusted persons, e.g. my daughter , can be sent straight to a heavily firewalled DMZ) Do I really need this type of thing at home? Probably not. But at work, network stuff is handled by a separate group. So it would be fun to be able to try it at home. And the low end Linksys based Cisco does it without costing an arm and a leg. Thus the attraction for me...

 

In any case, just came back from Montreal visiting L'Atelier Audio listening to Ocellia speakers and electronics. I think I now have a pretty good idea what I'm going to do if I were to come across some spare cash--It certainly would not be on network equipment...

 

Andy

 

P.S. By the way Paul, haven't forgotten your request. Things have been really crazy at work and at home lately. Still have a few places to check...

[accwai]

'Sall right - I know crazy first hand here!

Thanks.

 

With what you have, go for an Airport Extreme. Gives you everything you want including a "guest pan" just for the daughter and friends.

-Paul

Will take a closer look. Thanks.

 

Andy