yeah.... The price difference between switch install and never touch again and switch install plus replace every so often is about the cost of diagnostic time for a single outage from a failed switch. A 24 port Gig switch with management that costs less than $1k is a pretty low end pile of hardware. Yes, it can push 1000Mbps but not across all ports at the same time 5days a week for 8 hours a day. That said, I've used Dell and 3Com gear for years with no problems. I've used netgear as a disposable test-rig setup or for my personal stuff where professional uptime is not being measured. I'm not a Cisco fan as their price far exceeds their value. <div class="gmail_quote">On Tue, Feb 28, 2012 at 12:03 PM, John Oligario <<a href="mailto:john@oligario.us">john@oligario.us</a>> wrote: <blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"> What would you rather have, a solid network or pulling a switch out every few months? <div class="HOEnZb"><div class="h5"> -----Original Message----- From: <a href="mailto:k12osn-bounces@redhat.com">k12osn-bounces@redhat.com</a> [mailto:<a href="mailto:k12osn-bounces@redhat.com">k12osn-bounces@redhat.com</a>] On Behalf Of Les Mikesell Sent: Tuesday, February 28, 2012 7:48 AM To: Support list for open source software in schools. Subject: Re: [K12OSN] Recommendations for gigabit switches? On Tue, Feb 28, 2012 at 8:23 AM, Jeff Siddall <<a href="mailto:news@siddall.name">news@siddall.name</a>> wrote: > On 02/27/2012 12:18 PM, Jim Kinney wrote: >> >> Don't go cheap on the high port count portions. Netgear looks great >> but tends to buckle under load. Cisco is solid but $$$$$$$$$! ouch! > > > I used Netgear ProSafe smart switches, not because they are great but > because they are cheap and they stand behind them with a lifetime warranty. > Good thing too because I have RMA'd a few of them! > > Bottom line is you won't likely find a better 24 port gig smart switch > for ~$200, or a better 24 port PoE smart switch (12 PoE ports) for ~$250. > > Be aware they don't have a CLI but the web interface is OK for > infrequent use. > > I have a GE connected servers, some GE clients and a bunch of FE > clients and never had any performance issues. > > I am not saying you should buy Netgear, just that there is at least > one person out there that has used them successfully in an LTSP environment. I've used some older Dell GB switches that have been reliable. But, for this scale you could probably use the kind that have a couple of GBIC connections and daisy-chain the gig link from the server to switch to switch with the rest of the switch ports at 100M. -- Les Mikesell <a href="mailto:lesmikesell@gmail.com">lesmikesell@gmail.com</a> _______________________________________________ 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>> _______________________________________________ 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>