Fanless 16+ port (smart) managed switch, LACP, VLAN

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telendt

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Sep 23, 2017
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Hey,

I need a fanless (no compromise here) 16+ port (smart) managed switch with LACP and VLANs support. So far I own only one POE+ device (UniFi AP) and I'm ok with using PoE injector. I mean, I'd love to buy 16+ PoE+ fanless switch if such thing existed in reasonable price (<300 EUR), but if I have to choose between PoE and fanless I choose fanless.

I really like UniFi controller and I wanted to ask if UniFi Switch 24 (US-24) or EdgeSwitch 24 Lite (ES-24-Lite) (both non-PoE) are a good choice or if there's maybe something better in that price range.

(For a gateway/firewall I plan to use a custom pfSense build).

Cheers,
Tomasz
 

K D

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Dec 24, 2016
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The US-24-lite is not fanless. The ES-24-lite is and is a good choice
 

BlueFox

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Oct 26, 2015
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HPE 1820-24G or the older models (1810-24G and 1800-24G) should still be a good choice. You're unfortunately not really going to find PoE and fanless in that many ports so far as I'm aware.
 

Evan

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Jan 6, 2016
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Cisco C3560CX-12PC-S and 12PD-S have 12 x POE+ ports + a couple extra copper and fiber ports.
Fanless.
Does all you want with vlan, lacp, etc well

Probably about double your 300EUR depending on what discounts you can get.

No research on the subject just happen to use them and so mentioned they have the features, only a question of $$ (makes sense in enterprise as small access switches)
 

telendt

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Sep 23, 2017
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The US-24-lite is not fanless.
Ouch, you're right. It's really confusing, since both US-24 and ES-24-LITE have nearly identical specs. It's a bit disappointing that their Edge devices are not supported by Unifi Controller (I really like it).

HPE 1820-24G or the older models (1810-24G and 1800-24G) should still be a good choice. You're unfortunately not really going to find PoE and fanless in that many ports so far as I'm aware.
I see that 1820-24G is in 2 variants - PoE (J9983A, half of ports with PoE) and non-PoE (J9980A). The PoE one is twice as expensive. Spec says they both fanless, but I found in reviews that PoE version has a fan.

I don't have that many PoE devices yet. And when I have I might think about some other solution (like special patch panel/multi port PoE injector).

Cisco C3560CX-12PC-S and 12PD-S have 12 x POE+ ports + a couple extra copper and fiber ports.
Probably about double your 300EUR depending on what discounts you can get.
C3560CX-12PC-S is ~3x my budget and C3560CX-12PD-S ~4x that.

I wouldn't need that many 1G ports if I had a few 10GBASE ports. Unfortunately, some of my devices I cannot upgrade to 10G and I need LACP (otherwise I would go with Mikrotik). And switches that support both (10G and 1G ports with LACP) are too expensive for me.


I never owned a smart/managed switch. Which would be easier to use - Ubiquiti EdgeSwitch 24 or HPE 1820-24G? Which one is more powerful, has more features? Thanks in advance.
 
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fractal

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Jun 7, 2016
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It is hard to beat the hp 1800/1810/1820 for the money. 1820 new if you want new. You can get the older models for under 100 bucks. And, they are true HP. None of this "need java" or "gotta type in a captcha" crap you get with the HP branded 3coms.

I have 4 of them at home and love them to death. I don't use more than vlan and lacp myself but they do that and more.
 
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herby

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Aug 18, 2013
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Besides the HP 1800's there's always the good old Dell 2800's. I used a Dell 2816 for years that I'm happy with, although I hope to move up to a switch with 10 GbE soon, direct connections are getting old.
 

telendt

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Sep 23, 2017
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Just me, i would get the HP over the UBNT.
HP or Cisco would be my first stop :)
It is hard to beat the hp 1800/1810/1820 for the money. 1820 new if you want new.
Indeed, it's cheap, ~150 EUR for a new 1820-24G (J9980A) here in Germany (second hand market is very weak here).
My budget is double that. I looked at other fanless HP/Cisco switches within my budget and found the following ones:

  • HPE OfficeConnect 1920S 24G 2SFP (JL381A) - with layer 3 lite features (network connectivity between VLANs when router is down could be helpful), ~205 EUR
  • Cisco SG300-20 (SRW2016/K9) and SG300-28 (SRW2024/K9) - managed (a lot of people claim console is really helpful for more advanced setup/troubleshooting) with layer 3; I can get these for ~240 EUR (280 EUR for bigger model)

The question is -- do I really need L3 or fully managed switch? I'm not sure.
Maybe it's better to go with the cheapest option (HPE 1820-24G) to save some bucks, and spend them on future upgrade to 10GbE (which I expect to happen 4-5 years from now).
 

pricklypunter

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Nov 10, 2015
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Putting the manufacturer to one side for a moment, I am assuming that this is for home lab/ small business use. With that in mind, I would definitely look for a switch that is Layer3 capable at the least, and fully managed, unless you already have one and are looking for just an access/ edge switch to increase port density. The beauty of having a fully managed Layer 3 or better capable switch, is the configuration possibilities that come along with it. You have much more freedom over what you want to achieve, have proper routing capability if you need it, policy management and usually better security and monitoring features. For the cost difference on the used market, it's a no brainer imho :)
 

K D

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Dec 24, 2016
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If you like the Unifi switches then getting 2 US-8O-150 is an option. They have 8 gbe and 2 sfp ports with all the 8 ports supporting POE. But the Unifi switches really need a USG to make full use all their capabilities and tk get the pretty graphs in the controller.

The EdgeSwitch 24 Lite is a great little unit- Fanless, L3 routing but no POE. It can often be found for $120-14o in amazon warehouse deals and BH Photo Video used section.
 

Jeff Robertson

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Oct 18, 2016
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Just a thought but I would go post on the unifi forums about their 16/24 port switches. While they have fans I *think* they stay off unless the unit gets real hot. I have one of their 10gb switches and it is unnoticeable.

Also, Mikrotik makes some fanless switches that might be worth looking into, they are inexpensive and there is a new model that includes 24 gig ports and 2 sfp+ 10Gb ports.