Simple expansion of network ports

[Cavallino]

Hello folks, my VM superhub is now full up and I just want to get an extra set of ports, not sure whats the best way to go about it? A simple switch of sorts?
Any recommendations? (Im looking to connect my Nintendo Switch via ethernet as opposed to wireless).

Many thanks.

 

[ChrisD.]

Any cheap Gigabit switch will do.

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/networking/network-switches

Take your pick, depending on how many ports you need.

This for example has 8 ports, so 7 usable (the 8th connects to your Superhub).

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/tp-link-8-port-gigabit-desktop-switch-tl-sg1008d-v8-nw-175-tp.html

 

[Rannoch]

As above

Cheap and easy.

 

[Cavallino]

Cheers folks.
Im dubious about so many different switches with different price points and functionality... is there something that I should be looking out for fundamentally?

 

[ChrisD.]

Nope, the more expensive ones offer managed features, if you don't know what that is you don't need it.

 

[BigT]

Broadly you pay more for:

- more ports, with a big leap after 16 or 24
- metal bodied rather than plastic - metal supposedly better for cooling but in small switches it isn't really a factor in my experience
- managed vs unmanaged - you don't need a managed switch
- Gb speed vs 10/100 only - you want gigabit
- Power over Ethernet ability - you're unlikely to need it unless you know otherwise

When you take those factors into account they're priced pretty close to one another like for like. 8 port gigabit unmanaged is probably the sweet spot and what @ChrisD. linked to is a good example. I might spend the extra £9 and get the metal bodied equivalent but that's just me liking square metal boxes rather than honestly saying it'll be any better in the real world.

 

[Avalon]

It's actually quite hard to buy a new 'bad' unmanaged switch in this day and age at a consumer level.

 

[Cavallino]

Cheers folks, appreciate the insights.
One last question (I should google this really!)

Managed Switches as opposed to unmanaged - broadly speaking whats the key take away from the difference of these?

 

[BigT]

Managed Switches as opposed to unmanaged - broadly speaking whats the key take away from the difference of these?

VLANs, QoS and other stuff depending on manufacturer.

 

[Avalon]

Cheers folks, appreciate the insights.
One last question (I should google this really!)

Managed Switches as opposed to unmanaged - broadly speaking whats the key take away from the difference of these?

100% you don't need a managed switch.

 

[BigT]

If it is of interest, two use cases I sometimes see for managed switches in the home environment are:

- Separate wireless network tagged as a VLAN for guests/kids so they don't see other devices on your network
- Separate VLAN for your IoT things so they don't talk to the rest of the network

Thing is it isn't as simple as just having a managed switch. For the first situation you need an access point that will support VLANs to tag the devices/traffic connecting to the guest network and maybe the router to also support them to put in place the rules and services (DHCP etc.) to keep them separate. Plus there are easier ways to create a guest network that will broadly achieve the same. Many good home all-in-one routers can do this for example without getting bogged down in setting up VLANs. Thus unless you know you need one the advice you should take is that you don't need one.

 

[TheVoice]

TP-Link TL-SG105 or 108 depending on how many ports you need, I've had the 105 for a while now and it just sits under my TV unit doing its thing without any fuss. As someone said above, I paid a little extra for the metal one as I think it's actually smaller than the glossy plastic one.

 

[Cavallino]

Great feedback, answered all my questions, thanks folks.