5 or 8 port switch recommendation

[austin_bob]

Any recommendations for a 5 or 8 port managed/smart switch for the uses described below?

I recently replaced all my gear and have the following at my hub:

Motorola Cable Modem > Netgate SG-3100 (pfSense) Router > HP 1920-24G Switch (JG924A)

From the HP switch:

1) One run to my family room has a 5 port unmanaged switch connected to AppleTV, Ruckus 7372 AP, Sonos, Samsung TV, Yamaha Receiver. Since I am setting up multiple SSIDs on separate VLANs on the Ruckus, I need to tag traffic back to the HP 1920 and am replacing the unmanaged switch.

2) Another run to media room has another 5 port unmanaged switch connected to AppleTV, XBOX 360, XBOX One, Yamaha Receiver, Samsung TV. I expect to separate these in to different VLANs also: Game Consoles on DMZ, TV/Receiver on IOT VLAN.

I'm looking at:

Netgear GS108E https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=12K-008X-00022

HP 1820 https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833310427

Thoughts or recommendations for others? Thanks

 

[degrub]

no penalty for 8 port managed. make sure there are no issues talking VLAN between the switches. Fastest is to have all on one switch for the devices that talk to each other although it may be tough to saturate a GBit uplink to the HP switch. Make sure you can turn off the "green" ethernet mode on the ports if you have a device that won't tolerate loosing the link.

 

[sfx2000]

pfSense on the SG-3100 can build the VLAN's if needed..

Good 8-port managed switch that is relatively affordable - Netgear ProSafe GS-108T...

 

[austin_bob]

Thanks for the replies! FYI, I still have a lot to learn about networking.

Fastest is to have all on one switch for the devices that talk to each other

Yes, but I only have one 1GB cable run available to each of those rooms, so I need a switch in each to accommodate the number of devices. My understanding is that unmanaged switches (especially my older ones) won't pass through tagged frames from the access point, so I'm assuming I need a managed switch for each room. For room #1 (family room), an unmanaged switch that passes through tags would work, but in room #2 (media room), the switch will have to do the tagging, by port, and then the HP switch will pass along to pfSense.

pfSense on the SG-3100 can build the VLAN's if needed..

Yes, I have the vlans setup on the pfSense and its firewall rules will control what each vlan can/can't do.
å

Good 8-port managed switch that is relatively affordable - Netgear ProSafe GS-108T...

Thanks, that looks like a better option than the 108E, I had not seen it.

 

[st3v3n]

GS108Tv2 is a great switch, have used it a long time. If you need more features, check the GS110TPv2, or GSM5212. A bit more change, but you get what you pay for and next-day/lifetime replacement can't be beat if you ever needed it. Netgear switches leave others behind if you stick with Pro-Safe. Good luck, Cheers.

 

[austin_bob]

Steven - thanks. I ordered the GS108Tv2 and installed it as described; however, I'm having problems. It's creating latency across the LAN when connected to the HP switch, such that accessing my pfSense menu, internet, or the GS108T menu, etc. is very slow. I expected that in an unconfigured state, it would act similar to the unmanaged switch.

 

[st3v3n]

Austin, Sorry you're having latency/conflict issues, there's something obviously very wrong. Without laying eyes on, I'd be amiss if I hazarded a guess why. This should work out of box as well as an unmanaged switch but as always, YMMV. The menu on the GS108T2 is archaic and clunky to tedious; pages of posts exist re the complaints about it, but once you're over the learning curse, it's a very good switch for the price range (thus the lifetime replacement warranty).

Have you plugged the switch directly into the router to see how it responds? If the switch is cranky or slow without anything between it, the router and your PC, you may have simply gotten a defective unit; everyone does sooner or later, no matter what brand you buy. Ours had the newest FW installed and has always run like greased lightning anddidn't mess trying to get the plugin to work, not many do as Netgear's never updated it since they presume you're going to actually get your hands and brain into managing it Managed switches are just a bit smarted, programmable dumb switches. Some who've never tried managed witches get in over their heads quickly and try to provision a manged switch incorrectly, with resulting latency heartburn, or it just doesn't work.

