Thread: Which switch to buy?

I've been landed with the job in looking to buy a new switch for our LAN but not really sure which one I should be looking for. Can anyone help?

We currently have 2 Net gear 24port ProSafe Smart Switches 10/100/1000 (GS724T). Linked together with just a RJ45. From reading these switches are not stackable so we are suffering from big performance issues, hence a new purchase.

Now I can get the Net gear ProSafe 48 Port Gigabit (10/100/1000), Stackable Smart Switch (GS748TS) since we already use Net gear. But there are so many like 3com etc

On our network we have an internal CRM system for use in our call centre with 5 SQL servers as well as our domain (SBS) and a couple of external backup devices. There are approx 50 desktops. With the demands and traffic generated from our call centre to the SQL servers we might need something more powerful than can process everything quickly.

Any thoughts and anyone with previous experience in this area would be much appreciated!

I'm not a sysadmin or an IT specialist, but I know a fair share about networking. The problem with your current switches is that they ARE stackable, but only through the standard 1Gbps ports so the uplink between the 2 is limited. The 48 ports switch you mentioned has a dedicated uplink (through HDMI it seems) that allows up to 20Gbps which might solve you problem.

To make sure what is the good solution, you need to have an idea of where is the bandwidth used as dividing the network in another could also fix the problem. Are all the 50 desktop connected to the CRM and SQL servers? The external backup devices are they for the desktops or the servers?

All desktops connect to the SQL servers. I worked out that the desktops were on switch1 and the SQL server was on switch2, all going through the 1gbps cable, loads of wasted extra traffic generated there. I've swapped the cable for the SQL server onto the same switch so all traffic can be processed on switch1.

I changed the cable yesterday and I can say that I and some colleagues have seen a noticeable improvement.

In terms of purchasing a new switch, any recommendations?

Also, is there a good network monitor tool to use to test response times and network traffic?