[TriLUG] Network switches

[Matt Flyer via TriLUG]

On Tue, 2016-09-13 at 13:14 -0400, Mauricio Tavares via TriLUG wrote:
> On Tue, Sep 13, 2016 at 1:00 PM, Grawburg via TriLUG <trilug at trilug.o
> rg> wrote:
> > 
> > Since 8-port switches range in price from $20 to $200 I wonder how
> > you determine which to get?
> > The network here is starts with a 3Com 3300 SuperStack II and
> > branches over 4 floors to 2 small (8 port) Netgear switches.
> > All ethernet cable is Cat 5e. Except for my computer and a single
> > MAC the other 8 PCs are Windows XP or Win 7.
> > What differences, if any, might I see by upgrading the small
> > Netgear switches?
> > 
>       When I go switch shopping, I ask
> 
> - 100BaseTX, gigabit, or faster?
> - Managed or unmanaged?
> - Trunking/vlan/snmp/other features?
> 
I would also think that a more powerful, i.e. more expensive unit with
a faster processor and more memory would be able to handle a bigger
simultaneous throughput on the connections.  I could see this coming
into play if you're transferring large amounts of data amongst the
computers, but in terms of Internet download, you're more likely to be
limited by that pipe than the switch capability, even with a smaller
switch.