E-guide

LAN switches Buyer’s Guide – part 2 Your expert guide to LAN switches management tools

Page 1 of 12

In this e-guide

Seven criteria to consider

before evaluating campus

LAN switches

A comparison of the

leading campus LAN

switch vendors

E-guide

Seven criteria to consider before evaluating campus LAN switches

Andrew Froehlich, President

Before you begin researching specific vendors and campus LAN

switch types, take the time to understand the requirements and

capabilities you need.

Choosing the right campus LAN switch for your organization isn't simply a

matter of understanding whether your network would benefit from access,

distribution and core switches. There are plenty of other decisions that need to

be made before you can narrow down your list to a specific vendor and switch

model. Let's take a look at the features and capabilities you should consider

when evaluating campus LAN switches.

Port speeds and interface connections

Your first consideration is to understand what port speeds your network requires

and what port connection types would be most useful and/or cost-effective.

Most modern campus LAN switches support a wide variety of port speeds,

including 1 Gigabit Ethernet, 10 GbE, 40 GbE and 100 GbE. Most end devices

Page 2 of 12

In this e-guide

Seven criteria to consider

before evaluating campus

LAN switches

A comparison of the

leading campus LAN

switch vendors

E-guide

will use standard Gigabit Ethernet connections, while servers and uplink ports

may require much faster port speeds and multiple ports for redundancy.

You must also consider port speeds for the latest 802.11ac wireless access

points (APs). These APs can now process more than 1 Gbps to connected

clients. Because of this, a standard Gigabit Ethernet link may become a

throughput bottleneck. To eliminate this problem, some network vendors are

rolling out NBASE-T MGBASE-T and Institute of Electrical and Electronics

Engineers' 802.3bz ports that provide 2.5 to 5 Gbps throughput speeds on

CAT5e or CAT6 cabling.

In terms of interface connections, your most common options are copper, fiber

and direct-attach copper. The decisions surrounding which interface connection

type to use revolve around the required port speed and what type of cabling is

already installed in a building or throughout a campus.

For example, if you have CAT6 cabling running from your access closet to every

cubicle in a building, then these ports will use Gigabit Ethernet connections with

standard RJ45 interfaces. And if each access closet is interconnected using

multimode fiber, you will likely want to look at a switch that has small form-factor

pluggable uplink interfaces so you can install LC fiber transceivers.

The number of connections you need will also greatly influence what switch type

you should purchase. Fixed-port switches are usually cheaper, but you're stuck

with the port numbers and types that come with them. Modular switches, on the

Page 3 of 12

In this e-guide

Seven criteria to consider

before evaluating campus

LAN switches

A comparison of the

leading campus LAN

switch vendors

E-guide

other hand, can be upgraded, so you can easily increase the number of ports

and change interface types.

Power over Ethernet

Many devices that connect to access switches can be powered using a Power

over Ethernet interface. PoE uses the same copper cabling to provide both

network connectivity and the necessary power, so it doesn't need to plug into a

standard AC outlet. Common examples of PoE devices include IP phones, APs

and internet-of-things sensors. There are several different PoE standards and

each standard provides a different maximum per-port watt output. Therefore, it's

important to know how much power your end devices actually require. Below

are the power ratings for three popular PoE standards in use today:

IEEE 802.3af-2003: PoE up to 15.4 W per port. IEEE 802.3at-2009: PoE+ up to 25.5 W per port. Cisco Universal Power over Ethernet up to 60 W per port.

Performance

Understanding how much throughput your network is likely to need -- today and

several years into the future -- is a critical part of the purchasing process.

Lower-cost access switches provide port density, but compared with switches

Page 4 of 12

In this e-guide

Seven criteria to consider

before evaluating campus

LAN switches

A comparison of the

leading campus LAN

switch vendors

E-guide

designed for distribution and core switching duties, their maximum throughput

specs are going to be considerably lower.

Switching performance also depends heavily on whether the switch will be

operating at Layer 2, Layer 3 or both. And if the switch will be performing Layer

3 functions, it must be able to support the routing protocol that will be used. For

example, almost all enterprise-grade multilayer switches can operate using

static routes or open dynamic routing protocols, such as Open Shortest Path

First. But if you need to run more advanced routing protocols, such as Border

Gateway Protocol, or proprietary protocols, such as the Enhanced Interior

Gateway Routing Protocol, you must ensure the switch you choose can run the

necessary routing protocols.

Redundancy

Typical campus LAN designs call for a certain amount of built-in redundancy to

maintain connectivity to the majority of users when a link or switch goes down.

