Suggestions for Gbit Switches

[Jesse B]

I'm working slowly building up a network, with a couple servers and whatnot. I am looking to purchase a gigabit switch pretty quick here. I'm just having problems picking one. I have a few requirements:

- Has to be Gigabit
- 8 ports should be good, 16 would work as well however
- Under $200 (the cheaper the better I'd prefer closer to $100 if possible)
- Preferably rack-mountable, but not essential

There just seems to be so many options out there. I'm not sure I understand the difference between a Smart and a Managed Switch. I'm not sure if I would need a Smart/Managed Switch, or if a basic unmanaged will do the job. I'm not sure which brands to go with. As you can see, I'm pretty much just clueless

I'm just looking for some suggestions, and some information pertaining to smart/managed switches. The only advantage I'm aware of is the ability to use VPN's, but I'm not sure I really need that feature, and I'm sure there must be more to them than that.

Thanks,


- Jesse

 

[thiggins]

Sounds like you need a basic, unmanaged switch. You can read up on Smart switches here if you like.

You can buy on price, warranty and brand preference since all Gigabit switches in your port range perform equally. Both NETGEAR and D-Link offer lifetime warranty on many of their switches.

 

[Jesse B]

Awesome, thanks for the link.

I think I'm going to go with a Netgear switch, due to the fact that they have a lifetime warranty, are affordable, and are readily available locally (NCIX sells them, and I happen to be surrounded by NCIX stores ).

Considering getting the GS108NA, just because it's basic and inexpensive. However, at just a few dollars more, the GS108T is pretty tempting.

One thing I'm confused about with the GS108T is the difference between the following two versions:

GS108T-100NAS
GS108T-200NAS

The 100NAS is a few dollars more than the 200NAS, but they appear to be identical?

Thanks,


- Jesse

 

[thiggins]

The GS108T is a smart switch. Don't spend the extra money unless you need the features. The -200 is a more recent version of the product.

 

[Jesse B]

The GS108T is a smart switch. Don't spend the extra money unless you need the features.

Yes, I was aware of this. I've yet to determine whether or not the added features would be beneficial.

The -200 is a more recent version of the product.

I assumed this was the case, just found it strange that the newer version was less expensive.

Thanks!