Which smart switch? HP V1910 vs. NetgearGS724T-300NAS? (Went with the HP V1910)

[MichaelD]

I decided to go with the HP V1910. Though this is a rebadged 3Com switch, it will carry HPs lifetime warranty and hopefully, long-term support. The Netgear doesn't have a dedicated console port (neither serial nor RJ45) and that scared me a little bit. If something were to go wrong with the webserver for the management pages, there's no way to get into the switch. Not sure if the HP will be $49 better (Netgear's MIR makes the final price $49 cheaper than the HP), but I have a bit of peace of mind going with HP. Thanks to all who offered advice and shared their knowledge!
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Essentially, I need a rackmount, smart switch under $300 that supports 802.3ad (LCAP). After doing some reading I've narrowed the choices down to these two switches:

Netgear GS724T-300NAS
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...Tpk=GS724T-300

HP V1910-16G
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16833316177

Both are gigabit, both have GBIC uplink ports available. The Netgear is 24-port vs. HP's 16. Honestly, I only need about 8 ports, but the future expansion capability is nice on the Netgear. Also, and this is a biggie, there's currently a $75 MIR on the Netgear which would make the Netgear $49 cheaper than the HP.

BOTH currently offer a lifetime warranty. So that is a non-factor.

As far as I can tell they both offer the same feature set. Which one to choose for my office of 30 people, and why? Thanks!

 

[theevilsharpie]

Although I don't have any experience with that particular model Netgear switch, I've used their higher-end PoE switches. I found their interface to be clunky, and the interface response was so slow that I wondered if they had locked up. The model that I used lacked a console port, which made it rather easy to lock myself out when setting up VLANs.

I have used the HP (well, 3com) switch in question, and although it didn't really stand out in any way, I didn't have any complaints with it. My only quibble is that the maximum password length is rather short.

 

[m1ldslide1]

I wouldn't recommend the HPV series, the HIV series, or the really anything in the STD line of switching platforms.

 

[cmetz]

MichaelD, neither.

Netgear - go read reviews of their smart switches, the web UI crashing/locking up is a common complaint. In my personal experience, Netgear has not provided even SOHO-grade technical support and has not honored their hardware warranties. So I would only choose Netgear if every other option was just as bad and they were a lot cheaper.

HP's H3C products - Huawei are cheap Chinese cloners who stole from Cisco to get started, and 3Com is a long defunct Ethernet vendor who had been milking their name for many years. The marriage of the two produced many ugly offspring. HP bought 3Com (and through that H3C) and has managed the integration as well as every other recent acquisition - that is, they are so busy failing at the board and executive level that they can't help but fail at the details of these integrations. HP's switches that they made themselves are quite decent, but their acquisition 3Com/H3C switches I'd be very afraid of.

SMC - used to be good. Imploded, as far as I can tell.

D-Link - I've heard good things, but they sure have disappeared in the market too. They do make "smart" switches, may be worth a try. I've had some decent luck with SOHO gear they've made recently.

Linksys - Cisco bought them, synergy never happened. Cisco just can't do consumer, they don't get consumer. I've heard bad things about their SOHO grade switches as well as their small business grade switches. And they certainly carry the Cisco price premium. (Cisco's real switches are good these days, though)

Dell - Their smart switches used to suck, I've witnessed many management UI lock-ups and their tech-support is... well, "award winning" is certainly the most polite phrase I can think of (we won't discuss in a polite forum what awards they deserve). I don't know if their current 28xx series are any better. The 27xx can be had really cheap used, don't know if that's a good or a bad sign.

Who else is there? Trendnet I know little about. There's some other no-names. Not really any good choice I know about in this particular market segment.

Sorry, but there is a you-get-what-you-pay-for problem in this particular market segment, too.

 

[cmetz]

MichaelD, have you considered getting a better quality 10/100 switch instead of a cheaper gigabit switch? A Cisco 2960-24 isn't all that expensive in the cost structure of a 30 person company, and it's a far better switch than the SOHO smart switches we're talking about.