As you begin researching campus LAN switches, you'll likely find there are any

number of ways to provide redundancy using both hardware and software. This

includes redundant switches, uplinks and redundancy protocols running at

Layer 2 or Layer 3. It's important to understand what redundancy techniques

you want to use -- and verify that all of the necessary switches can perform the

required redundancy tasks.

Page 5 of 12

In this e-guide

Seven criteria to consider

before evaluating campus

LAN switches

A comparison of the

leading campus LAN

switch vendors

E-guide

Physical environment considerations

Switches are deployed in a wide variety of physical locations. For example,

switches that are deployed in manufacturing plants that are often hot or humid

may fail if the incorrect switch hardware is used. In situations where switches

will be deployed in harsh environments, specially designed switches built to

better withstand heat and lack of air flow would be a better long-term option.

You'll also find compact and reduced-depth switches for deployments where

space is limited.

Advanced features

An enterprise switch literally has hundreds of features, so it's up to you to

decide which ones you need and which campus LAN switches can actually

provide that feature. Some examples of advanced switch features include:

Converged wired or wireless; Enhanced security features; Built-in troubleshooting tools; and Automated integration with external troubleshooting and management

tools.

Page 6 of 12

In this e-guide

Seven criteria to consider

before evaluating campus

LAN switches

A comparison of the

leading campus LAN

switch vendors

E-guide

Support needs

Lastly, before choosing a campus LAN switch vendor, you need to thoroughly

understand the support offerings and prices for the switch hardware and

software you're about to buy. For example, some vendors offer free and

unlimited access to switch firmware updates, while others require a support

contract before you can download any updates or patches. Hardware

replacement warranties also vary greatly. A few vendors offer lifetime hardware

replacement warranties on some switch types, while others offer only 90-day or

one-year warranties. Once support contracts are in place, those warranties can

then be extended.

Online and phone technical assistance and troubleshooting support are also

important considerations. A technical support contract provides an added layer

of technical expertise to handle any misconfigurations or hardware and software

faults, so you can better maintain a stable campus network.

Now that you have a better idea of the features and functionality you should

consider, it's time to examine the leading campus LAN switches on the market.

The concluding article in this series will delve into offerings from the top vendors

to help you determine which enterprise switch best matches your specific use-

case scenarios.

Next article

Page 7 of 12

In this e-guide

Seven criteria to consider

before evaluating campus

LAN switches

A comparison of the

leading campus LAN

switch vendors

E-guide

A comparison of the leading campus LAN switch vendors

Andrew Froehlich, President

Expert Andrew Froehlich examines the factors that will ultimately

help you determine which campus LAN switch vendors and types

are most suitable for your environment.

With so many campus LAN switch features that are seemingly identical from

one switch vendor to the next, it's challenging to identify the true difference

between them. But much of what you truly need in a campus switch depends

largely on what your end users are demanding, as well as the campus

environment into which your new switches will be integrated.

The previous article in this series identified several purchasing criteria that

should be considered before selecting the best switch to purchase. This article

will revisit those considerations and apply them to the leading LAN switch

vendors. The idea is to provide a few purchasing scenarios that you can identify

with and apply your personal purchasing criteria to in order to narrow down your

list of LAN switch vendors.

Page 8 of 12

In this e-guide

Seven criteria to consider

before evaluating campus

LAN switches

A comparison of the

leading campus LAN

switch vendors

E-guide

Port speed and number of connections

If your primary concern is having the optimal number of ports and port speeds

for your LAN, then choosing a vendor with a wide range of switch types and

models is important. Most enterprise-class campus LAN switch vendors offer

both fixed and modular switches that can be upgraded by swapping out switch

blades. Some vendors also offer fixed switches that can be stacked together to

form a single virtual switch. Cisco, Huawei and Juniper Networks provide a wide

variety of switch options -- from very small, compact switches with just a few

fixed ports to massive blade chassis, modular switches that can be upgraded to

accommodate an assortment of gigabit and multigigabit ports. Or, if you're

simply looking for no-frills, budget switches that can be deployed in most SMB

environments, both Dell EMC and Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) offer low-

cost options that are known to be reliable and contain most of the features you

might need.

Power over Ethernet

PoE is becoming increasingly important. Not only is it commonly used to

connect and power IP phones, wireless access points and security cameras, the

internet of things (IoT) revolution is going to rely heavily on PoE to power

different types of sensors and data collection devices. If you require PoE only

up to 30 watts using the 802.3at standard, your options are wide open.

Page 9 of 12

In this e-guide

Seven criteria to consider

before evaluating campus

LAN switches

A comparison of the

leading campus LAN

switch vendors

E-guide

However, if you need to power devices that use more than that, or believe you

may in the future, Cisco is the only enterprise-class vendor that offers Universal

Power over Ethernet, which can power devices up to approximately 60 watts

using the same twisted pair cabling that 802.3at uses.

