using managed switches, instead of layer2 switches for storage network?

[ponder]

well, seeing as you know everything, explain this to me.

What's the difference between these 2 switches:

Smart Switch:
http://www.jump.co.za/products/details/11105-netgear-gs724ts-prosafe-24-port-gigabit.htm
http://www.jump.co.za/products/prices/51356875-netgear-24-port-smart-switch-2.htm - even cheaper

Layer2 Switch:
http://www.jump.co.za/products/details/6211969-netgear-gsm7224-24-port-layer-2.htm

The last switch is fully managed and the throughput on the backplane (wich connects the switching fabric/asics) would be much faster than the previous two.


The thing I'm trying to get to, what exactly is the differences, if you say they're all layer2?




Here's also a list, from D-Link:


Smart switches:
http://d-link.co.za/gr.php


Layer2 switches:
http://d-link.co.za/gigabitl2m.php

The cheapest of the first two only has 10/100 Mb/s ports and only two SFP ports vs four. The first two do not have full management capability. The last switch you listed runs at full wire speed which I doubt the cheapies do.

Not all switches are equal. You can take two L2 switches both fully managed with the same features obvious to the eye but underneath they can be different beasts. The biggest difference being max sustained transfer speed on the backplane. One 24 port Gb/s switch could handle the full wirespeed of 24Gb/s on the backplane while the other one would cough when it gets to 12Gb/s so you can't run all ports at full speed the whole time.

You can have full features on all these types of switches yet they are not all cut from the same cloth.

 

[ponder]

ponder, maybe Cisco doesn't class their switches differently like D-Link / NetGear / HP, etc which might be why you don't understand what am I talking about? I never said you don't know anything. But you seem to judge me as not knowing anything because I ask this question?

Cisco is even worse trying to figure out what's what as their product range is so much bigger. At least it's easier with them to get to the technical data you need to do a comparison.

No Rudi, this is what you said,

guys, never mind. I can see this is above your knowledge.

We did not pick on you.

Can you tell me the differences between those 2 devices? That's all I want to know. I know OSI, I know where a hub, switch and router fits in. BUT, that doesn't tell me why one layer 2 switch (which the manufacturers class as a smart switch, instead of a layer 2 switch) costs 3x more than another layer2 switch. That's what I need to know.

See my post above this one. If I can get the data sheets for those devices I could be more specific but they definitely do differ.

 

[The_Unbeliever]

So being a cheapskate will give you serious bottlenecks in your network?

 

[ponder]

So being a cheapskate will give you serious bottlenecks in your network?

That's a pretty good summary

 

[SilverNodashi]

The cheapest of the first two only has 10/100 Mb/s ports and only two SFP ports vs four. The first two do not have full management capability. The last switch you listed runs at full wire speed which I doubt the cheapies do.

ok, my bad. I didn't check that it's 10/00.

The SFP ports doesn't matter much to me in this scenario.

Which specific feature tells you the one can run full wire speed, and the other not?

Here's the tech spec for the "cheapy": http://kbserver.netgear.com/datasheets/enus_ds_gs724t.pdf (The URL on Duxbury's website references the POE version, but they're the same. I'm not interested in POE)
And the more expensive one: http://www.duxbury.co.za/Netgear/da...abit_ethernet_10_100_1000/GS724TP_GS748TP.pdf

In fact, here's a nice comparison:

Smart Switch: http://www.netgear.nl/producten/producten.php?prod=GS724Tv3
Layer2: http://www.netgear.nl/producten/producten.php?prod=GSM7224v2



I'm not comparing stuff like: SPF or redundant redundant PSU's

Not all switches are equal. You can take two L2 switches both fully managed with the same features obvious to the eye but underneath they can be different beasts. The biggest difference being max sustained transfer speed on the backplane. One 24 port Gb/s switch could handle the full wirespeed of 24Gb/s on the backplane while the other one would cough when it gets to 12Gb/s so you can't run all ports at full speed the whole time.

You can have full features on all these types of switches yet they are not all cut from the same cloth.

Both of them can handle 48 Gbps bandwidth, so I don't see how the cheapy can be slower.

 

[ponder]

In fact, here's a nice comparison:

Smart Switch: http://www.netgear.nl/producten/producten.php?prod=GS724Tv3
Layer2: http://www.netgear.nl/producten/producten.php?prod=GSM7224v2

Just a quick look through that reveals the more expensive switch has way more management & security features as well as some Layer 3 routing functionality.

 

[SilverNodashi]

Just a quick look through that reveals the more expensive switch has way more management & security features as well as some Layer 3 routing functionality.

ok, so if that's the case then the manufacturer probably labeled it a smart switch due to the lesser security features, and lacking layer 3 features - which is a bit ambiguous if the more expensive one is a layer2 switch.

But, both will do fine for my needs, right? The suppliers can't give me a definite answer either which is no surprise as they'd like to sell me the more expensive stuff by default.

 

[ponder]

But, both will do fine for my needs, right? The suppliers can't give me a definite answer either which is no surprise as they'd like to sell me the more expensive stuff by default.

If they both do 48Gb/s (I'm always sceptical about manufacturer figures, real world tests reveal more) and you don't need the extra features then get the cheapest one I reckon.

 

[SilverNodashi]

If they both do 48Gb/s (I'm always sceptical about manufacturer figures, real world tests reveal more) and you don't need the extra features then get the cheapest one I reckon.

Apart from filling up the switches with servers & transferring data across, how else can I test the speed to see if both actually deliver the same performance?

 

[ponder]

Short of buying some expensive test gear from companies like Spirent etc you have no other options.