Any experience / review on EnGenius 10GbE Switches? (Updated - went with Zyxel option)

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ccl13

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Dec 28, 2020
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I am looking at things like EnGenius ECS5512FP: Cloud Managed 8-Port 10 Gigabit PoE++ Switch with 4 SFP+ Ports
Or its 2.5GbE sibling: ECS2512FP Cloud Managed 8-Port 240W PoE++ Multi-Gigabit 2.5 Gb Switch w/ 4 SFP+ Uplink Ports

I can find only so few mentions of these, and actually overall there's not a lot of information about EnGenius switches. Anybody had experiences or reviews about them?

In the past I've tried EnGenius APs, and I find that they are very much the same hardware as Netgear but with EnGenius software. I don't know what's the reason behind, but generally speaking my experience is good. There's a bunch of things not as smooth but does what is promised after all.

As of why I am looking at them, is mainly because my house has a very limited space for networking hub so I cannot use normal rack mountable equipment. My requirement can be fulfilled by 802.3at and 2.5GbE, but I don't think it would hurt to be a bit future proof (wallet hurts, but the price difference is not so much when 2.5GbE is over $600 while this full 10GbE is $1200).
 
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zer0sum

zer0sum

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Mar 8, 2013
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Did you ever pull the trigger on one of these?
Or find any decent reviews?

The ECS2512FP is pretty much what I'm looking for right now :)
 
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itronin

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Nov 24, 2018
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I just bought some R750's to upgrade my R710's... I believe one member @awedio is using the ECS2512FP . I'm also interested in hearing from folks about their experience with this switch. I'd only be using it for my AP's to provide power and hopefully get a boost for the laptop connectivity.
 
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ccl13

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Dec 28, 2020
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As a general update, I looked into options with the same Realtek RTL9313 platform and found that Zyxel has a model XS1930-12HP. When compared to EnGenius, Zyxel's option has 2 non-PoE RJ45 ports (instead of 2 SFP+ out of a total 4) and in my usage I do need them, which saves me the trouble to add SFP+ RJ45 modules. And it was cheaper by about $150 when I made the purchase.

I pulled trigger on that and am quite happy with it right now. There was some problem with the configuration of the switch due to poor OOBE wizard design (if I choose to use VLAN, it assigns VLAN 1 on all ports as tagged which causes trouble). When I figured that out, it was a quite smooth experience. The UI is designed somewhat weirdly (and probably buggy in presentation), but is feature complete and generally easy to understand.

And this one is particularly quiet and cool, when compared to Netgear MX510TXUP which I looked into before. It runs at a much quieter noise level, and temperature is about 5 to 10 degree C lower at similar load.

I don't have the money and time to do a comparison on EnGenius options right now. Maybe in future. However because I am happy with XS1930-12HP, there's not much motivation.

BTW I did talk to EnGenius sales representation for information. One thing I need to mention which blocked me from picking it besides price was that their firmware is not updated for standalone deployment. If you need newer firmware, you have to use their cloud management tools which is free. But for me that is a point deduction because their standalone deployment firmware is now about 2 years outdated.

Hope this helps!
 
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itronin

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zer0sum said:
This Zyxel looks pretty interesting to me as well :)
Click to expand...
yep. Only $100USD more for the zyxel which adds 5G to the ports compared to the engenius (not that I need that)... but if you have to buy new - maximize the features.

Last time I used zyxel anything were modems about 30 years ago. The plot thickens.
 
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awedio

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Feb 24, 2012
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itronin said:
yep. Only $100USD more for the zyxel which adds 5G to the ports compared to the engenius (not that I need that)... but if you have to buy new - maximize the features.

Last time I used zyxel anything were modems about 30 years ago. The plot thickens.
Click to expand...
But this Zyxel switch is non-POE, that makes it a non starter for an R750?
 
bvd

bvd

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Jan 2, 2021
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Idk if anyone is still looking at these, but figured I'd throw my .02 out there -

I've used their HW at work for years, but hadn't ever used their cloud enabled stuff. I was going to go unifi despite my reservations, but between the time I placed my order and the time they shipped, the last straw came through in the form of their removal of multi-site support from their system (a 'bug'... lol). Anyway, bit the bullet and bought them for home afterwards, and never looked back.

To the part originally asked about first (the switches) - rock solid, online upgrades (PoE remains active), stellar remote troubleshooting tools built in (traceroute, ARP table, PCAP [no port mirroring necessary], client latency tests, and so on), and 0 issues in 14 months. They really come into their own though when you pair them with their APs (not sure I'd still have sprung for them with the cost if I'd no need for access points)...

Their best feature imo is their roaming implementation - cisco/meraki, ruckus, unifi, netgear, aruba cambium, I've never had better AP-to-AP handoff, and only one matched them (again, just my experience). Roaming between 3 units while on VOIP/webex/zoom is completely seamless, no drops or hitches in video/audio, nothing to indicate you've reassociated with a new AP. I expected this though, as even their prior (non cloud-managed) hardware was similarly capable.

Second best is the troubleshooting tools, and that was a new one to me (as it's only available on their newer gear). It's built for people who manage hundreds/thousands of endpoints, so they've got a number of super handy tools built in that allow you to initiate things like channel scans, PCAPs, check latency values to (whatever you want), has a client history so you can see what happened with a given device (e.g. device X associated with AP1 @ 1710GMT, Band Steering suggested move to 5Ghz do to RSSi value of ### @ 1713GMT, etc).

