[Gllug] Switches

[Andy Farnsworth]

Rich Walker wrote:

>Hi all,
>
>Well, the trusty 16-port 10/100 switch didn't survive electric works
>over the weekend, so I'm wondering about replacements.
>
>Are there any actual disadvantages to the el-cheapo gigabit switches
>these days? One of the usual suppliers has 8-port gigabit switches from D-Link,
>Edimax and US Robotics for about £48+VAT, which is less than I paid for
>my first generic 8-port 10/100 switch... Any good reason to spend more
>on them?
>
>cheers, Rich.
>  
>
Rich,
  My understanding is that the cheaper Gigabit switches have a limited 
internal bandwidth and will struggle if you try to push maximum 
throughput through them.  For example, an eight port gigabit switch 
should be able to handle 4 machines talking to 4 other machines 
simultaneously at full gigabit speed full duplex.  This would require a 
full eight gigabit internal bandwidth and many of these cheap switches 
only have somewhere between 2-4 gigabit internal bandwidth.  This is not 
an issue for most home users, however, it is something to be aware of.  
Management too is an issue as mentioned earlier, however, (again) for 
most home networks there is not a need for management.  Another 
limitation of unmanaged switches is that you cannot trunk lines to link 
another switch... yet again, not really needed for home networks and if 
you are doing this you really need a large switch infrastructure, 
something like an HP Procurve switch.
  Be sure to let us know what your experience reveals.

Andy
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