[Gllug] Switches

[Jason Clifford]

On Tue, 7 Jan 2003, Peter Childs wrote:

> 	But what exactly is the difference between a Managed and an 
> Unmanaged switch. 

The difference is the software on the switch. An unmanaged switch does 
allow you to get any usage stats from it or to alter it's configuration 
much (if at all).

A managed switch will allow you to gather usage stats thus allowing you to 
determine where on your network a problem may be occuring and will also 
allow you to carry out other tasks that can be very useful in managing 
your network (subject to the switch software).

> 	Is it worth spending the extra on getting managed switches for a 
> network of around 80 computers.

That really depends. If having usage stats and the ability to get 
information necessary to determine where a problem on the network is then 
it probably is. Managed switches used to cost a lot more - that is no 
longer the case.

Jason Clifford
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