Sugestion for 24 port switch and router

Hello awesome forum :)

I am helping my friend with computers, his need is to connect 20 PC's to network.

Can you please suggest good switch and router for good price? 

If any questions, let me know :)

I have found MikroTik Routers and Switches, are they good?

I think they are using some kind of RouterOS is it good?

http://routerboard.com/ this is website. You can check and let me know model number. If MikroTik are good and reliable.

 

Thanks!

 

 

I have used exclusively Cisco switches. So I recommend them. But take that with a grain of salt.

Maybe you can suggest some concrete models? 

I've found Zyxel switches to be very capable and cheap. Their GS1910 is a very capable switch for affordable price (GSX have 10Gbe uplink). GS1900 is cheaper but less options. As you want an router I guess you don't need routing capability on your switch, although the GS1910 have some capability there. I usually don't do routing on my switches, too much headache in the long run. Sure if you have an endless budget and everything you have is Cisco, but usually I'm on much tighter budget than that.

Mikrotik has some interesting hardware, problem is their RouterOS (linux with proprietary stuff in it). You have to rely on them for security patches etc. I like to have full control over my routers, running OpenWrt etc. Seems some people have had success running OpenWrt with limited functionality on some Mikrotik stuff, but I'd rather have something more open.

What is difference Zyxel GS1910 and Zyxel XGS1910 just 10Gb ports? for X model?

And maybe you can also suggest router from Zyxel

Incoming internet Modem -> Reuther -> Switch -> Many PC's :)

Check out the Ubiquiti models, they aren't cheap but they deliver great performance http://www.ubnt.com/edgemax/edgeswitch/

What you guys would say for 

http://www.ubnt.com/edgemax/edgerouter-pro/  --> Ubiquiti ERPro-8

And

http://www.ubnt.com/edgemax/edgeswitch/  --> Ubiquiti ES-24-250W

 

What do you say?

 Or go with Zyxel because lot cheaper?

 Will I see any difference Zyxel vs Ubiquiti?

I have used several Mikrotik devices, RouterOS is nice, The Dude is a very nice utility awesome name.

Watch out with buying used Cisco switches as a lot of the good deals on eBay are really just good for lab use. A lot are older Fast Ethernet switches that do not support Gigabit speeds. 

Couple questions:

  1. Do you want gigabit?
  2. Do you want one device (ie: router+switch in one box)?

The best quality gear for the money is generally used Cisco and Juniper stuff. If you don't need gigabit you can find previous-generation layer 3 switches for only a couple hundred. If you do want gigabit it'll need to be relatively recent gear but there are still good deals out there. Here's some common 24 port models to start your search off (these all come in 48 port too, just change the 24 to 48 in the model number):

Cisco:

  • Catalyst 3560 Series (eg: WS-C3560-24TS) - Not gigabit
  • Catalyst 3560G Series (eg: WS-C3560G-24TS)
  • Catalyst 2960X Series (eg: WS-C2960X-24TS) - Not layer 3
  • Catalyst 2960XR Series (eg: WS-C2960XR-24TS)

Juniper:

  • EX2200 Series (eg: EX2200-24T-4G)
  • EX4200 Series (eg: EX4200-24T)

If you really want new gear I'd suggest Ubiquiti. I personally don't like their switches but they do work and the price is good.

  1. I definitely need gigabit.
  2. And for router and switch I want separately.

I wanted to ask, why you do not like Ubiquiti?

Cisco and Juniper they are awesome, but prices are high for me.

So I think I will stick, with Ubiquiti, if all is ok.

Routher ->Ubiquiti ERPro-8

Switch ->Ubiquiti ES-24-250W

Will they be ok? How it will be with setup, will it work plug in and go, of course enter ISP IP's and enable DHCP?

I would only consider Ubiquiti switches if I needed PoE. All their stuff seems to have PoE, that makes them kinda expensive.

Not to be harsh here but I get the feeling you aren't an expert either. I'm saying this because neither router OS nor Ubiquiti are interfaces for the novice. Neither are items that work out of the box like most things.

This is stuff that does nothing until you give it specific orders to do specific tasks. Ubiquiti is a bit easier but it's nowhere near most routers you can buy. They are not Plug n Play. They do not have a default template that sets up most stuff automatically.

Second do you need PoE?

Like I mentioned before not to bash here but most stuff I've seen coming by aren't the easiest to set up.

At Home I have a Netgear ProSAFE 24 port gigabit switch and a 8 port POE switch. They both have very basic managed functions such as vlan and link aggregation which is the reason I choose them. I currently Link aggregate 2 ports to my server, 2 ports to the 8 Port POE switch and 2 ports to my workstation.

These are all connected to a home made PFsense router and a ubiquity AP. Works well for me and has been running for 2 years straight without powering off (the switches). Everything has been super reliable and if I didnt tinker so much many of the other things would be running with that uptime as well.

This system connects 11 PC computers together in my house and 4 IP cameras along with 4 phones and 3 tablets. It uses very little power the UPS currently says 3 hours run time for the router, Wireless AP, The 24 port switch, the 8 Port POE switch and a NAS dedicated to the IP cameras. The server is on another dedicated UPS.

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