 

[MichaelD]

Thanks guys. The problem with getting a better 10/100 switch is that all the servers and clients are gigabit and need the bandwidth.

I didn't know that the HP (3Com) switch in question is actually Huawei.

What about the HP V18-series?? I was told in my other thread that the 19-series is better than the 18, but if the 18 is genuine HP, would that be a safer bet?

 

[theevilsharpie]

MichaelD, have you considered getting a better quality 10/100 switch instead of a cheaper gigabit switch? A Cisco 2960-24 isn't all that expensive in the cost structure of a 30 person company, and it's a far better switch than the SOHO smart switches we're talking about.

You'd recommend a Catalyst 2960 10/100 switch over a managed GigE switch?

Lulz.

What about the HP V18-series?? I was told in my other thread that the 19-series is better than the 18, but if the 18 is genuine HP, would that be a safer bet?

I've used both the V1810 and the V1910 series.

The V1810 is a much simpler switch that lacks basic functionality that managed switches have had for years, such as STP/RSTP/MSTP, CoS, IGMP snooping, DHCP snooping, performance tracking and diagnostics, and probably a few others that I've missed. The only advantage the V1810 has over the V1910 is that it's fanless.

The V1910 is a full-fledged managed switch that can do pretty much everything you would expect a Layer 2 switch to do. It's only shortcoming is a lack of a CLI for the switch configuration, but the web interface is decent and easy to use for novices.

Both are reliable and work as advertised, but from a functionality standpoint, the V1910 is undoubtedly the superior switch. The only time I'd use the V1810 is if I were setting up a home network or I needed to install a switch in an area that was noise-sensitive.

 

[ViviTheMage]

I'd go netgear for personal stuff.

 

[MichaelD]

Thanks very much. I've looked at a lot of switches at this price/feature point and really have narrowed it down to the HP and the Netgear.

Appreciate the info on 18xx vs. 19xx HP switches. Very informative.

That $49 price diff b/t the Netgear and the HP is really eating at me. My "professional side" tell me to go HP, just b/c it's HP. But the rest of me sees the lifetime warranty on the Netgear too AND that $49 diff.

To my eyes, they both have the same feature set. I'm not going to be in the GUI/menu every day anyway, so it the Netgear GUI is a little slow it doesn't matter. Thought the Newegg reviews on the Netgear don't really give me a warm fuzzy. Lots of very recent activity, too. I guess a lot of people got taken in by the big rebate.

I'm leaning towards the HP v1910. What are your thoughts, theevilsharpie on the Netgear? Here are the two product pages.

http://h17007.www1.hp.com/us/en/pro...witch_Series/index.aspx?jumpid=reg_R1002_USEN

http://www.netgear.com/business/products/switches/smart-switches/GS724T.aspx

THANK YOU for your time.

You'd recommend a Catalyst 2960 10/100 switch over a managed GigE switch?

Lulz.



I've used both the V1810 and the V1910 series.

The V1810 is a much simpler switch that lacks basic functionality that managed switches have had for years, such as STP/RSTP/MSTP, CoS, IGMP snooping, DHCP snooping, performance tracking and diagnostics, and probably a few others that I've missed. The only advantage the V1810 has over the V1910 is that it's fanless.

The V1910 is a full-fledged managed switch that can do pretty much everything you would expect a Layer 2 switch to do. It's only shortcoming is a lack of a CLI for the switch configuration, but the web interface is decent and easy to use for novices.

Both are reliable and work as advertised, but from a functionality standpoint, the V1910 is undoubtedly the superior switch. The only time I'd use the V1810 is if I were setting up a home network or I needed to install a switch in an area that was noise-sensitive.

 

[child of wonder]

I'm running a V1910-24g at home right now and don't have any complaints. Setting up LACP was a breeze and I'm able to almost completely saturate my Gb links to my servers.

 

[drebo]

Just FYI, HP V-series switches (rebranded 3Com switches) only have a 3 year warranty, not a lifetime warranty like all other ProCurves.

