So, I work in an environment that’s currently using 4x Dell PowerConnect 2848s as their main core switches, with a good number of unmanaged Linksys, D-Link, etc. switches coming off of those for certain groups of computers and offices. The Dell switches are a bit dated and painful to work with at times, and given we need to get rid of the unmanaged switches anyway for VoIP reasons, it makes sense to go ahead and upgrade those Dell 2848s too.
I’m looking for recommendations. I work for a Non-Profit, so pricing is a concern. I’d like to stay consistent across one vendor throughout the environment for all switches, be they core switches or more on the access level.
I’m not opposed to getting refurbished switches if they are in good condition, given how long switches tend to usually last for. I was eyeballing some refurbished Cisco 3750-X switches at one point, but wanted to get some outside input as well.
@HP @Dell_Technologies @Cisco
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MI50
(MI50)
2
These are really great switches
Those do look nice. The MS250’s would probably be in our pricing and performance range, but even the MS225’s don’t look too bad. The 350’s are beyond what we need, especially in the pricing arena. Even though we are a non-profit, any hardware product tends to not have any significant discount given there are physical production costs. We could probably save on the licensing for them though.
Does anyone have experience using Ubiquiti’s switches? I’ve had a few people recommend them, I just don’t think they’d be able to handle in our size environment. I have a 24-port one for my home network which works great, but a home lab versus a 300-device production network is a big difference.
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Ubiquiti seems to be a hot ticket at the minute, they appear to be good and in most people’s price range. I must admit, i have been Cisco all my days and i think the meraki or the refurbished 3750 would be ideal. The true core experience of those L3’s will give you a lot of options and if you are changing access layer you can get refurbished 2960’s as well.
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Something I keep seeing in my Google-Fu, but am unsure on. Is it common to intentionally have slower access-layer ports than the links between switches? IE: if you have 1gbps links between switches, is it common practice to have all access ports operate at 10/100?
Back to the topic: I can get some 2960-Xs for very inexpensive. If I went for a Cisco setup, I’d definitely lean this route as a new-in-box 24-port non-Poe 2960-X will only cost me about $240, which means i can splurge a bit on the 4 main switches. The 4 main switches connect in a star topology, with the one in the main server room connecting via 1gbps multi-mode fiber out to the other 3. So, some 3750-Xs would work great for that.
I’m still very open to other suggestions. The Cisco setup is just the one I’ve done more research into. I’ve always been more on the troubleshooting and deployment side, never the one re-engineering the setup from scratch.
Both Meraki and Cisco will keep you paying for the switches forever if you want support. Or, in Meraki’s case, for them to operate at all.
If you’re concerned about cost, consider the life cost including support and look at HP/Aruba with a free lifetime warranty - even if you get them second hand.
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maxsec
(maxsec)
7
Just got some dell 3048 switches in all our offices, again for voip reasons to help with qos
No problems so far
legoman
(LegoMan)
8
…I understand the Meraki $$ grab and they brick if you don’t keep paying = I would never implement.
But real Cisco? Do you mean SmartNet? The devices keep working regardless if you “pay for support” (SmartNet) or not. Think outside the box, all their hardware is lifetime warranty. I just buy SmartNet on one thing, to get download access - and forget the rest. On the off-chance one dies, they still replace it under warranty, within 10 days - all SmartNet does it get you quicker turn-around on that replacement. So, if all your switches are the same, it’s probably cheaper just to buy a spare and have it sitting in the box on-site.
Another idea for OP, if your budget constrained, the Netgear ProSafe line is pretty good, and has a lifetime warranty: Frequently Asked Questions about the ProSAFE® Limited Lifetime Warranty - NETGEAR Support I use them in locations where the customer can’t afford real Cisco, and have not been disappointed. I don’t care for the Netgear Wireless or Firewall products (should probably give them another try since it’s been a few years) but the switches are solid.
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MI50
(MI50)
9
Ubiquiti switches don’t do well in the corporate arena I have tried them and they dont have any SFP for there switches its a hit and miss getting some and then when you update the software at times like they want you to do you can loose connection not good. Plus there support is still not that good
Meraki all the way…
We are buying used Cisco 3750G. They’re so cheap, I don’t think that I am even going to use any of the stacks of 2960 PoE switches I have. The difference between gigabit and 100 mbit at the endpoint could be worth it, if it means that I can leave the switch in place for 10-20 years instead of maybe 5 for a 2960.
