Switch Buying Help

[god_bmxes]

Hello all, I am trying to find a switch but keep hitting road blocks with good looking switches with features being blocked behind a license or being too old etc so I am trying to see if anyone knows of a switch that will hit my criteria

 

I am looking for a switch that has 48ports and at lease 4 10gig sfp ports for future 10gig upgrade for my core devices.

I want at least half of the ports to be PoE capable so I can run cameras or Aps, etc

Would like to have dual power supplys if possible

Also a large backplane would be nice also

And be under $300 or so

 

If it helps my current network setup is an old x5650 running pfSense (currently sitting on a box but i'll get a case for it eventually), an 8 port tp link gigabit switch, a Ubiquit NanoHD (and in the near future another Ubiquiti AP with good 2.4Ghz as the nanos is garbage) and we have gigabit internet to the house.

 

Thanks for any suggestions guys!

[Oshino Shinobu]

I'd say you're asking for too much at that price point. Even what I'd consider a higher end consumer/small business switch, like the Ubiquiti UniFi US-48-500W doesn't meet all your requirements but is significantly more expensive. 

 

The cheapest I can find with those specs is a Zyxel XGS1930-52HP which is more than double what you want to pay. Just don't think it's happening at that price point, unless you can find one used. 

[god_bmxes]

I am expecting to buy used enterprise, nothing new obviously. For instance the Juniper EX4200 series is a good example of something that I could use. But that so far is the only enterprise switch that is not license locked

[Falcon1986]

@god_bmxes

 

If you're going to buy used, keep in mind that these enterprise devices probably have a lot of miles on them already. Although they might have been robust units for a few years since manufacture, things can start failing now, especially moving parts (e.g. fans) and anything that produces a lot of heat. That being said, be ready to put up with fan noise on these kind of devices.

 

Secondly, ensure that your switch supports the PoE standard required by your peripherals. Or else you might end up frying your peripherals.

 

If you want to invest in a reliable network backbone now, one of the UniFi Switch PoE devices is a good start. You don't need to start with a 48-port device; you can start with a 24-port for $700 and expand later.

 

Finally, people often think that the more you pay for a Ubiquiti UniFi AP, the better the antennae should be. Sometimes that's the case, but the UAP-AC-Pro has better range than the NanoHD. The improvements made on the higher tier devices are for better concurrent connections, and that usually occurs on the 5GHz band. Furthermore, the 2.4GHz band has its own inherent issues which no modern AP can overcome if you're in a heavily-polluted 2.4GHz airspace. No single high-powered AP will be able to beat multiple smaller APs in a well-optimized WiFi environment.