Question Please help me diagnose this network switch problem

[Caveman]

Per subject, facts surrounding the problem:

1) 1GB connection via ATT for last 3 years. No real issues per se traceable to their equipment until last week when they claimed my upload speed was slow due to an outdated modem/router. Changed out and the upload DID improve from 65 to 900+Mbps. Interesting...

2) The original 16 port unmanaged switch worked for about 3 years and seemed to get buggier and buggier... Needed to reset more and more often by powering off, moving the single input port to another port (4 available) and then plugged power back in. This seemed to reset the switch to make all the other ports feeding 2 other routers in the house work correctly. When I had to do this daily, I bought a new switch and the issue went away other than the occasional reset required every fee months or something assumed to be upstream of the switch...

3) New NetGear 16 port unmanaged switch worked for the past year or so and is starting to do the same annoying behavior requiring a reset.

So... Sledgehammer approach is get a new switch. Any recommendations on a good, reliable 16 port bare bones switch brand/model number? Maybe there's something else going on... Is it possible, one (or both) of the routers being fed by the switch are are defective and feeding a bunch of trash packets back to the switch and corrupting it somehow? I read about something called a "packet storm"... perhaps this is an issue?

Thoughts?

 

[Tech Junky]

First thing I look for is a metal case on switches. Durability and acts as a heat sink when under load.

I've used a few different makes over the years and just consolidated everything into a diy router using a PC and Linux. I put a quad port nic inside and maor other devices are WiFi. I have a couple of things plugged into it though at this point like my AP, OTA tuner and the ISP gateway.

Switches tend to either work or not though.

 

[mxnerd]

Power adapters problem (defective/degrading/poor quality)? Unstable electricity problem?

Maybe a UPS (don't know if all models/brands come with voltage stabilizer) will solve the issues?

 

[JackMDS]

If you need less than 16 ports get two 8 ports (you loose one or two ports on the additional inter connection)

Two 8 ports cost less that one 10 ports, and usually hold longer.

Example: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09PGWRVSL/




.

 

[mindless1]

Are they located in an environment causing them to run hot?

The situation has gotten better with the newer generations of "green" switches, that use less power and produce less heat, but by far the most common fault I've had in passively cooled consumer grade switches is the electrolytic capacitors in them fail.

Put in new, higher quality capacitors, and none have failed again... except for the 2nd most common problem, the AC/DC adapters, also have capacitors in them that fail but usually last longer than those in the switch.

3rd most common fault is probably power surges. That could damage anything but I've seen them take out one port at a time.

Heat is the main enemy. You could put a fan on it but instead, one thing I commonly do once they are out of warranty, is pop the top cover off, use a ruler to draw a criss cross grid, and put in a grid of vent holes on a drill press. That makes a lot more difference than just choosing a metal cased switch. I haven't really noticed that much longer lifespan based on which material the case was made of.

When I'm feeling ambitious enough to repair the AC adapters, I also put some vent holes in their casing while split apart. This is only worthwhile if you have a bench vice to hold it while you force the sealed seam open (few these days have casing held together only by screws), and happen to have suitable capacitors already. Otherwise adapters cost less than switches, so I buy spares ready to use if the network goes down due to an adapter failure, or router, or external HDD, etc... several consumer grade computing devices use similar adapters as long as you get the barrel plug size right and equal to or higher current rating.

Added vent holes example on an old router. Don't think I have pics of the switches.

https://forums.anandtech.com/attachments/router_vent_holes-jpg.58266/

 

[fkoehler]

Per subject, facts surrounding the problem:



Thoughts?

Keep playing wack-a-mole every few years, or try a more reliable brand.
Can't personally vouch for these however Cisco has a decent reliability record with their switches, even SMB.
Pretty simply config to put all the ports on the same VLAN to work like an unmanaged switch.

cisco 16 port gigabit switch for sale | eBay

Get the best deals for cisco 16 port gigabit switch at eBay.com. We have a great online selection at the lowest prices with Fast & Free shipping on many items!

www.ebay.com

Note- Make sure if you buy one it includes the PSU. Tracing one down is a pain. I ended up building my own from a bare frame PSU rated at 40% greater wattage for $20-25.

 

[Fallen Kell]

If you are thinking of going the Cisco route, you might as well consider going the Brocade route and go for a ICX 6450 and get a 24 port 1Gbe + 4x 10Gbps SFP+ ports while you are at it for around $125. Benefit is that it is ~25W for the non-PoE 24port versions and can be made virtually silent.

 

[Caveman]

Thank you all. I'm a total network noob and learned a lot just by reading the responses...

Some more info... The single drop that feeds the 16 port switch routes to 12 wall drops; 2 of the most remote drops have routers connected to them.

Regarding heat and AC power supply... Yes, heat may be an issue though I always keep the in-wall smart panel open (used to try to close it). Max ambient temp near panel is 75F in the summer. Heat is something I'll keep my eye on, but I don't think that's the issue. Will consider vent holes.

As far as AC Power... yep, it's time to swap out the power strip in the smart box as it's probably been jazzed by lightening a few times at least... That will eliminate one variable. Because the unit is in a smart panel, it would be very difficult to use a UPS.

The idea of using 2 8-port units is intriguing... I did not consider that option. I think there are 12 drops total. Do I just feed one switch from the modem/router, and then just connect the other bank of 8 ports with a short jumper?

 

[Fallen Kell]

With a 2 switch design+router it really depends on your network usage and needs. Yes, you can feed the modem/router to one switch and then run a cable to the other switch from the first (technically it requires a cross-over cable for this, but almost all modern devices auto-sense this now and you can just use a normal cable). The main downside of this is that all the people on the second switch will be limited to the single connection back to the other switch. This might not be an issue, or it could be a serious bottleneck if you have several people/devices doing a lot of network activity especially if you have a local NAS that something is reading/writing to while something else is streaming something from the internet. But if most things are just connecting to the internet and you don't expect to need more than 1Gbps and/or only are using a single device at a time, or the items all on the second switch do not require much bandwidth, you will be fine with a 2 switch design.

 

[fkoehler]

2 switches now gives you 2 points of possible failure.
That Brocade Fallen Kell mentioned is definately going to meet your needs and then some for a good while. If 10g come out, you'll be able to upgrade without requiring new h/w.
Plus its going to be Enterprise-quality.
eBay starts at $75, and I'm kicking myself for going with the Cisco SMB.