Ethernet Switch

Can somebody recommend me a good gigabit switch which works well with windows
network. I don't need more than 8 ports, but if there is a better switch
that comes with more ports, I would like to hear about it.

The reason I am asking this as I have noticed that the price range between
switches is quite large.

Is there anything specific to windows networking that I need to keep my eye
on.

Thanks in advance

A switch,...of any kind,...wouldn't know Windows Networking if it tripped
over it. It is like asking what engine is the best one for a blue car as
opposed to a red car.

You get what you pay for. If you want a "commercial" grade switch you are
looking at a minimum of 12 ports up to maybe about 48 ports. Expect to pay
several hundred dollars.


--
Phillip Windell

The views expressed, are my own and not those of my employer, or Microsoft,
or anyone else associated with me, including my cats.
-----------------------------------------------------



"RG" <> wrote in message
news:6CEDEFC6-9FC5-4207-8FFB-...
> Can somebody recommend me a good gigabit switch which works well with
> windows
> network. I don't need more than 8 ports, but if there is a better switch
> that comes with more ports, I would like to hear about it.
>
> The reason I am asking this as I have noticed that the price range between
> switches is quite large.
>
> Is there anything specific to windows networking that I need to keep my
> eye
> on.
>
> Thanks in advance

"Phillip Windell" <> wrote in message
news:...
>A switch,...of any kind,...wouldn't know Windows Networking if it tripped
>over it. It is like asking what engine is the best one for a blue car as
>opposed to a red car.
>
> You get what you pay for. If you want a "commercial" grade switch you
> are looking at a minimum of 12 ports up to maybe about 48 ports. Expect
> to pay several hundred dollars.
>
>
> --
> Phillip Windell
>
> The views expressed, are my own and not those of my employer, or
> Microsoft,
> or anyone else associated with me, including my cats.
> -----------------------------------------------------
>

You can get a few good retired Cisco Catalyst or Dell xx24 or xx48 24 or 48
port older switches for under $100 on some auction sites that work nicely. I
bought a Cisco Catalyst 3548 Enterprise 48 port with two GB fiber interfaces
for $80 including shipping. Works nicely.

And I agree, Windows, *nix, Macs, etc, switches have no idea what type of
operating system traffic comes from. Among other things, all they look for
on each switch port are MAC addresses, then look for the source and
destination MAC addresses in the packet (layer 2). They are pretty much
basically multi-port bridges with intelligence to be able to "route" (hate
to use that term since they are not routers, and use that term loosely)
traffc from one port to another based on MAC address. Now a layer 3 switch
will handle IP, too, but that's another discussion.

--
Ace

This posting is provided "AS-IS" with no warranties or guarantees and
confers no rights.

Please reply back to the newsgroup or forum for collaboration benefit among
responding engineers, and to help others benefit from your resolution.

Ace Fekay, MVP, MCT, MCITP EA, MCTS Windows 2008 & Exchange 2007, MCSE &
MCSA 2003/2000, MCSA Messaging 2003
Microsoft Certified Trainer
Microsoft MVP - Directory Services

If you feel this is an urgent issue and require immediate assistance, please
contact Microsoft PSS directly. Please check http://support.microsoft.com
for regional support phone numbers.

"Falcon ITS" <> wrote in message
news:39726d2e-f63e-48b9-a28c-...
> Hello,
>
> I completely agree with Philip. I would rather pay for a used Catalyst
> Switch than get a new Links(cough) for free.

That would have been Ace,...but you can agree with both of us if you want
:-)


--
Phillip Windell

The views expressed, are my own and not those of my employer, or Microsoft,
or anyone else associated with me, including my cats.
-----------------------------------------------------

"Bill Kearney" <> wrote in message
news:g6qdnfOwfPvgK-...
>> You can get a few good retired Cisco Catalyst or Dell xx24 or xx48 24 or
>> 48 port older switches for under $100 on some auction sites that work
>> nicely. I bought a Cisco Catalyst 3548 Enterprise 48 port with two GB
>> fiber interfaces for $80 including shipping. Works nicely.
>
> Be aware that Cisco gear may require firmware updates and those are NOT
> inexpensive.
>
> Also be warned there's a lot of counterfeit gear labeled as Cisco.
>
> I would not be inclined to purchase secondhand cisco gear without knowing
> its provenance ahead of time.


Good point. I guess I've been lucky. :-)

I have multiple Cisco accounts through my various customers, and usually
with that customer's account, I have access to updates. If not, then it
doesn't get updated, but if not using it as a managed device, I haven't had
a problem yet with the non-updated switches.

Ace