Both are going to be badly oversubscribed and probably pretty unreliable. Flip a coin. Also, you could consider Dell PowerConnect.

 

[MichaelD]

I'm running a V1910-24g at home right now and don't have any complaints. Setting up LACP was a breeze and I'm able to almost completely saturate my Gb links to my servers.

That's the second postive comment for the V1910. I'm leaning towards the V1910-16g right now. Still on the fence over that $49 though.

 

[drebo]

You'd recommend a Catalyst 2960 10/100 switch over a managed GigE switch?

Lulz.

A 2960 IS better than both of the referenced switches in terms of featureset and reliability.

The HP switch is a rebranded 3Com, and 3Com's switches have always sucked.

The Netgear is, well, a Netgear.

What the OP needs to ask himself is "how much does downtime cost?" That's the only question that has any relevance at all to what network hardware you go with. If your switch fails and it takes you a week to get an RMA from Netgear or HP, how much money do you lose during that week of downtime? Or, if you buy a Cisco with a SmartNet and get advanced replacement (sameday or next day,) how much have you saved?

On the other hand, the OP could look at a Juniper EX. Generally cheaper than the Cisco and just as good, if not better.

 

[MichaelD]

Just FYI, HP V-series switches (rebranded 3Com switches) only have a 3 year warranty, not a lifetime warranty like all other ProCurves.

Both are going to be badly oversubscribed and probably pretty unreliable. Flip a coin. Also, you could consider Dell PowerConnect.

Not too sure about that. Look at paragraph 3. http://bizsupport2.austin.hp.com/bc/docs/support/SupportManual/c03028204/c03028204.pdf

It does say "purchased FROM HP" and "Proof of purchase from HP MAY be required" so I think it's fuzzy whether or not the switch purchased from other than HP would be covered for life. I'm guessing no, but still a gray area.

 

[theevilsharpie]

To my eyes, they both have the same feature set. I'm not going to be in the GUI/menu every day anyway, so it the Netgear GUI is a little slow it doesn't matter. Thought the Newegg reviews on the Netgear don't really give me a warm fuzzy. Lots of very recent activity, too. I guess a lot of people got taken in by the big rebate.

I'm leaning towards the HP v1910. What are your thoughts, theevilsharpie on the Netgear? Here are the two product pages.

http://h17007.www1.hp.com/us/en/pro...witch_Series/index.aspx?jumpid=reg_R1002_USEN

http://www.netgear.com/business/products/switches/smart-switches/GS724T.aspx

THANK YOU for your time.

Both the Netgear and the HP switch will support the features that you need. As I said earlier, I found the Netgear switch a bit frustrating to manage because of the slow web interface and the lack of a console port, but the've worked reliably.

Just FYI, HP V-series switches (rebranded 3Com switches) only have a 3 year warranty, not a lifetime warranty like all other ProCurves.

That's not correct. I don't know about the other 3Com switches in the V-series, but the V1910 has a lifetime warranty.

Both are going to be badly oversubscribed and probably pretty unreliable.

Both are non-blocking switches. It's impossible to oversubscribe them.

A 2960 IS better than both of the referenced switches in terms of featureset and reliability.

Other than a fully-functional CLI, I'm at a loss to come up with a feature the Catalyst 2960 supports that the V1910 doesn't that would matter to the OP.

OTOH, the V1910 has a web interface that is actually useful, and is fairly easy for a novice to configure. It also supports basic routing functionality, so the OP wouldn't need a separate router if he plans to implement VLANs. The OP also doesn't need to set up a TFTP server to perform firmware updates.

Oh, and the V1910 is an order of magnitude faster, being a GigE switch and all

The OP would be a fool to consider any 10/100 switch.

The HP switch is a rebranded 3Com, and 3Com's switches have always sucked.

The Netgear is, well, a Netgear.

If I needed a higher-end fully-managed switch, I'd go with a (real) HP ProCurve switch for the manageability aspect and the fact that I'm used to their quirks. However, at the price points the OP is considering, the lower-end switches provide an amazing value.

