Is a "fiber extender switch" usable like a normal switch?

[tankhunter8192]

I recently browsed on Ebay and found an "Cisco Switch N2K-C2248TP-1GE Fabric Extender" but i have no idea if i could use it as a cheap alternative to an Ubiquiti USW48.

[Windows7ge]

Given the average price I'm seeing there's almost definitely a reason for it. I don't have extensive knowledge on this exact subject but other than the fact it's definitely a managed switch and you'd have to configure it in order to use it you'd also have to make sure it comes with the switch OS as the CISCO proprietary OS isn't meant for resale on the second market and that comes with licensing costs which may explain the extraordinarily low price. It may not have an OS but based on what I'm reading it does appear to support switched Ethernet which means it'd be compatible with your application.

 

Edit:

It also says "expansion module" which may indicate it's a dummy expander that requires a parent controller which could be costly.

 

Edit 2:

Yeah it's looking that way.

[RAM555789]

From the cisco site:

"The Cisco Nexus 2000 Series Fabric Extenders behave like remote line cards for a parent Cisco Nexus switch. The fabric extenders are essentially extensions of the parent Cisco Nexus switch fabric, with the fabric extenders and the parent switch together forming a distributed modular system. This architecture enables physical topologies with the flexibility and benefits of both top-of-rack (ToR) and end-of-row (EoR) deployments (Figure 1)."

 

Cisco Nexus 2000 Series Fabric Extenders Data Sheet - Cisco

So no, this is not a switch.