Network switch recommendation

[nicholasfd]

I'm looking to replace my Dell force10 S60 for a couple reasons. Combined with my dell Poweredge r610, those two heat the entire second floor of my house to about 75°, and going into the summer, that isn't going to be good. Not to mention that it is really loud, and power hungry. I bought it because it was $30, and I needed an upgrade from my HP 100 megabit switch. I need something managed, because I have some vlans that need to be configured. I also would like something layer 3, so that I can interact with connected devices a little more than I can with my S60, which is a layer 2. It doesn't have to be whisper quiet, but I don't want to hear it through the floors of my house. It also needs to have 48 ports. I was looking at some Cisco switches, but I've heard to stay away because they are a pain to program, and some need to be licensed to program, and some don't, while come require certification, and others don't. I was looking at the Cisco WS-C2960S-48LPS-L for $180, but I don't need POE, and feel like I can get more for my money, espically without POE, and only needing 1 Gigabit. Then I found the Cisco WS-C4948-10GE-S, for around $75, and feel that might be a better buy. I'm not obligated to buy cisco though, espically if I need to pay for any software or licensing to get it working, not to mention the lack of documentation that I have been able to find on them. I have what is essentially books on my S60, which walks through pretty much every command you can do on it. I know Dell has some other switches that aren't too loud, use too much power, or put out too much heat, it's just that ebay has been showing me only cisco switched because I clicked on one once ever. I'm fairly ignorant on networking like this, so feel free to tell me if I need a layer 2 switch before a layer 3, or if I'm just completely off on the whole thing. Just looking for some recommendations for right now, if I can find a good enough deal, I might get something now. I'd like to keep it at or around $100.

Thanks

[Lurick]

If you're not comfortable with the CLI then I would steer away from any enterprise level gear although I believe the Dell switch CLI is pretty similar to Cisco but I don't really deal with Dell so I can't comment for sure. Additionally, I can confirm the 4948 is decently loud and will put out some heat so if you're having issues with the Force10, the 4948 won't be much, if any, better. It's similar to the Dell though in that if you want software updates you'll need a contract (but I think that switch is EoL anyway so no contract available) but it should come with software, no additional licenses or anything needed to configure it. The lack of docs I think might be because of the EoL status of the device as well but I have several config guides if you are interested I can send your way. If you want simple and quiet though, with VLANs, I would look at small business switches which can usually be a bit quieter and run cooler (not always though)

[nicholasfd]

1 hour ago, Lurick said:

If you're not comfortable with the CLI then I would steer away from any enterprise level gear although I believe the Dell switch CLI is pretty similar to Cisco but I don't really deal with Dell so I can't comment for sure. Additionally, I can confirm the 4948 is decently loud and will put out some heat so if you're having issues with the Force10, the 4948 won't be much, if any, better. It's similar to the Dell though in that if you want software updates you'll need a contract (but I think that switch is EoL anyway so no contract available) but it should come with software, no additional licenses or anything needed to configure it. The lack of docs I think might be because of the EoL status of the device as well but I have several config guides if you are interested I can send your way. If you want simple and quiet though, with VLANs, I would look at small business switches which can usually be a bit quieter and run cooler (not always though)

Its not that I'm not comfortable with the CLI, I want to make sure that I can actually configure it without a whole bunch of certifications and licences.

[mynameisjuan]

49 minutes ago, nicholasfd said:

Its not that I'm not comfortable with the CLI, I want to make sure that I can actually configure it without a whole bunch of certifications and licences.

70% of taking certs is about CLI

 

With some switches you dont need to know much to configure as the default configs are pretty standard, but you really need to know why you are making the changes the guide is telling you to do.

 

Honestly if you are looking for a pure switch with VLAN functionality look at some Zyxel switches. We still have some laying around at customer sites (before I started) and no problems. You login to the web gui, click vlan, check port you want to associate and done. 

 

Stupid cheap but decent L2 only switch. https://www.amazon.com/Zyxel-24-Gigabit-Managed-Rackmount-GS1900-24E/dp/B00GU1KSHS/ref=sr_1_3?crid=2QC836YL73GDL&keywords=zyxel+switch&qid=1555629341&s=gateway&sprefix=zyxel+sw%2Caps%2C142&sr=8-3

[nicholasfd]

Just now, mynameisjuan said:

70% of taking certs is about CLI

 

With some switches you dont need to know much to configure as the default configs are pretty standard, but you really need to know why you are making the changes the guide is telling you to do.

 

Honestly if you are looking for a pure switch with VLAN functionality look at some Zyxel switches. We still have some laying around at customer sites (before I started) and no problems. You login to the web gui, click vlan, check port you want to associate and done. 

 

Stupid cheap but decent L2 only switch. https://www.amazon.com/Zyxel-24-Gigabit-Managed-Rackmount-GS1900-24E/dp/B00GU1KSHS/ref=sr_1_3?crid=2QC836YL73GDL&keywords=zyxel+switch&qid=1555629341&s=gateway&sprefix=zyxel+sw%2Caps%2C142&sr=8-3

Thats not exactly what I'm looking for. I want the challange of programming something with the CLI. It has to be 48 port, preferably layer 3, and rackmountable. I just got rid of my cheap desktop switch to be able to move all of my ports over to my dell switch. I was looking at this and will probably end up with it in the end. It's not layer 3, but I can live with that, and has a GUI installed, and I can just not use it. It's quiet, and I'm still looking to see what it puts out for heat compared to my dell.

[mynameisjuan]

1 hour ago, nicholasfd said:

I want to make sure that I can actually configure it without a whole bunch of certifications and licences

5 minutes ago, nicholasfd said:

I want the challange of programming something with the CL

 

I am honestly not sure what to tell you. There is no layer 3 48 port enterprise switch with easy CLI configuration that is silent and gives off little heat for $100 even used. That 2960 is still going to give off heat even when POE is disabled.