I assume you haven't even changed the password much less getting into the VLAN black arts so to speak. Have you tried resetting the switch per the directions? if resetting it doesn't produce any change, returning/exchanging it is your next step if all else fails. Cheers. s3v3n (they're really 3's )

 

[austin_bob]

st3v3n - thanks for the detailed reply. I'm not sure what the problem was, but it seems to be working now. I disconnected the GS108T and reconnected to HP switch just using a short patch cable and at first it was the same - very slow, but then I rebooted HP and toggled the HP port from access to trunk and back - just nonsense changes. Anyway, it started working more normally so I tried relocating back to the other room. At first, extremely slow to connect, then I unhooked all other devices and it worked fine. Then attached WAP and worked ok - that's where I am now and it seems to be ok, even though I didn't make any changes to the GS108T configuration. Frustrating, since I don't know why it was borking the LAN, but it's good for now. I'll try connecting the other devices individually to see if any effect, but the WAP is the only VLAN capable device, everything else is simple. Also, I've read about several other pfSense users with the Netgear switch without problems, so no help there. I'll report back as I add devices and then try to configure LAN. Thanks!

 

[sfx2000]

Steven - thanks. I ordered the GS108Tv2 and installed it as described; however, I'm having problems. It's creating latency across the LAN when connected to the HP switch, such that accessing my pfSense menu, internet, or the GS108T menu, etc. is very slow. I expected that in an unconfigured state, it would act similar to the unmanaged switch.

The GS108T should show up as a default of 192.168.0.239 - where things can get odd is if one is outside of that subnet....

That being said - read the friendly manual - and Netgear has a tool (on either the bundled CD-ROM or via Internet) to get you going...

Once you get it sorted on the intital setup - you'll be fine.

Only gripe I have with the GS108T series is a dependency on Java for a couple of functions - otherwise, it's quite good...

 

[st3v3n]

Re the GS108Tv2, I'd forgotten that our RT-AC3200 is setup in LAN-DHCP so the IP Pool starting/ending addresses are between 192.168.1.2-100, in order for the OpenVPN client/tunnels and routing rules to work correctly. The Merlin he wiki says it better. Still it shouldn't matter to a switch whether it's plugged into the router or the modem. So I thought.

Long ago, the day the switch arrived, I plugged directly into it to get used to the menu. Sfx200 said it better, what I referred to as the Netgear plugin, is the ancient Netgear dependence on old Java, which we don't use anymore. I logged in and after checking the menu, powered the systems down, plugged everything into the switch, the switch in the router then powered everything back up slowly in order so it synced as it should. First the modem, the router, the switch, then devices going into the switch.

The switch powered up fine yet nothing reached the router. After uttering the appropriate magic words, I suspected we weren't going to play well together after all. I plugged the laptop directly into the router, saw that the router saw the switch but after a half hour of further frustration, shut it down and went to bed. The next morning, by the time the system was up and running, and coffee was working, to my surprise it all just worked, and has ever since. If this helps, there you go; good luck and keep us posted. Cheers.

 

[austin_bob]

Thanks to both for the replies. Yes, I originally noted the Netgear default subnet and I assigned a DHCP reservation in pfSense after I could see it on the LAN. My LAN runs on 192.168.1.x, also.

So, it appears that the culprit is my Sonos Connect (f.k.a., Bridge). This morning I added the Apple TV and Sonos to the GS108T and it degraded performance, as before. So, I attached each device individually. The AppleTV works fine, but when I attach the Sonos Connect, latency for everything on LAN surges to unusable levels. FWIW, I have four other wired Sonos components patched directly to the HP switch, and three wireless devices on the Sonos proprietary wifi.

Ugh: https://sonos.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/42

Netgear GS108 is incompatible with Sonos - apparently an STP issue?

 

[st3v3n]

Ah Sonos, sorry Yep, sounds like digging in for some management. You'll get it lined up, hang in there Cheers!

 

[st3v3n]

STP as in super treated heavy-weight petroleum, or Spanning Tree Protocol? Each can result in sticky issues I've always left STP on but, have tried it off;, it depends on the LAN and what you need to do, or the YMMV rule. Looking at the SONOS iist it would seem they need to up their support game to make their gear compatible with switches/routers, and not the reverse.Too many brands just push their product out to market fast then fail to keep up or support it; maybe next generation will improve the odds, but little consolation now. You'll overcome it. Cheers.

 

[austin_bob]

Haha - yes, very sticky indeed.

So Netgear told me to enable STP on the switch and enable STP Status on the Sonos port (two separate menus) and see if it works. I'll try it tonight.

FWIW, I also read this regarding Sonos and STP: https://en.community.sonos.com/troubleshooting-228999/sonos-and-the-spanning-tree-protocol-16973

 

[st3v3n]

A great example of how folks in various forums/communities contributing and helping out, when plug and play doesn't pan out.

 

[sfx2000]

Netgear GS108 is incompatible with Sonos - apparently an STP issue?

Known issue with Sonos sometimes - and the fix is to ensure STP is enabled..