eBay Impulse Buy

[jamesbond007]

Hey guys! I'm a *HUGE* Cisco nut and I am moving in with a couple friends. One of them has a Cisco router we're going to hook up to a cable modem so I decided I needed a matching rackmount Cisco switch to go along with it.

I made the mistake of going to eBay and there was a Cisco Catalyst 5000 series switch for a crazy price. I bid on it with 90 seconds to go. I won! Shipping is $140 to my neck of the woods, but even if it works, I figure the experience is great. I took some CCNA courses back in high school, but never took the exam, so I figured when I finish college next spring, I will aim to get that certification.

Link to auction.

Did I buy a piece of junk? I did some quick searching on the web about the server engine board and that goes for ~$400 for a refurb. I am still looking up the capabilities of the unit, too. We have a Cisco 2600 series router that we're setting this up to.

If it's a crazy good deal, I don't mean to brag. I just wanted some other geeks' input!

Thanks,
~Travis

 

[Safeway]

It's probably a good deal. I bet that thing was mega-bucks when it was first released.

 

[Kelemvor]

I don't know about that one but assuming it works it looks OK.

I have one of these at home that's brand new and only been plugged in once or twice. It was too loud for what I wanted to use it for so it's just sitting around. Never bothered to play around with it and see what it can do.

 

[BrianH1]

i have no idea what you are talking about, but it sounds like you should have spent the money on booze.

 

[pontifex]

what do you need a switch for? do you have that many computers to have a need for it?

 

[jamesbond007]

Originally posted by: Kelemvor
I don't know about that one but assuming it works it looks OK.

I have one of these at home that's brand new and only been plugged in once or twice. It was too loud for what I wanted to use it for so it's just sitting around. Never bothered to play around with it and see what it can do.

That switch probably would have been all the more we needed, but probably a 24 port would be better. (you figure 3 geeks with 6 ethernet devices each....do the math. )

The rack will most likely be in my closet, too, but I don't mind the noise of fans. I use to have a dual AMD AthlonMP rig that had a pair of 6000RPM deltas. I never had problems sleeping, but trying to hear the TV was a challenge at times. Personal fact of the day: my mom use to put me to sleep when I was little by vacuuming next to my crib.

 

[JRich]

Originally posted by: pontifex
what do you need a switch for? do you have that many computers to have a need for it?

2

 

[everman]

I wonder how much heat it generates, and power consumption?

 

[jamesbond007]

Originally posted by: pontifex
what do you need a switch for? do you have that many computers to have a need for it?

Yes, we typically throw LAN parties. You can figure at least 12 connections will be used all the time for various file servers/domain controllers/VoIP stuff/etc. The best part is I can add a gigE board to this or another 10/100 board for more simple connectivity.