Dell PowerConnect 5424 vs PowerConnect 2824

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cafcwest

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Feb 15, 2013
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Thought I'd run this past you guys and get some additional perspective.

Considering building a colocated infrastructure based around the now popular Dell C6100. Initially looking for two LAN switches, plus a single back-end (backup network) switch. This last one is not a storage network, simply backups.

No iSCSI, VoIP, little to no VLAN'ing, etc. Any aggregation would not be LACP.

Looking at the specifications, both are listed as wire speed (switch fabric 48 Gbps) and forwarding rate 35.6 Mpps.


The PC 5424 has been a solid switch for me (have them in my office, and at client sites). But the last FW is over two years old, and they are used equipment.
The PC2824 list the same specifications, and retails for only about $70 more than what a used PC 5424 sells for currently. Add in the fact that they are new, 3 year warranty, latest firmware was 12/2012 and I feel that I should give it a chance?

What sayeth ye?
 

Jeggs101

Well-Known Member
Dec 29, 2010
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What is the power consumption? in a colo environment --- I think that is a biggie. pushing over a power allotment is $10-15/mo.

Are you doing 1 or 2 switches? Double the power.

I always think newer means lower power and more features.
 

cafcwest

Member
Feb 15, 2013
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Richmond, VA
What is the power consumption? in a colo environment --- I think that is a biggie. pushing over a power allotment is $10-15/mo.

Are you doing 1 or 2 switches? Double the power.

I always think newer means lower power and more features.
Good point. I looked up the 2824. It is listed at "1.0A @ 100V". Then I noticed that the same is listed for the 2808, 2816, 2824 and 2848. So, according to Dell, the 8 port switch with no SFP slots and passive cooling will draw the same amount as the 48 port switch with active (fan) cooling, 4 SFP slots, and 40 more ports!! So I'm going to go out on a limb and guess they simply have entered the maximum imagined power draw of the largest switch in the product line.

On the 5424, perhaps my Google-fu is failing, but I found zilch about it anywhere.
 

nitrobass24

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Dec 26, 2010
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On the 5424, perhaps my Google-fu is failing, but I found zilch about it anywhere.
Thats because as you mentioned it EOL

Sounds like you dont need anything fancy, nor do you need any L3 features based on the OP, so it sounds to me that a 2848 is right up your alley.
 

cafcwest

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Feb 15, 2013
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Richmond, VA
Have you considered an HP 1910. There is a thread about them.
http://forums.servethehome.com/show...24-Port-Gigabit-Ethernet-Switch-JE006A-Thread

Lifetime warranty and support, and HPs Procurve support is excellent.
I know they are spoken well of, I just don't have a high opinion of 3Com switches. Have some slightly older gigabit L2 stuff of theirs at one client site with about 12 switches and the GUI is awful, that model doesn't hold time/date through a power cycle, the SNMP is buggy, the "Network Director" software is Java-based rubbish, on and on.

I'm also a Dell Partner, deploying a solution with Dell (really SM, but anyway) servers, so doing buildout with HP switching would be a bit 'funny'.

Thanks for the comment.
 

mrkrad

Well-Known Member
Oct 13, 2012
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I suggest a pair of netgear XS708E switches. 10G-base-T for $800 each.

Does dell have a comparable switch, i'd be glad to give it a shot myself though Dell switches are generally sucky (ISCSI ones are my experience). Procurve are consistent and web-management is doing it wrong. (nagios/solarwinds/CLI).

The 1910-V2 is quite nice, far superior to the v1 model. It's basically a 2510G which is an extremely reliable low end switch.

And unlike dell, hp doesn't ask for proof of ownership/receipt to get your free advance swap on anything.

That "LSI" card in the dl380 server is dead, sure here's a replacement because that server is less than 3 years old.

not the dell "Prove you are the owner or we aren't even going to talk to you" bull honkey.
 

PigLover

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Jan 26, 2011
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You got a source for the XS708E @ ~$800? Lowest I can find is Provantage at almost $900. Not that a hundred bucks between friends is a deal killer - its still the lowest price 10Gbe switch on the market by a longshot.

In any case, I'm not real sure this is the best recommendation for the OPs question. He's looking for something to cluster-up his C6100s and the "natural" way to do 10Gbe on this beast is via the mezz card. There is no 10Gbase-T option for the mezz card - only SFP+ - so going 10Gbe with this switch would require him to dedicate the single PCIe in each chassis to a 10Gbase-T card. The little netgear switch will be the way to go for future projects using motherboards with on-board 10Gbase-T - but for recycling 3-year old servers its still probably not "the thing".

Also - before I go recommending this box I'm waiting to see specs on the switch matrix itself and see if it really has the 160G throughput required to be fully non-blocking full duplex. I'd also like to see max PPS to understand small packet throughput. I'm not against oversubscribing a switch, especially for SOHO or lab work, but I think buyers should be well informed about that before jumping in. And Netgear hasn't released this part of the specs yet - which makes me wonder, since most switch vendors love to crow about this part.
 

Patrick

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Dec 21, 2010
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The 1910-V2 is quite nice, far superior to the v1 model. It's basically a 2510G which is an extremely reliable low end switch.
Dumb question but are you thinking of the 1810 v2? I haven't seen a big rev on the 1910.
 

cafcwest

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Feb 15, 2013
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Richmond, VA
In any case, I'm not real sure this is the best recommendation for the OPs question. He's looking for something to cluster-up his C6100s and the "natural" way to do 10Gbe on this beast is via the mezz card.
Spot on PigLover. Though I do appreciate the feedback mrkrad.

What I need is cheap yet reliable 1Gb switching for my LAN, to connect to the HA firewall cluster. For my high speed back-end storage network, I'll be installing the IB QDR 40Gb capable mezz cards into each C6100 node, Voltaire switches, and some nasty homebrew SSD storage all via SMB 3.0.

After thinking this over some more, unless I learn of a switch that I haven't come across yet, I think I am going to go with the PC 2824's/2848's. If they prove to be unreliable, I can take a step up in price point and try something else.
 

Toddh

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Jan 30, 2013
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Since this is for a colo setup this is a little more serious than a home network if I am understanding you correctly.

Take this with a grain of salt, but I used Netgear for many years way back, in the time of ISDN lines and such. Their products were easy to configure and I liked them. But my experience was there products didn't stand the test of time. They had a sub par life span, about 3 years.

As I said this was some years back and I have not used their products much in the last 5 years.

I would also agree about the Dell products. I wont put down Dell, I am from Texas! But I will say HP ProCurve support is light years ahead of Dells support. It is easy to get someone on the phone and their switches are stable as a rock and very reasonably priced. Just because you are a Dell shop does not mean you can only represent Dell, keeping an open mind may help you provide your company and your clients the best solution possible. We have been a Sonicwall reseller for over 10 yrs and just this year started selling Fortinet. I was a little unsure at first but now I am glad we did.

One more thing, I have an HP 2400 Series switch in my shop that still runs like a horse, or maybe I should say a mule these days, its 10/100. You see the market littered with aging but still fully functional HP switches. People tend to outgrow them before they actual die...


.
 

Toddh

Member
Jan 30, 2013
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cafcwest, keep us posted on your C6100 build. Our setup sounds much like yours, I also bough the ConnectX-2 mezzanine cards for our C6100s and the Voltaire switch for the data backbone.