HP 2920 (or 2930F/M) vs Dell 6248 for stacking?

[markm75]

I have a generic thread about some networking woes i have run into and the upgrade path i'm doing over here however i thought it best now that i'm focused on a few approaches to ask around regarding these switches.

I've pretty much settled on going with the pro curve 2920, or maybe the 2930M (newer tech and can stack more than 4 in a stack).. but i also came across the dell 6248 (poe and non poe) that looks promising though older tech (all of these for the most part i'm looking at refurb pricing, for non poe around $800-$1100 max per switch).

The minimum goal is a stack of 4, then connected into that 3 other switches (star config basically).. we have too many ports by design (192) with 72 poe for phones and 75 server/hardware ports.. at first i was thinking of doing all 7 in one stack, but to possibly save on stacking module costs, i think it best to maybe limit it to 4.

Anyone have any experience with these models and can comment on why i'd choose one over the other. The dell is tempting because there are often refurb prices out there that can be low in cost.

I'm particularly interested in hearing how the dell stacks up.. cant find much on this..or if it also has a lifetime warranty.

Thanks in advance

 

[markm75]

Here was some basic data i found on at least the HPs..

I think by true stacking this means having the ability to trunk ports from different switches to servers (multi-homing redundancy)

HP 2920:
(J9729A 48 port POE version and J9728A 48 port regular)
-Throughput 130.9 Mpps ( same as the forwarding spec on the dell)
-can stack 4 in a group
-SFP stacking modules needed, price around $220 refurb, each one 10 Gbps, with 4 switches the whole set is at 40 Gbps
-512MB memory
-flash 1GB
-Tri Core ARM1176 @ 625 MHz
-layer3
*stacking module J9733A $220
-Pricing: POE+: $1160 refurb Non-POE: $793 refurb (unsure on retailer warranty, 30 days)

HP 2930F
(48 port POE JL262A, 48 port regular? L254A)
-can stack 4 in a group (software stacking, not hardware like the 2920 and 2930M)
-front plane stacking, uses standard cables, limited to the uplink speed of the model you buy, cant change (1gb, 10gb, *?or 40?)
-layer3
Price: $995 new non pe ?? $1500 POE new?

HP 2930M
(JL322A 48 port POE or JL321A 48 port regular)
-can stack 9 in a group
-stacking modules needed JL325A each at 10 Gbps, price $795 (new, no refurbs out there), puts this model out of our price range
-uplinks max of 40 Gbe
-optional dual power supply
-1GB memory
-4GB emmc
-Dual COre ARM 1016 MHz
-layer3
-Pricing: $4221 POE (out of the range for us), $4195 non POE

hp 5406R might be another alternative which appears to come more modular with tons of ports..
$1500


**in any of these, it seems you can add/remove switches WITHOUT bringing down the whole stack, only time it does go down is on a firmware update

price wise, really the HP 2920 and Dell are the only ones in range at around $5k to $8k for 7 switches and maybe the 2930F (though slightly more)


Dell 6248
(Dell 6248P is the POE version)
-can stack 12, truly stackable?
-might date back to 2008 unsure
-4 SFP combo ports
-48Gbps stacking modules ($70ish) available
-10 Gigabit uplink modules
-Capacity 184 Gb/s
-Forwarding rate 131 Mpps (unsure what this means)
-256MB of cpu ram
-32MB flash memory
-Layer 2 through 4?
Pricing Refurb: $875 (POE) and $700 (non poe)

Seems that the dell's specs in terms of horsepower may lag behind the times a bit


Alternative non stacking options to pair with say 4 stacked HP's (2920s) might be.. layer2..

HP 2530
**optional 10gb models or modules? (SFP+)
-382 watt power
-can stack virtually
J9855A 48 port NON POE + 2SFP+ (avg price new is $945?)
J9853A 48 port POE+ 2SFP+ (avg price new is $1500?)
J9781A 48 port NON POE, 1gbit uplink? (avg price new is $799)
J9778A 48 port POE+, 1gbit uplink? (avg price new is $1500)

HP 2540
-listed as "ioT ready, cloud manageable"
-virtual stack ability?
JL355A 48 port 4SFP+ (avg price new is $2300?)
JL357A 48 port POE 4SFP+ 370 watt (avg price new is $2800?)

 

[markm75]

Spoke to CDW reps today..

They recommended going with 2530's as the other "three" switches that arent stacked (unless i decide i want to stack them later, in which case they need be 2920s).. downside is that they are limited to 1gb uplinks i think (maybe ok, unsure)..
Alternatively I could go with a 2540 which supports 10gbit..

so it would become 2920's x 4 in a core stacked and then two 2530 POE + one 2530 non poe to fill the need.. I may also be able to knock one switch off this list bringing it to 6 total needed (4 + 2).