I agree with others who said that you don’t need Cisco support on their switches. Used gear is so cheap that it’s far better to have spare gear on site. Just get one device on SmartNet if you need to call or get updated firmware. The switches will run forever. I have a 3500XL switch if anyone wants it. Runs great. Power hog, no 802.1x or SSH, but is otherwise a great 10/100 switch with gigabit uplinks. 
Personally, I would rather take a used enterprise switch without support over a new SMB switch every day of the week.
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What do you mean no sfp?
https://www.ubnt.com/accessories/fiber-modules-cable/
Ubiquiti gear is perfectly fine in the enterprise arena. And now if you want phone support, they offer it for a price. You can add it at anytime through the cloud console.
Ubiquiti is becoming more and more of a defacto budget provider regardless of your requirements. They continue to disrupt the networking industry.
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QOS does not kick in till the network is 100% saturated and if that’s happening you got far bigger problems occurring.
Lots of good info, I really appreciate it everyone
!
Ubiquiti’s devices have SFP. My 24-port I have for my home lab connects up to my USG over fiber via SFP modules. My only hesitation is again whether this would scale up to a larger network, and i can’t seem to find any performance or benchmark data, or even testimonials of people who have used them in larger deployments. Their support is also lackluster, but if they are providing phone support then that’s a step up.
@Kevin: Are you referring to the 2960’s or the gigabit 2960-Xs? The 2960-X seem good for access-layer and can even do PoE.
As for some of the Dell switches… I’m trying to get away from Dell’s switches. They were suitable for our network when it was half its size, but I’m in need of something a bit more robust. The other reason is their CLI is a bit clunky on the 2848’s, and some things you can’t even do through the CLI and must do through the interface. If I’m working with more than a handfull of switches, I’d largely prefer to just bounce between SSH terminals than point-and-click through web interfaces. The exception to that being a SDN model such as Unifi where I can configure settings for multiple devices simultaneously, but see my poi nt above about Unifi.
As for NetGear/Aruba/ProCurve/HP, I’ve considered it but I don’t want to be caught in the same problem I’m having with the Dell switches: Lack of CLI support, lacking in a lot of L3 features, etc.
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kevinhsieh
(kevinmhsieh)
14
I don’t have any 2960-X switches. They’re too new, so there are not many used ones on the market, and hence they’re selling at just a small discount. The 3750G, being past end of sale, are much more plentiful and inexpensive.
Do you anticipate any issues with microbursts and oversubscription? All Cisco Catalyst 2000 and 3000 series have small buffers and can drop traffic during microbursts. I am seeing this on my brand new 3650 switches dropping traffic sporadically from video cameras to my NVR. On average the traffic fits, but there seem to be bursts that get dropped. Most applications handle it fine. Some won’t. Only much more expensive switches with deeper buffers will handle this okay. Any network storage, especially for VMs also need switches with deep buffers to work properly without dropping frames.
@Kevin, I’m not very concerned about that. I can’t imagine the 3750Gs would run into this issue, and the 2960-Xs on the access layer likely won’t be pushing enough traffic around to run into issues with this, either.
Totally inaccurate statement, keep drinking the Meraki kool-aid.
We have a bunch of EdgeSwitches that I’ve been slowly replacing our older Dell PowerConnect 55xx with. SFPs have a pretty wide range of compatibility, they are dead quiet which is a huge bonus where some of our remote switches are, and they have never had an issue. Some are in extremely dusty and harsh environments.
Literally my only complaint with them is that the warranty isn’t as good as the others like HP, Netgear, etc that have lifetime warranties. For the price difference and performance points, I’ll take the gamble.
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kevinhsieh
(kevinmhsieh)
17
It totally depends on your workloads. The current top of the line 3850 would experience the same issues under my workloads.
If you are using Dell, I would recommend Dell especially now with their lifetime warranty for switches.
Then if you have the rack space, consider 24 ports instead of 48 ports as when 1 switch fails, less people/systems are affected.
But you may want to get one extra unit if you do not want to fork out $$$ for the 24x7 4 hour advanced exchange support which can be useless (imagine switch down at 9am…by tome replacement comes…it maybe 3pm already).
In regards to support and warranty with Ubiquiti products, UBNT started their Unifi Elite program not too long ago. It looks to be on par with other providers that make you pay a subscription fee per device (e.g. Meraki) for extended warranty and support.
Here’s the official press release:
https://community.ubnt.com/t5/UniFi-Updates-Blog/UniFi-Elite-Cloud-Support-Warranty-Service-Announcement/ba-p/1834566
Edit: To clarify, by on par, I mean service-wise. Cost-wise they are still disruptive even in the optional subscription model I’ve linked to.
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