Reconfiguring Small Office Network

[businesstx]

@Trip @coxhaus

The Huawei S1720-52GWR-PWR-4P is costing around the same price as the Cisco SG250X-24

The problem I am facing now is trying to get the switch in English. All the suppliers I have asked only supply in Chinese so far!

 

[businesstx]

A separate question on the wifi part.... If I get a dedicated AP (rather than a router acting as an AP), will I always need a dedicated controller?

If so, is it this controller that connects to the core switch?

If I just install the software on a PC, will this PC need to always stay switched on?

 

[coxhaus]

@Trip @coxhaus

The Huawei S1720-52GWR-PWR-4P is costing around the same price as the Cisco SG250X-24

The problem I am facing now is trying to get the switch in English. All the suppliers I have asked only supply in Chinese so far!

So the Cisco will be better. I would get rid of all the Huawei switches.

 

[Trip]

So the Cisco will be better. I would get rid of all the Huawei switches.

While I might be inclined to agree, do you have any experience or reference(s) to support that assertion? Huawei doesn't just get to be the second most highly revenue'd switch maker worldwide by being that inferior... their stuff must work, on some level at least.

@businesstx - How about you find the best price on a 48-port Gigabit PoE switches than you can in your market, and list here. Additionally, I'd look into the refurb enterprise segment, if there is one; brands/models to look for (in alphabetical order): Adtran Netvanta, Brocade ICX, Cisco Catalyst, HPE 2530 (and up) and Juniper EX.

For wifi, if you go with multiple purpose-built APs, most models do allow for standalone mode (without a controller), but, especially in a business setting, having central control over standardized config across all APs is huge (SSIDs, VLANs, QoS, access control policies, etc.); a controller often ensures the most seamless roaming and load/band-balancing possible. Depending on the product, the controller could be embedded (into the APs themselves) or run discretely (locally or in the cloud); discrete installs could include an always-on PC (correct presumption), a physical server, a VM, a Raspberry Pi or a pre-built appliance.

If you're running a discrete controller, it should have full, un-firewalled access to all APs, and especially if its hosting services (ex: guest portal), should be deployed in as highly-available and low-latency a position as possible. For your network, that would mean cabled directly to your core switch (correct presumption there), ideally rack-mounted in the same closet, but if it had to be on an always-on PC in another room, that would still work. Example products here would be TP-Link Omada or Ubiquiti UniFi for small biz, Aruba Mobility, Ruckus ZoneFlex or Cisco Aironet for enterprise.

If running embedded-controller APs, they don't need a discrete install of the controller, as it's literally running in the code on all APs, plus in doing so provides automatic redundancy and auto-healing of the controller instance on the network. Example products would be Aruba Instant On, Cisco WAP and Grandstream GWN for small-biz, Aruba Instant, Ruckus Unleashed and Cisco Mobility Express for enterprise.

Again for wifi, rather than us just throwing makes/models at you, I'd shop the Chinese market and see what availability you can find, and come back to us with your findings. I'd also look at Huawei's own solutions if they have any; I'm not familiar with them, but they may be good enough as well.

 

[businesstx]

@coxhaus I initially agree that it would be worth going with an established brand but @Trip has a point WRT Huawei.

As mentioned, the problem now is that I need to be able to get whatever device in English. So it looks like a totally non-technical issue might be the deciding factor.
I will look into those brands and models anyway to check what is available.

@Trip Thanks for the detailed info WRT to APs. I watched some online videos and it looks like the Unifi ones will need an AC but they provide software you can install.

I checked out the Huawei AirEngine 5760 online and contacted some sales people here but they could not confirm if it had English UI. They said they will email me so I will wait for their reply.

Thanks again !

 

[Trip]

@businesstx - Ray, no problem. Keep up posted with what you find out on switches and controller-based wifi.

 

[businesstx]

@Trip

I checked the local used market and got some prices. I have yet to check if they are available with English UI....

I think if I am paying more than around 350 USD, I might as well try to get something new ...

Any comments on the following prices would be appreciated...

Cisco Catalyst WS-C3750E-48PD-S = 280 USD
BROCADE FWS 648G-POE 48 = 70 USD
brocade ICX6430-48 = 395 USD
BROCADE FCX648S-HPOE FWS 648G-POE = 185 USD
Aruba s3500 48P = 560 USD
JUniper EX4200-48T = 280 USD
juniper EX3300-48T = 225 USD

 

[coxhaus]

If you are going to buy a Cisco Catalyst WS-C3750E switch you want the WS-C3750G model which is a very good switch. The "G" makes all the difference.

If 48 port switches are that hard to find then use 2 24 port models join them with a big lagg or a 10 gig fiber jumper if you are going to do layer 2. If you are going to do layer 3 then 1 of them should be the master layer 3 switch

 

[businesstx]

@coxhaus

Here are second hand prices:

Cisco WS-C3750G-24TS (1.5U) is $56
Cisco WS-C3750G-24TS (1U) is $71
Cisco WS-C3750G-24PS is $85
Cisco WS-C3750G-48TS is $85
Cisco WS-C3750G-48PS is $100

 

[businesstx]

Will I need a license to run these switches? I read somewhere that functionality depends on the license ...

Also, will I need special software to manage these?

 

[Trip]

Ray, those Cisco 3750G's, while perfectly functional, have been EOS since January 2020. They'll perform fine, but won't receive any security updates. In all actuality, an up-to-date firewall with appropriate security settings and ACLs would mitigate most of the risk, but it's still an open vector inside the LAN, so you should weigh that against your own risk tolerance.

Personally, I would try for something still under active support, even if it's a bit lower-spec to meet budget. From what we've discussed, I don't see a super pressing reason why you couldn't drop down to an L2 switch to save on cost. You should stick to PoE-only models, though, as that's a main point here. For real Cisco, that would be a C2960X-48LPS-L, but that's likely going to be too pricey. How about an HPE 2530-48G-PoE+ (J9772A), Renew or working-pull? If used enterprise doesn't work out, is there anything new small-biz that's even close to your budget? Huawei, Zyxel, Netgear or otherwise?

 

[coxhaus]

In real enterprise Cisco networking equipment you need to pay for the firmware. This is the reason I run Cisco small business networking equipment as you get firmware free for the life of the product. Real enterprise is much better equipment but not needed for home and small businesses.