Hi All, Looking for recommendations for a bigger network switch. We currently have a simple/cheap 8port switch and a 4port PoE daisy chained. Criteria: 24+ ports - we have 24 wall sockets around the house, so (theoretically) need to be able to plug them all in at once, but likelihood is that we wont actually use them all at once, but if i'm buying a larger switch i think it better to future proof. I would also like to be able to connect a pi-hole and our heating controller box thingy. Is there anything else i should be considering to connect?! 2+ PoE ports - probably would like a minimum of 4 for wireless APs, we currently have 2 APs, but based on current coverage think i will need at least another 1 - damn old-school brick walls Managed vs. unmanaged - my preference is unmanaged, but if a managed switch would be better, then i dont mind a bit of setup, just dont want to be having to spend time i dont have managing it on a daily/weekly basis. Oh, and not so expensive that SWMBO wont sanction it - she understands it wont be cheap, and we can offset some of it with her business, but dont want her baulking at it. Anything else i should consider? Cheers, MadG
Consider sticking with external PoE injectors or a dedicated 4-8 port PoE switch, as the cooling fans in 24 port switches tend to die after a few years if they are the 40mm variety. I have to pull my switch apart and lube all the fans once a year and thusly am considering swapping to a C2960S-24PS as it appears to have a squirrel cage fan. Managed means you can do cool network stuff if you want, but it's optional and not an ongoing chore. Smart switches have a web interface, but the fancy fully managed from yesteryear may only have console for setup, but often will just work as a dumb switch out of the box. Buy used: on this side of the pond $75 isn't an unusual price on ebay for a 24 port gigE PoE switch, non PoE switches are almost free
Ok, thanks. One thing i need to consider is space/footprint. Why is it that increasing the number of ports increases the depth and the width exponentially? Why cant I get a 8 port wide, 3 or 4 row stacked switch? grumble. I assume its just the step from "home" to "business" which expect rack based options?
And something else that might be good/useful? ability to have two ports that link to the router? Is that madness, a good idea, or not worth it?
Rack format is pretty much de facto on >16 port switches; iirc 4 port high switches did exist for a while, but didn't last long (it's easier to stack or have a chassis). Most rack ears can flip 90 degrees allowing you to screw them to the wall, which is pretty handy. As for two links to a router, it's unlikely your ISP provided router supports link aggregation and it would only matter if you have >1gigE internet
Depending if you have servers/Nas you might want switch with some 10gbe capability (Microtik, HP Aruba have some options for 24port with 2/4 SFP+ ports in 100-200£ range); For POE - either stick with injectors or secondary 8 port switch, 8-Port/4x SFP switches are cheap (ie TPLINK SG108PE), price increase for 4 sfp ports on 24 switch will be at least double that. Get a smart/managed switch, its better to have capability to manage and not need it, than not having and having to buy another switch. Most new 24/48 port non-POE switches are passive and quite shallow in depth.
If you are buying a new switch I'd be looking at something with multigig 1/2.5/5/10 etc, we are at a point in the UK where gigabit internet is becoming more common place and of course things will only get faster, 2.5 will work over standard cabling. Wifi 6 is already faster than a 1Gb LAN port. I guess the block will be big switches that support multigig. I have a managed switch and actually I've never needed to use it really, I did enable Link aggregation once but actually get better performance to my NAS with it off and relying on SMB multichannel between my machine and NAS for full bandwidth multilink transfers. Transferring big data to your NAS with your max NVMe speed is nicer than waiting 30mins on a 1Gb link. On the managed side it does give you options for VLANs etc allowing separation of IoT gear which has poor security in general from your main network but a lot of that stuff is Wifi so you might what to think about something that does Virtual wifi on your APs maybe.
