RT2600ac Unmanaged Switches/Entry Level Managed Switches for RT2600ac?

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RT2600ac Unmanaged Switches/Entry Level Managed Switches for RT2600ac?

I find myself needing at least another 2-4 ethernet ports into my router, and I'm resigned to the fact I need to buy a switch. At least there are still open power outlets on the UPS...

Right now, I think I'd be fine with an unmanaged switch, though if I had a managed switch I would certainly take the time to learn how to use it to increase network security. OTOH, My understanding is they are MUCH more expensive.

Does anyone recommend a particular brand/model of unmanaged switch? My immediate thought was Netgear, but their product line is about as confusing as their website.
 
you can take it seriously, then:
1. existing ports utilization?
2. purpose of the ports extension?
... and maybe you will pay extra 20$ for the managed switch over unmanaged

or you can purchase plug and play unmanaged Netgear GS305. Simple and low cost.
 
you can take it seriously, then:
1. existing ports utilization?
2. purpose of the ports extension?
... and maybe you will pay extra 20$ for the managed switch over unmanaged

or you can purchase plug and play unmanaged Netgear GS305. Simple and low cost.
  • I want to add more ports for anticipated additional server boxes/a powerful NAS supporting link aggregation, etc.
  • VLAN and POE would be ideal extras, but not required.
  • I mentioned "unmanaged" because, as I noted, I am very new at this, and I wanted to avoid recommendations for a $500 8-port switch. My budget is $300 or (hopefully much) less.
  • As it is, at least 8 ports should be sufficient for now, though I'd gladly get more as space and budget permit.
  • VLAN and POE support would be ideal.
  • 2.5G or 10G connectivity would make me feel better, given I plan to get a 10G router as soon as those become economically feasible.
  • On the WAN side, we pull down 1TB a month, and upload ~150GB, mostly to various media streaming services. The switch needs to play nice with that kind of traffic.
  • I'm going to be sleeping in the same room as this thing. It'd be great if it didn't sound like a jet getting ready to take off.
 
1. for dynamic LACP operation you need managed switch
2. when you need VLANs strictly shielded (security) - managed switch is must
3. 10G router?? Do you have 10G WAN connectivity? If no 1G router ports are enough for next 5-10y. You can move all the switching performance from router to switch (what is better for other router services)
4. 2.5G connectivity at switch level is part of 10G support. Purchase of the 2.5G only ports in switch isn't efficient in cost/performance ratio
5. when you need interconnect between VLANs, you need support of Layer3 protocol at the managed switch level

regarding:
I'm going to be sleeping in the same room as this thing. It'd be great if it didn't sound like a jet getting ready to take off.
My budget is $300 or (hopefully much) less.
when you need max. 2x10G (SFP+) and rest of ports at 1G level, then $350-400 is in range
when you need fan-less managed 10G switch you need use a cutter pliers for the fan wires or switch off the device
 
Have a look at TP-Link switches too.

I recently got a T1600G-28TS smart managed switch for £95 inc. vat exc. del. and have it static LAG'd to a TL-SG108E easy-smart 'unmanaged' switch. This forms the switching between RT2600ac on the T1600G-28TS and MR2200ac on the TL-SG108E. I've then LACP (dynamic LAG) 4x 1GbE on the T1600G-28TS to my DS1520+. Other wired devices are normal 1GbE connections to the nearest switch.

Both are:
  • fanless
  • don't have POE or POE+ but other switches do have these
  • 1Gb-only interfaces
  • both support static LAG (so have 2x1GbE between them to split between MR2200ac backhaul and other wired devices)
  • support IGMP snooping for managing multicast packets, unlike unmanaged switches
While there are VLAN capabilities I haven't investigated them as LAG was my main interest.

My most recent revelation has been shielded, flat Cat 7 cables. Much easier to use than bulky Cat 6.
 
Thanks again for all the help.

Second question, since it looks like I'm going for a smart/managed 8-16 port switch: Should I just bring my whole wired network over to the switch and use the 4 LAN ports on the rt2600ac to link aggregate into the switch, assuming the switch supports this?

That would leave the RT2600ac just responsible for (1) the wifi network; and (2) a bit of port forwarding to get traffic to my internal reverse proxy for my public micro-services.

As a beginner, I think it would be simpler and easier to have my wired network all managed in one place. Am I missing something?
 
1. you need just single 1G lane between your router and switch, reasons:
- your router can't support LACP
- your can't utilize your WiFi over 1G (to be honest)
- you can't utilize your WAN over 1G (because router has just 1G WAN port)

2. all the switching performance will be moved to the switch ... what is right attitude

3. your router will provide the Gateway services + security + WiFi operation (till you find another solution for an independent AP/APs)
 
1. you need just single 1G lane between your router and switch, reasons:
- your router can't support LACP
- your can't utilize your WiFi over 1G (to be honest)
- you can't utilize your WAN over 1G (because router has just 1G WAN port)

2. all the switching performance will be moved to the switch ... what is right attitude

3. your router will provide the Gateway services + security + WiFi operation (till you find another solution for an independent AP/APs)

Just to clarify: For LACP to work, it has to be supported on both the router and the switch? And the RT2600ac does not support it, from what I can tell.
 
