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Hey everyone, long time lurker, first time poster. I found out about Spiceworks this summer, and have been using it more and more for research and helping resolve issues in our environment.

We are looking at replacing our core switches in the near future. Our environment consists of about 40 small remote sites (2-15 workstations per site) connected by 5M links back to our head office though a larger fiber network. Our head office has a 40M link with about 40 desktops, access points, and printers, as well as four servers. We use routers at each site, all with Gig internal network support and appropriate UTM features. Our core consists o f 2x Cisco Catalyst 2960G switches, with a stock configuration (no VLANs, QoS, speed/duplex settings, etc.). We probably need to shoot for at least another 48 ports with future expansion as we are scrounging for ports right now.

Our in house services are pretty basic, no rich multimedia, VOIP, web apps, etc. Our main network hogs are SCCM and file transfers, neither of which are super taxing. We may look at VOIP down the road, so that may be something to consider. The only other major thing that will change is virtualizing and expanding our server infrastructure. The design is still being worked on, but we may go with some sort of network storage, and I’m not sure if Gig will be sufficient, or if we will need to look at 10 GB speeds.

Initial and ongoing costs will be one of the primary decision metrics. Good customer service, ease of use, and warranty will also play a big factor.

Thanks.

@HP @Cisco

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Look at HP switches. Lifetime warranty, US based support, and good features for the price.

I also heard that recently Cisco has moved to the lifetime hardware warranty model, but still charges for support. (SmartNet) can anyone confirm this?

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We use all HP and have had good luck with them standing behind their lifetime warranty (the few times in nearly a decade we have had to use it).

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Personally would stay away from Dell switches, just b/c of their support. I’ve used Extreme and Cisco in the past and there is tons of documentation and gurus out there. Granted Cisco is proud of their equipment, but Extreme, especially the barney looking ones (they are purple like Barney) are pretty slick. With that being said I have messed around with the Cisco small business models and you want to talk about ease of use, all gui. maybe good for the remote offices but not the main one.

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Thanks guys. I have never looked into Extreme before, but they look like they provide some cool solutions. I’ll also look into HP and Cisco and see how they would fit into my requirements.

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Cisco / HP are great options.

Mike is correct regarding Cisco providing Lifetime warranties - but only on certain models and includes 90 days of TAC support and NBD replacement.

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I have to say it depends here. If you are getting industrial switches, they pretty much act the same. Dell doesn’t make switches for one. They simply tag their logo on it. Dell sells “Force10”. Anyone who has uses Force10 should know these switches rock and you can barely tell the difference between cisco or Force10. I prefer Cisco over all though. My router is cisco and my phone system is cisco so it makes sense to stick with the same brand. Yes smartnets are not free.

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+1 for HP, there solid, well featured, easy to use and fairly priced and you cant go wrong with the lifetime warranty.

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+1 HP. I have over 60 of them running around. Easy to use. The Procurve set mimics some of the feature sets of the higher end Cisco’s. It gives you telnet access and also a web GUI.

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Make sure to check into Dell Networking! Dell has Force10 and PowerConnect switches! Most PowerConnect switches come

with LifeTime warranty. Please let me know if you have any questions or would like to meet with one of our Networking Specialists.

Thank you,

Ivan@Dell

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I vote for the Extreme Siwtches. We have about 8 of them and they are rock solid and easy to configure.

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Thanks for all the info guys! I have reached out to Extreme, HP, Cisco, and Dell to find out more information and get pricing.

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If you are looking for a lower price per port, you should take a look at D-Link xStack Manage switches.

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D-Link has quite a few basic/unmanaged switches, feature-rich Smart switches, and fully managed L2 and L3 switches. Like HP, we offer lifetime warranty. D-Link price/value is always solid. We also have an excellent pre-sales support team that can help you sort things out before you take the plunge.

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Having hands on experience with Cisco, HP, & Dell if budget is a concern go Dell, we have dozens and love them. If not Cisco simply for the VAST amount of free support published online.

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I’ve worked with Cisco and Dell switches so far and I personally love Dell switches over Cisco. Not that Cisco are bad, just not worth the extra $$$$. Now that Dell owns Force10 LOOKOUT! As far as support Dell has lifetime support as well.

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i would stick with cisco since its what you have… unless you are considering switching. I really love having all the same vendor on the back end.

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There are a lot of solid 2nd tier switches out there, like Netgear and Trendnet that give a lot of bang for the buck. Be aware, however, they they may not be as full featured… A good thing to look for is LACP support. If it has it, it will have most of the heavily used features. If not, it is a managed switch in name only, with vlan tacked on the end. (Often missing trunking!)