[SOLVED] Seeking a Level 3 Switch, RIP

[AJAshinoff]

I'm in the hunt for a managed switch that has level 3 RIP capability and port aggregation. The number of 1Gb ports can be as few as 5 but no more than 12 and if there is at least one 10G up-link port it would be most useful.

I've looked all around and there are many choices, many brand names and a wide variety of prices. To thoroughly look into each managed switch that meets our need would take hours, if not days.

Can anyone recommend via personal experience any devices that meet the criteria above? The preferenence is as below $1000 as possible without sacrificing quality.

Any input is appreciated. Thanks in advance

 

[AJAshinoff]

After hunting around for quite a while I managed to find a switch that should meet our needs. Because I posted for recommendations I figured to close the loop bu posting what I'm close to settling on.

Approximately $800
Cisco WS-C3560CX-12PD-S Catalyst 3560-CX 12 Port PoE 10G Uplinks IP Switch
12 100/1000 ports and 2 uplink ports for 10G.

If anyone has an real world experience with these boxes please let me know.

 

[kanewolf]

I'm in the hunt for a managed switch that has level 3 RIP capability and port aggregation. The number of 1Gb ports can be as few as 5 but no more than 12 and if there is at least one 10G up-link port it would be most useful.

I've looked all around and there are many choices, many brand names and a wide variety of prices. To thoroughly look into each managed switch that meets our need would take hours, if not days.

Can anyone recommend via personal experience any devices that meet the criteria above? The preferenence is as below $1000 as possible without sacrificing quality.

Any input is appreciated. Thanks in advance

Are you looking for a LAYER 3 rather than level 3 switch?

 

[AJAshinoff]

Are you looking for a LAYER 3 rather than level 3 switch?

Mis-typed/Mis-thought. Even so I don't think it took away from anyone understanding what I was after. And yes, OSI layer 3.

I do think that Cisco I mentioned above fits the bill. I need to look a little more into it though. It is layer 3 and it does RIP-1 and RIP-2 but a quick glace didn't specifically reveal anything about port aggregation, another necessity.

 

[kanewolf]

Mis-typed/Mis-thought. Even so I don't think it took away from anyone understanding what I was after. And yes, OSI layer 3.

I do think that Cisco I mentioned above fits the bill. I need to look a little more into it though. It is layer 3 and it does RIP-1 and RIP-2 but a quick glace didn't specifically reveal anything about port aggregation, another necessity.

Have you looked at the MikroTik switches ? https://mikrotik.com/products/group/switches
For example -- https://mikrotik.com/product/CRS326-24G-2SplusRM Since this will boot the routerOS as well as switchOS it is fully layer 3.

 

[AJAshinoff]

Have you looked at the MikroTik switches ? https://mikrotik.com/products/group/switches
For example -- https://mikrotik.com/product/CRS326-24G-2SplusRM Since this will boot the routerOS as well as switchOS it is fully layer 3.

I've come across them. I've heard good things about them. I need very few ports, 3 actually, so it doesn't make much sense spending too much. Even so, the dependence of those three connections is critical so a brand with adependable reputation factors heavily.

 

[kanewolf]

I've come across them. I've heard good things about them. I need very few ports, 3 actually, so it doesn't make much sense spending too much. Even so, the dependence of those three connections is critical so a brand with adependable reputation factors heavily.

Your power source is probably lower availability than the hardware. Considering that you could buy two MikroTik and keep a hot spare, for the cost of the Cisco you have to decide it the brand name is worthwhile.

 

[AJAshinoff]

Yes, and in this case I think it is. Quite literally if this switch has issues it impacts everyone and everything (70+ end-users, 11 servers, dozens of printers). I may pickup a MikroTik just to place it somewhere of less importance while I get a better feel for its reliability. The Eastern Europeans bring their own challenges but aren't nearly as volatile as China right now (and I wouldn't be at all surprised if MicroTik and Cisco were both manufactured in China).

 

[kanewolf]

Yes, and in this case I think it is. Quite literally if this switch has issues it impacts everyone and everything (70+ end-users, 11 servers, dozens of printers). I may pickup a MikroTik just to place it somewhere of less importance while I get a better feel for its reliability. The Eastern Europeans bring their own challenges but aren't nearly as volatile as China right now (and I wouldn't be at all surprised if MicroTik and Cisco were both manufactured in China).

My work has moved all our mission critical infrastructure to Juniper. We were a big Cisco shop. We probably had 2 dozen 6500 series switches. They are all being replaced with Juniper.
A C9200 is where I would look for a Cisco now. They have hot swap redundant power supplies and hot swap fans. That C3560CX does NOT look like a mission critical switch to me. And did I miss the requirement for POE? The PD switch is the POE version.