[Pc_Support] Dell PowerConnect Web-Managed Switches, starting at $76 ...

[Bryan J. Smith]

There are a number of people that are considering GbE switches these
days.  Before you buy a cheap switch, you might want to consider these
"entry level" web-managed switches from Dell.  The 8-port starts at
$76.

http://www.dell.com/content/products/compare.aspx/small_workgroup_gig

What you get is:
- RMON statistics
- 802.3ad Link Aggregation (higher throughput/failover)
- 802.1q VLAN support and Jumbo Frames
- Port mirroring (up to 4 source ports, great for diag/IDS)
- Basic priority queues (up to 4 levels)

What you don't get that you typically get from a managed switch includes:
- RS232 Console Port (the button resets to a fixed IP)
- SNMP support
- 802.1d Spanning Tree

In other words, these things are great for the small office (up to 24
users, possibly almost 50 with two switches), but you don't want to
put these things in a medium-sized business (e.g., 25+ users,
definitely 50+).  I'd rather start with at least a NetGear 73xx series
in those cases (if not something better).

For an "enthusiasts" home network, the $76 entry-level 8-port is not
much more than a "dumb" 8-port GbE switch, and definitely a step up.
The web-based management works with Firefox under Linux too.