Cisco vs HP vs. Dell infrastructure Solutions

[nightowl]

CatOS is the older Cisco switch OS it has a completely different command structure from IOS. Also this Cisco page talks about the available gigabit hardware that supports POE 802.3af.

 

[beatmix01]

I was originally thinking POE for here, however, the current budget does not allow for it.

You just cannot upgrade you servers, network infrastructure, client PCs, backup, bring on a DB consultant, and get all the proper licensing for 100k.

 

[Garion]

Time to throw my two cents in...

In most cases, I'd say that there's not much point in gigabit to the desktop. Given that your organization is heavy into video, there's some argument to doing so.

A couple of things I noticed here..

1: Don't mess with any L3 switching. Doing L3 complicates things and will force you into more expensive gear that you don't need.

2: You have no need for multiple VLANS - I usually don't recommend multiple subnets until you get to about 100 IP's.

3: Just like the old days of IBM, "Nobody got fired for buying Cisco", but it's a very expensive solution. If you're looking to make a name for yourself there, do it right, but do it cheaply.

4: Does EVERYONE really need gigabit? How about the secretaries, the purchasing guy, etc. Reality is, 90% of all users would still run without problems at 10Mb/s, 99% at 100Mb/s. For the non-hardcore users, they won't even notice the difference between 100Mb/s and Gigabit.

5: This discussion of which switches can forward all ports at wire rate is very interesting, but reality is that you'll probably only have a couple of servers that can each handle at most 400Mb/s. Even if the switch only had a 2Gb/s backplane, you'd still never max it out.

6: Think about who is going to run this in the future. Will it be you? Do you need the extra bells and whistles? Example: Do you need a manged switch when you could get away with an unmanaged one and save $1,200?

7: HP has always been at the bottom of my list for networking gear. I'd rather buy D-Link.

OK, enough of my ramblings. Here's what I'd do.

Get a single, 24-port 10/100/1000 switch. For bang-for-the-buck, Dell is hard to beat. They are now selling one of these (unmanaged - PowerConnectd 2624) for less than $500. While you're at it, get one of their PowerConnect 2324 (24 10/100's and 2 1000BaseT's) for $180 plus a bunch of new patch cables.

Connect your firewall and servers into the gigabit switch. Use a single gigabit uplink cable between the 2324 and the 2624 to connect them together. That should leave you ~20 gig ports for your power users and 24 100BaseT ports for your normal users. Gets you in under $700, leaving you plenty of budget left over for that big NAS device you're going to need for storage for those videos..

Now, I know that a lot of the hardcore network guys will scream that I'm recommending Dell gear. Mostly, it's price. For the cost of the Cisco or HP, you can buy several of the Dell switches. If this one breaks in three years, replace it with what's current and you're still coming out way ahead. It should run your network fine. Your VOIP planning might require you to replace all this with something more current anyhow, so there's no reason to spend a huge amount of cash on it now.

Lastly.. The one thing I haven't seen mentioned is your cable plant. Is it Cat5 or greater, done right? Terminated, certified, the whole works? If not, forget gigabit. Given that you're running on 10BaseT hubs now, your plant is probably at least 7 years old. If so, it's going to be marginal. This might be worthy of some investigation (or try to lure some of the cable pros in here to add their two cents in - ScottMac mutters about cables in his sleep and has been doing so since before I was born, I'm sure, based on how much he knows).

- G

 

[beatmix01]

I am pretty sure that the cabling we have is Cat5e and yes it is all terminated properly. As far as my eye can tell. I know Dell financially is the way to go, but I find it so hard to stack them up to other vendors when they have really only been in the networking arena since 2001 and have not become agressive until recently.

Is this review of the PowerConnect Switches Reliable? Text

 

[Boscoh]

That's a comarison that Dell payed them to do ("commissioned"). Always take those for what they're worth. I've never seen many where the company that paid for the comparison ended up losing the comparison.

I dont know about the performance numbers. Since you're not going to be getting full wire-speed performance out of most desktop computers, having top-of-the-line performance on switches connected to users and *most* servers is not a critical requirement. On aggregation switches, and core switches...that's another story. All I know is our dell 52xx gig switches have never bottlenecked our speed, and they've never failed us. We've had 'em for almost 2 years now.

Quite a few people here recommend Dell switches, and quite a few of those people work with big-name high-end switches and routers every day. Dell's are pretty solid and great switches for the money, and I dont think many people who are in-the-know and do this stuff for a living are going to dispute that claim.

 

[spidey07]

dell switches are fine if you just need a switch.

Where the others (cisco, foundary, extreme) come into play is features and very robust ones at that especially in the layer3/4 routing control, QoS and traffic manipulation. It is true that with today's traffic patterns you're never gonna come close to running out of backplane...I mean think about it - all the traffic goes to a server.

 

[beatmix01]

I just got a whole lot of information from Dell on their PowerConnect 3348,5524, 6024 (including pricing)

The 3348 is a 10/100 48port
The 5524 is a 10/100/1000 24port
The 6024 is a 10/100/1000 24port Layer 3 Switch

I put together the following:

Dell 3348/6024 network and it falls $6,800 less than the cisco solution above.
Dell 5524/6024 network and it falls $4,700 less than the cisco solution above. (Full Gigabit solution.)

Makes it very tempting.

 

[cmetz]

beatmix01, I use the 3348/3324 switches a lot. Good boxes. I've used a 5512 also, it's fine too. No idea on the 6024, but check to see if it's a Marvell chipset - I'm hearing lots of reports that the Marvell switch chipsets have issues. (the 33xx series is based on a Broadcom chipset, think the 55xx is too)

You could always use 3348s for edge switches and pull 2x1000BaseT links to an Extreme Summit 48si (best choice or a Cisco 3750. For straight switches, the Dells are hard to beat, it's when you start talking L3 features that I'd be more conservative.

 

[Agamar]

If you are going with Dell equipment, and plan on saving a lot of money, get the best they offer. That way your switches will stay current much longer. I have only used one 24 port Dell switch (I have mostly used Cisco and HP), but it has been solid with 2 years of running and no problems.

 

[beatmix01]

I was doing some research and found out that the company dell uses to manufacture their switches is Delta Networking, apparently the same company that manufactures HP and 3com gear.