Perhaps a More Unusual Switch Question

[gcr]

All,

Are small network switches--the kind discussed on this site--up to the task I have at hand? or do I need to spend the money and get something more potent.

I see reviews and other valuable information on this site regarding switches but always the use case differs from mine.

I am attempting to cluster five PCs. These PCs are a matched set of one time desk top machines each with a gigabit NIC. They all need to be connected by a single switch.

During processing, in my use case, all machines must swap files with one another en masse. Current performance is not good. I suspect the culprit is my current switch--a Linksys EG008W. This switch was purchased three-four years ago. I can't find any specs on it.

I want to up my cluster to twelve machines and so at the least, I will need a bigger switch.

Thanks in advance

 

[bendsley]

Why not just look for a 24-port switch on Newegg?

I would recommend a 1:1 non-blocking 24-port gigabit switch for what you're looking to do. If you're doing that much data throughput, you might also look to see about adding a second adapter to each machine and doing LACP between the machines and the switch. Your switch would have to support LACP (802.3ad) as well.

The link below is to Newegg for 24-port 10/100/1000 switches sorted by lowest price first:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...ption=&Ntk=&CFG=&SpeTabStoreType=&srchInDesc=

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

If you're going to pound the switch hard all the time, and may grow in network size down the road, I'd get a solid biz grade switch. I like HP ProCurve switches...most of the better models have a lifetime warranty. Experience over the years with deploying these switches at clients networks...."set it, and forget it". You plug these in and let them go...for years..and years...and years. No need to do the occasional reboot once a year on them because they cause something squirrelly on your network. Rock solid, dependable, no hiccups under high loads.

Yeah HP ProCurves are expensive.....a common model I use is the 1400-24 series..G model, around 300 bucks. They do make some smaller 16 or even 12 or 8 port models...but warranty often falls from lifetime to 3 years on those models. But if it fits your budget, check them out.