Need a silent managed gigabit switch

[JimPhreak]

I've been using 2 Netgear Prosafe Plus switches on my home network for the past year. They've functioned just fine and do well enough supporting VLANs which is the main reason I got them. One of them will continue to function fine where it is but I need to replace the main one connected to my servers as I need more ports and would like do do LAG.

Can you recommend some small (space is an issue), virtually silent (office is right off the living room with no door) 12-16 port gigabit managed switches?

 

[CreoleLakerFan]

I have a couple of SG200 26 port models. They are "virtually silent" ... I have one in a closet just off the media room and when inside I cannot discern the noise of the SG200 over the CPU fan of mini-ITX server I have in there - I can't hear anything from the other room with the door shut.

The first time I bought new, the second I purchased used from ebay for ~$100.

**Edit**

I wouldn't describe them as "small" though - they are full rack-width. I also have a pair of SG300 10 port models which fit the "small" description, but they are not as quiet and they only come with 10 ports - the higher port-densities only come in rack width dimensions.

 

[Deslok]

most switches at 16 ports are going to have a fan and be rack sized, I know dell recently introduced their X10xx line which can be found around 250-300 new for a 18 port (16+2sfp) I don't know if it's fanless but it at least fits the small part

Although if space is an issue, and budget allows moving to 10gbe might make more sense than LAG

 

[JimPhreak]

most switches at 16 ports are going to have a fan and be rack sized, I know dell recently introduced their X10xx line which can be found around 250-300 new for a 18 port (16+2sfp) I don't know if it's fanless but it at least fits the small part

Although if space is an issue, and budget allows moving to 10gbe might make more sense than LAG

Nice find. That Dell X1018 is quite small and is indeed fanless. That could be a solid option.

 

[Deslok]

Nice find. That Dell X1018 is quite small and is indeed fanless. That could be a solid option.

Their stuff looks solid, I seriously considered it to upgrade my building's infrastructure last year but was overruled in favor of cisco for political reasons(some times upper management knows people, who cares if it costs 3x as much...)

 

[JimPhreak]

Their stuff looks solid, I seriously considered it to upgrade my building's infrastructure last year but was overruled in favor of cisco for political reasons(some times upper management knows people, who cares if it costs 3x as much...)

I hear you. I'm a Cisco guy I'll admit that but I'm certainly open to cheaper options especially when it comes to my home network.

Those X10's look pretty great. Can get the X1026 (also fanless) for $310 shipped. Not too bad.

 

[Blinky 42]

Older but the Juniper EX2200c is totally silent, 12port gig (2 can be SFP or Cu) switch that is fully managed, including management ethernet and serial ports.
No fans in it at all, and it doesn't need a wall wart / rug slug power supply. Basically square and built solid like a real enterprise switch.
Drawback is the management interface is slow and it take a while to boot up but once you have it up and running you probably don't need to adjust things too often. Worthwhile if you can get a deal on ebay for one (but not at list price).

 

[Dk3]

HP 1810-24G v2 is another alternative you may want to look into. 24gigabit port with 2sfp, limited lifetime warranty, L2 Managed, fanless with web GUI only. But its not small either. Unless you take up the 2x 8 port version which is smaller in size.

I personally run it in home and at most customers' small business site. No downtime so far.

 

[mstone]

GS716T sounds like it would meet your requirements pretty cheaply. Actually, for that matter, if you've been happy with the GS1* series so far, what are you looking for that the GS116Ev2 doesn't have?

 

[TechIsCool]

Mikrotik 24 ports switch has no fan CRS125-24G-1S

 

[Morgan Simmons]

HP 1810-24G v2 is another alternative you may want to look into. 24gigabit port with 2sfp, limited lifetime warranty, L2 Managed, fanless with web GUI only. But its not small either. Unless you take up the 2x 8 port version which is smaller in size.

I personally run it in home and at most customers' small business site. No downtime so far.

This is what I have at home and it's great. The Webui is also very responsive (unlike the cisco sg300's that I had used before)

 

[JimPhreak]

Thanks for all the suggestions everyone. Lot of good choices in this thread.

 

[RTM]

Mikrotik 24 ports switch has no fan CRS125-24G-1S

In addition to this, there's the newer CRS226 that should also be fanless, and has two 10G SFP+'s.

 

[JimPhreak]

In addition to this, there's the newer CRS226 that should also be fanless, and has two 10G SFP+'s.

Oh wow, SFP+ in a router under $300 that's pretty great. Considering I'll be moving to 10gig within the year that could really come in handy.

Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[Dk3]

Do take note that CRS226 has some LAG issue. Highly advise you to read up on its pro and cons.

 

[izx]

Do take note that CRS226 has some LAG issue. Highly advise you to read up on its pro and cons.

Just double-checking, but you do mean link aggregation and not literal lag, right?

 

[Dk3]

Just double-checking, but you do mean link aggregation and not literal lag, right?

It does not support standard LACP 802.3ad to be exact. I have 2 of these and left with no choice but to use it as failover switch.

Manual:CRS examples - MikroTik Wiki

 

[Pete L.]

Depending on what you plan on using the switch for I would avoid the Dell X10 series. I recently bought a x1052p for the POE and 10G SFP+ and have had nothing but issues with it. This is a new line for Dell and they have incorporated a new GUI and since it is supposed to be the best thing ever they also stripped out the CLI Functionality but yet you can't even set the Default Gateway ip through the GUI.

There are lots of bugs that make the GUI Less than ideal but once you get it configured (which can also be fun / inconsistent especially when it comes to VLANs) they do seem stable BUT there is another bug that does not show proper port utilization on the GUI as well as the information sent to remote apps like PRTG which is a major issue for us.

Personally I don't think that these are ready for any kind of a production network but they do have potential once they work out the bugs. So if you don't mind being their beta tester...

 

[JimPhreak]

Depending on what you plan on using the switch for I would avoid the Dell X10 series. I recently bought a x1052p for the POE and 10G SFP+ and have had nothing but issues with it. This is a new line for Dell and they have incorporated a new GUI and since it is supposed to be the best thing ever they also stripped out the CLI Functionality but yet you can't even set the Default Gateway ip through the GUI.

There are lots of bugs that make the GUI Less than ideal but once you get it configured (which can also be fun / inconsistent especially when it comes to VLANs) they do seem stable BUT there is another bug that does not show proper port utilization on the GUI as well as the information sent to remote apps like PRTG which is a major issue for us.

Personally I don't think that these are ready for any kind of a production network but they do have potential once they work out the bugs. So if you don't mind being their beta tester...

Thank you very much for this feedback as it's very helpful. I haven't chosen a switch yet but this gives me serious pause with regard to the Dell X10 series. It's a shame because physically they seem ideal for my needs.

 

[Patrick]

I think @virtualfng had a Dell X10 series switch where the first one he had experienced issues as well.

I do really like the idea of those switches, I may just wait for a few firmware revisions for it to sort everything out.