Also, I've actually used both of the switches in question. They've both been reliable, as has pretty much every modern managed switch I've used.

What the OP needs to ask himself is "how much does downtime cost?" That's the only question that has any relevance at all to what network hardware you go with. If your switch fails and it takes you a week to get an RMA from Netgear or HP, how much money do you lose during that week of downtime? Or, if you buy a Cisco with a SmartNet and get advanced replacement (sameday or next day,) how much have you saved?

Your statement (and your entire argument, for that matter) implies a belief that an HP or Netgear switch is going to be less reliable than a Cisco switch and not as well supported, which is unsubstantiated FUD.

 

[MichaelD]

Thanks so much, theevilsharpie! I'm going to look at both with even more scrutiny and decide later today. Both will do what I currently need them to do; I'll just have to determine what one does that other doesn't that I might need down the road.

I have a little bit of CLI experience with Cisco routers and switches. Basically, I can RTFM (LOL!) and that's what I did when I had to work on them a few years back. But CLI is for people who know what they are doing and have 50% of the commandds memorized. I'm definitely a GUI guy...not proud, but I'm a realist.

 

[robmurphy]

The Cisco SMB 300 range of switches is very good. I've used many of the SF 300 (10/100) range, and had no problems.

The switches come in 2 ranges the SG - Gigabit, and the SF 10/100. They all use the same software.

The SG and the SF both have a serial port for console access, you can also enable SSH access to the console. The web interface is good. The ports can be used as access ports, i.e. no Vlan tagging, a mixture i.e. a default VLAN with no tag and 1 or more tagged VLANs, or purely for tagged VLANs.

The switches will do ACLs.

They will do L3 static routing.

The POE versions will let you power down/up a single port. The POE version as a mininum will provide 7.5W to all the ports, except the uplink ones.

Pretty much anything you would want to do with a small business access switch these switches will do.

Warranty is lifetime.

If they switch fails Cisco will send the replacement before you send in the old one.

You can backup and restore the config. The config is a text file. The same config file can be used on multiple switches.

These switches are also completely different from the old Linksys ones. They are not Linksys simply re-badged. The silicon is different, and so is the software.

These switches are also great for remote management, and have useful stats I've used when diagnosing faults with equipment connected to them.

The only down side I can find to these switches is that Chrome does not work well with their network interface. Firefox works fine though.

Rob

 

[Emulex]

i like my procurve 1810G-24 it seems really solid. super cheap. you sure its huawei?

 

[theevilsharpie]

i like my procurve 1810G-24 it seems really solid. super cheap. you sure its huawei?

The 1810 is an HP design.

 

[luisanfe]

Both are non-blocking switches. It's impossible to oversubscribe them.

HP V1910 is a non-blocking switch??? Where did you get that information because it can not find it anywhere?
Thanks.

 

[theevilsharpie]

HP V1910 is a non-blocking switch??? Where did you get that information because it can not find it anywhere?
Thanks.

Wow. You dug up quite an old thread just to ask that. I guess I should be flattered

You can check if a switch is non-blocking by comparing the maximum theoretical switching capacity of the switch (based on port count/maximum speed) with the manufacturer's specifications.

According to the HP 1910 datasheet, a 1910-48G has 48 copper ports and 4 Gigabit SFP ports, for a total of 52 gigabit ports. Since these are full duplex ports, the maximum theoretical switching capacity of this switch is 104Gb/s (52GB/s transmit and receive). This is the same as the advertised switching capacity; therefore, the switch is non-blocking.

That being said, you don't really see non-blocking capability advertised as a feature on GigE switches anymore because the ASICs that drive them have reached such a level of maturity that it's simply expected, even on $20 consumer GigE switches. Any Gigabit Ethernet switch being sold today is going to have a non-blocking design. It's not until you get to high-density 10GbE or 40GbE that you have to worry about the switching platform not being able to keep up with the bandwidth.