Enterprise-class network switch Netgear ProSafe 24+2 L2 (FSM726)

24-port and 48-port network switches are the most frequently used components of small corporate networks, the workhorses that usually support data transmission in the network. Simple as a rake , they are valued for speed, reliability, and availability.

Today, the number of network devices in companies is increasing like a snowball: IP cameras, uninterruptible power supplies, workplace computers that work as thin clients-all this requires high connection speeds to the office server, but at the same time puts the company in complete dependence on internal communication channels. This is why NETGEAR ProSafe network switches are increasingly used to connect offices distributed across the enterprise. For example, an office or warehouse.

The simplest example of such use is the organization of jobs in a warehouse located on the territory of the enterprise. To connect the office to the warehouse, fiber is used (since the cable length exceeds 300 meters), employees work using thin clients, so a Gigabit connection is used. The warehouse has several IP cameras, a network printer and 3-4 workstations. The whole system works quickly and smoothly, as long as the excavator does not tear the fiber-optic cable. Do I need to explain what happens next? The company's work is blocked, shipments are not carried out, and you can fix an accident on the line all day, especially to solder the fiber.

Therefore, in such cases, two channels are laid from the enterprise server to the warehouse, separated in space. For example, air and buried. This allows not only to reduce the probability of network disconnection to almost zero, but also to balance the load on two channels, because the need for this will necessarily arise with the growth of the enterprise.

NETGEAR FSM726 is a Prime example of such a switch that is used to link workspaces in a single company. This is a layer 2 switch with support for up to 512 static VLANs. The switch has 24 100-megabit copper ports for LAN and 2 Gigabit combined Uplink ports (copper / SFP slot). The switching matrix is 8.8 Gbit / s, which is enough for all ports to operate in full-duplex mode.

The switch has basic network security settings, including DoS protection, RADIUS support, MAC address filtering and access control lists for MAC, TCP and IP, Double VLAN (Q-in-Q), which expands its scope on trunk channels, supports IGMP querier and IGMP Snooping v1/v2/v3, which also allows you to use it for multicast traffic forwarding, and the Ingress rate limit function allows you to set the data transfer rate per port in increments of 1 KB/s.

The switch is made in a 19-inch rack-mount form factor. The 205 mm depth allows it to be installed even in the thinnest wall-mounted switch cabinets. For cooling, a single fan is used in the left part of the case, but we feel that even its operation is not required here, and the declared noise level of 36.6 dB will allow it to be installed in open switching racks or in simple cabinets, without fear that the staff will rebel from excessive noise. Interestingly, NETGEAR was able to bring a piece of its design even to the faceplate of faceless 1U hardware. The dark purple color of the front panel and the protruding aluminum overlay distinguish the device from the gray mass. Sysadmins with a sense of beauty, undoubtedly feel good when looking at the switch:). But what's more important is the hidden Reset button, which is pressed with a paper clip. If NETGEAR ProSafe freezes, you can easily restart it without turning off the power. Another advantage that NETGEAR has always enjoyed is the time between failures (MTBF), which is 562110 hours, which guarantees a long and smooth operation of your services.

Web-interface

NETGEAR developers have always tried to make the management of their professional products clear and simple. What is the status image of the front panel of the device, where you just need to click on the port to access all the settings associated with this port, as well as view the statistics of the port itself.

And let this menu slow down a little, as it should be for Java applications, it is very convenient, and novice administrators will like it. By the way, NETGEAR ProSafe supports the dual firmware function, as in overclocking motherboards - you can load two versions of Firmware into the device and choose which one to load with next time. For the smart-cautious, this is a great feature, although to tell you the truth, most switches are never flashed in real life at all.

The NETGEAR ProSafe switch supports QoS and CoS (Quality of Service and Cost of Service) functions for prioritizing traffic transmission, although the switch does not recognize the type of services, which is true for the L2 layer. So priorities are configured on the physical port, IP address, or even on the device itself, if you have an extensive network with a large number of switches. In principle, in order to ensure maximum throughput from surveillance cameras, this is quite enough.

The NETGEAR ProSafe switch supports caching of routing tables, but to tell the truth, I don't think this is an important feature for this type of device, which is usually a terminal on remote objects. Caching here does not give any gain. The built-in cable testing function, which determines the length of the connected network cable and the approximate distance to the break, may be more popular. The switch supports link aggregation and virtual VLAN aggregation. Moreover, you can create VLAN networks based on physical ports, MAC addresses, and IP addresses.

In general, the administrative section seems even more functional than the list of characteristics on the official website. Convenient device monitoring on one page, support for SNMP settings - everything here is made for easy management and quick recovery in case of an emergency.

Price

The average retail price of the NETGEAR FSM726 is $ 320. Approximately in the same price category are models from HP ProCurve Switch 2510-24, Allied Telesyn AT-8000S/24. for small companies, this is an affordable model to organize a small office network or transfer the network to a neighboring building.

Conclusions

In most cases, these switches are used for the office network and work on the principle: "turned on and forgot". Most often, even half of the functions built into the device are not used, but this does not mean that suddenly you will not need to upgrade the network, and it is possible that in an emergency. In this case, you will discover that the switch, which is simple by corporate standards, is easily administered via a Web or RS-232 port, has a friendly interface, and allows you to easily configure virtual networks, traffic priorities, and channel aggregation.

"Enabled and forgotten" or "everything is configured to the smallest detail" - NETGEAR ProSage 24+2 L2 will fit equally well into both concepts of office networks and will be an excellent choice for most organizations.

Michael Degtjarev (aka LIKE OFF)
30/11.2012