I've now got them deployed at my parents place, as well as my in-laws - the ability to remote troubleshoot at the granularity they offer has saved me at least 7-8 emergency trips out to them in the last year or so. Here's some screenshots of the dashboard for my parents place (it's multi-tenant, so you can control all of em from the same dashboard):
Screen Shot 2022-07-11 at 8.02.15 PM.png

One of the diags pages:
Screen Shot 2022-07-11 at 8.05.17 PM.png

That client history I was talking about looks like this (only goes back 7 days, but I've never needed more than 2-3 for troubleshooting):
Screen Shot 2022-07-11 at 8.14.02 PM.png

The place they've the most room to improve is their dashboard I think, but its hugely improved even in just the last 6 months or so at least. UI's is just overall cleaner looking and more intuitive still in several areas.

Just let me know if anyone has any questions, and I'd be happy to answer any I can!
 
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ccl13

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Dec 28, 2020
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Thank you @bvd ! I was only looking for information on their specific switch but glad to know some details about their product line.
I was seriously debating to use either EnGenius or Ubiquiti for my home network but I had some not very optimal customer support experience with EnGenius. It is probably due to the pandemic though. If I need to choose again I might go with EnGenius actually.
 
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ccl13

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Dec 28, 2020
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zer0sum said:
Or this one?

www.qnap.com

QSW-M2116P-2T2S | 90-watt 10GbE PoE++ and 30-watt 2.5GbE PoE+ Managed Switch for the Wi-Fi 6 Generation

The QNAP QSW-M2116P-2T2S is a L2 PoE Managed Switch with sixteen 30-watt 2.5GbE PoE+ ports, two 90-watt 10GbE PoE++ ports. Offering a total power budget of 280 watts and two 10GbE SFP+ ports, the QSW-M2116P-2T2S not only enables a high-speed and high-power PoE network infrastructure for Wi-Fi 6...
www.qnap.com www.qnap.com
Click to expand...
I might be to late, but this Qnap stuff DOES NOT support STP. Which is kind of stupid for a highly capable and multiple port device. If it supports STP I probably have already deployed it for both its price and other features.
 
bvd

bvd

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Jan 2, 2021
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Engenius "support" is geared more towards MSP's, with field engineers acting as support for partners located within their specific geo/region. Basically you get your FEs email/phone and get support direct through them - they're really not built (as a business I mean) to support end user sales.

For those who do end up buying and wanting to skip the cloud, you can access the firmware from their EU site. Funny enough, the EU org uses synology to host their downloads (ezmaster, switch and AP fw, durafone stuff). Just spool up an ezm from the images they provide, adopt the devices through ezm, and you can avoid the cloud entirely. Honestly that was one of my bigger drivers for buying their gear - not held hostage to cloud management/registration.

I've got a pair of their wifi 6e (ecw336) APs ordered currently and am looking forward to seeing how much further I can push my wifi throughput!

EDIT (12.22.23): While the ECW APs were at one time supported by engenius' ezMaster, though this was with *very* early AP firmware - this may've been a 'mistake', as I don't believe this is possible anymore. You can, however, convert your ECW (cloud) access point to an EWS (locally managed) version... :D
 
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ccl13

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Dec 28, 2020
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RE @bvd ,
I do expect most of such manufacturer push engineers to the front end, but the issue I got was mainly very slow response. I am not exactly regular end user and I try to talk in a proper network engineer language, so most of the time I am the one being annoyed by support and ask them to escalate as soon as possible. But in my limited experience with EnGenius, they were slow to response and not exactly talking in the same language as I do. Like I said I think this is probably due to early age of pandemic.

The EU site lead is great, I will give that a research. Thanks!
 
bvd

bvd

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Jan 2, 2021
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Happy to help! Between my place and the parents/in-laws, I've got 5 of their switches (two of the1112FP, and one each of the 1552, 2512, and 5512FP), and my only regret thusfar has been related to purchase timing - they released the damned 2528FP only about a month after I picked up the 2512, or I'd have gone with that lol.

Totally get what you're saying on the support side - the main (I'd say 'best' but it's almost 'only', as it seems you unfortunately experienced) way to access/contact them for support is through their partner portal. It's the only place you can manage support tickets that I'm aware of at least.

The zyxel looks pretty solid. My history with engenius and their hardware (senao OEM stuff) at work lead me to look at them as one of my primary options. I think if that hadn't been the case (or I'd had any experience with the zyxel stuff), and if wifi wasn't a concern, zyxel would be high on the list!

What do they have as far as built in troubleshooting tools/diags? Just looking at some screenshots of the UI, at least at a glance, I think there'd be a bit of a learning curve lol
 
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ccl13

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Dec 28, 2020
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bvd said:
What do they have as far as built in troubleshooting tools/diags? Just looking at some screenshots of the UI, at least at a glance, I think there'd be a bit of a learning curve lol
Click to expand...
From WebUI, their diagnostic tool is very basic, ping, trace, cable tester, that's pretty much it. Logging is comprehensive but that's not like it's better than most others. My SNMP setup is still broken (procrastinating) so I don't know yet.
 
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