Just to clarify: For LACP to work, it has to be supported on both the router and the switch? And the RT2600ac does not support it, from what I can tell.
Correct. Unfortunately. My SRM routers are single 1GbE connected.

There are different flavours of LAG. One that multi-LAN port DSM NAS support is Adaptive Load Balanced LAG and that doesn’t need any special switch as it’s managed solely by the NAS. But for LACP it needs a managed switch with support too.

Having all the wired devices on the switch gives a bigger backplane for inter-device traffic and makes the routers just another LAN device.
 
Correct. Unfortunately. My SRM routers are single 1GbE connected.

There are different flavours of LAG. One that multi-LAN port DSM NAS support is Adaptive Load Balanced LAG and that doesn’t need any special switch as it’s managed solely by the NAS. But for LACP it needs a managed switch with support too.

Having all the wired devices on the switch gives a bigger backplane for inter-device traffic and makes the routers just another LAN device.
Thanks!

I appreciate the help, everyone.
 
I find myself needing at least another 2-4 ethernet ports into my router, and I'm resigned to the fact I need to buy a switch. At least there are still open power outlets on the UPS...

Right now, I think I'd be fine with an unmanaged switch, though if I had a managed switch I would certainly take the time to learn how to use it to increase network security. OTOH, My understanding is they are MUCH more expensive.

Does anyone recommend a particular brand/model of unmanaged switch? My immediate thought was Netgear, but their product line is about as confusing as their website.
Netgear or D-Link make low cost reliable (unmanaged) switches for Soho. No fans, low power consumption.

If you want *some* additional features without going to an order of magnitude higher cost prosumer/low end enterprise costing equipment then Netgear GS105E/GS108E semi-managed switch is recommended. Netgear marketing call this thing a 'smart managed switch:. It is in fact semi-managed. It's *not* a fully managed switch but rather, a hybrid unmanaged switch with a CPU, ram and software tacked on to allow VLAN etc. In practice these work well for their intended purpose at far less cost than fully managed switches.

 
Netgear or D-Link make low cost reliable (unmanaged) switches for Soho. No fans, low power consumption.

If you want *some* additional features without going to an order of magnitude higher cost prosumer/low end enterprise costing equipment then Netgear GS105E/GS108E semi-managed switch is recommended. Netgear marketing call this thing a 'smart managed switch:. It is in fact semi-managed. It's *not* a fully managed switch but rather, a hybrid unmanaged switch with a CPU, ram and software tacked on to allow VLAN etc. In practice these work well for their intended purpose at far less cost than fully managed switches.

Thanks!

I kind of wonder if I even need a managed or semi-managed switch. I just need more ethernet jacks. Is there any limitation of the RT2600ac that would require a smart/semi-managed switch?

All I can think of is QoS/traffic control, since I'd be plugging multiple 1Gbps devices into a switch plugged into a single 1Gbps port. Seems like that might be especially important if I plug in a NAS or something.
 
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Thanks!

I kind of wonder if I even need a managed or semi-managed switch. I just need more ethernet jacks. Is there any limitation of the RT2600ac that would require a smart/semi-managed switch?

All I can think of is QoS/traffic control, since I'd be plugging multiple 1Gbps devices into a switch plugged into a single 1Gbps port. Seems like that might be especially important if I plug in a NAS or something.
Hi John,

I don't own a Synology router/gateway but I believe folks are unhappy that it lacks VLAN tagging?

Reasons why you may need VLAN tagging:

1. Segment your LAN for security.
2. Segment your LAN for performance.
3. Some ISP's (like mine) require VLAN to connect to their network.

The Netgear semi managed switch I suggested gives you that at very much lower cost than low end enterprise managed switches.

The other option is to replace your Synology gateway/router with a decent Asus such as the RT-AC68u which has VLAN tagging. Some of the higher end gateway/routers have 8 ports but we are talking serious money.

Unless you have strict security reasons or you have an extremely high bandwidth internet connection or your LAN clients are constantly moving terabytes of data around your LAN (e.g. to a file server) then frankly, in a home/small office environment I doubt you need VLAN tagging. You can purchase a simple 'switch' (unmanaged network switch) at low cost to expand your available ports.

A simple switch like the D-link DGS1005A is very light weight plastic construction, low power use and will suffice.

5-Port Gigabit Unmanaged Desktop Switch DGS-1005A

The netgear GS105 or GS108 are constructed with metal chassis and work fine also.

Note: I mentioned the GS108E previously - that is the semi-managed version.

I have had excellent usage from all these. I read a lot of complaints about other oddball brands - caveat emptor...

As a general network engineering principle, aim to hang everything on your LAN off a switch at the 'core layer' with your internet gateway device simply living on a port. This is better than trying to force your soho gateway/router thingy do *all* the heavy lifting on your LAN. It no longer is a single point of failure. (If it dies, your LAN stays up until you repair/replace the gateway/router).

For a home user with one or two devices, this is overkill but in a busy little household with a lot of PC's and other Ethernet devices etc, placing your dedicated switch at the core layer makes sense.

Cheers mate, keep safe and happy holidays!
 

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