All switches in this install were managed switches. For our purposes, we didn't need managed in the classroom. We had to use switches in the classroom as there was only a single connection per room. We needed managed in the server closet so we could find the printers and each client in individual rooms. Too bad the switches only had web gui tools. Command line is easier to script with than having to craft a pile of screen scrapers. Note: what ever switch goes in the classroom it should be SILENT! The rackmount monsters we had would horribly loud and I felt they disrupted the classroom. I had scripts that required knowledge of where each client was to set things like default printer. Also wanted to do some hacking on the teacher-tool and make it useable in the large-scale environment so teacher A could not accidentally (or otherwise) observe or control a student in room B. Was also looking at things like having teacher set "preferred application sets" so floating teachers could get their specialty app and block distraction apps by loging in and requesting their "setup" in their new room. The system would then unset automagically when that teacher logged out of that classroom. Stuff like that. with a managed switch you can track what mac is on what port plus other stupid network tricks.. That lets finding a wayward client easy. The clients on my project had a bar code with the mac address so we had a list of all them. <div class="gmail_quote">On Tue, Feb 28, 2012 at 5:12 PM, Joseph Bishay <<a href="mailto:joseph.bishay@gmail.com">joseph.bishay@gmail.com</a>> wrote: <blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"> Hello, <div class="im">On Tue, Feb 28, 2012 at 5:02 PM, Jim Kinney <<a href="mailto:jim.kinney@gmail.com">jim.kinney@gmail.com</a>> wrote: > server w/ x4 1Gb nics bonded -> 24 port switch w/ each port to a classroom > (20) -> 1Gb uplink port in classroom switch with 10-12 clients plus teacher > and printer </div>So this is a very similar setup we have, except that every network jack in each classroom has been "run home" back to the network room so there's no need for the switches in each classroom. In your example, is the switch a managed or unmanaged switch? I guess this is where I'm stuck. It appears to me in that case you described, there is not a need for a managed switch. Or am I missing something? Thank you Joseph <div class="HOEnZb"><div class="h5"> _______________________________________________ K12OSN mailing list <a href="mailto:K12OSN@redhat.com">K12OSN@redhat.com</a> <a href="https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/k12osn" target="_blank">https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/k12osn</a> For more info see <<a href="http://www.k12os.org" target="_blank">http://www.k12os.org</a>> </div></div></blockquote></div> -- -- James P. Kinney III As long as the general population is passive, apathetic, diverted to consumerism or hatred of the vulnerable, then the powerful can do as they please, and those who survive will be left to contemplate the outcome. - 2011 Noam Chomsky <a href="http://heretothereideas.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">http://heretothereideas.blogspot.com/</a>