Performance

If your top concern is making sure that frames are moved from point A to point B

as fast as possible, you likely work in the financial world of high-frequency

trading (HFT). When competitive advantages in trading can come down to

microseconds, the switches you choose are critical. There are a few campus

switch vendors that specialize in creating ultra-low latency switches. Cisco,

Extreme Networks and Juniper both offer HFT-class switches, but Arista

Networks has truly made its mark in the world of HFT with its high performance.

Reliability and redundancy

Reliability and redundancy are different, yet complementary traits. Switch

reliability involves the mean time between failure (MTBF) of hardware

components. Basically, MTBF is how many projected hours, on average, you

should expect a specific switch or switch component to operate before it finally

fails. Much of the status of MTBF of switch vendors involves past history and

reputation of the quality of their hardware. The amount of redundancy built into

Page 10 of 12

In this e-guide

Seven criteria to consider

before evaluating campus

LAN switches

A comparison of the

leading campus LAN

switch vendors

E-guide

your network relies on how hardware, software and automatic failover functions

are used to effectively reroute switch traffic around failures and ultimately

reduce the impact of a failed network component.

MTBF and redundancy make up your campus network's overall availability.

Juniper has a strong following, partly due to the fact it makes hardware

components that, on average, last longer than other vendors' comparable

components. But while Cisco doesn't have quite the quality reputation that

Juniper does in terms of MTBF, it makes up for it in redundancy by offering a

few more proprietary tricks in terms of First Hop Redundancy Protocols,

dynamic routing protocols and virtual port channeling. All of these contribute to

a network that can withstand the occasional hardware failure without any

significant end-user effect.

Harsh operating environments

In the past, only a handful of small niche vendors offered Ethernet switches that

could be deployed in harsh environments. But with the growing interest in IoT,

that's rapidly changing. There are now a few enterprise-class vendors that are

attempting to make a name for themselves in this space. Industrial Ethernet

switches must be manufactured to operate in a wider temperature range -- both

hot and cold. They must also be able to handle large fluctuations in power, be

shock- and vibration-resistant, and have longer than normal MTBF ratings. For

this, Cisco offers its Industrial Ethernet and Connected Grid Switch lines. But

Page 11 of 12

In this e-guide

Seven criteria to consider

before evaluating campus

LAN switches

A comparison of the

leading campus LAN

switch vendors

E-guide

Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise and Extreme Networks also occupy this space,

making quality equipment at very reasonable price points.

Warranty and support

Much like purchasing a car, the hardware warranty and customer service will

play a deciding role in which switch vendor you ultimately choose. When you're

looking at low-end access switches for your network, you'll quickly discover that

most enterprise-class vendors offer limited lifetime warranties on the hardware.

Keep in mind, however, that technical assistance and access to updated switch

firmware will cost extra. Some campus switch vendors, such as HPE, use a

hybrid approach. The company's Lifetime Warranty 2.0 offers a lifetime

hardware warranty, as well as three years of software upgrades and phone

technical support as part of the built-in purchase price of the switch. This unique

approach helps lower the overall ROI for these types of purchases.

As you step up into more sophisticated access, distribution and core-layer

switches, warranties and support contracts will also increase in price. Typical

warranties for hardware range from 90 days to one year. Extending the warranty

requires you to purchase a support contract that commonly offers extended

hardware warranties with a range of service-level agreements in regard to

online and phone support and replacement hardware turnaround. Support

contracts also include full access to firmware updates to add new features or

patch bugs and vulnerabilities. Year after year, vendors gauge their technical

Page 12 of 12

In this e-guide

Seven criteria to consider

before evaluating campus

LAN switches

A comparison of the

leading campus LAN

switch vendors

E-guide

support in comparison to Cisco's Technical Assistance Center, which seems to

be the unofficial benchmark gold standard. But paying for premium support

often comes at a premium price. Other vendors, including Juniper, HPE, Arista,

Brocade Communications Systems Inc. and Extreme, also offer solid support.

When a switch isn't simply a switch

As you can see from our comparison, there are many factors that will ultimately

determine which campus LAN switch vendors and types are most suitable for

your environment. It may take additional research and several conversations

with vendors before you narrow down your final choices. But, hopefully, this

series has laid the groundwork and provided a roadmap of how to

systematically determine the difference among switch types, why you need

them and what specific and unique features and services switch vendors can

provide.

About the author

Andrew has been involved in enterprise IT for over 15 years. His primary focus

has been in Cisco wired - wireless - voice network design, implementation and

support as well as network security. This includes project management tasks

dealing with network infrastructure upgrades and new build-outs. He's also been

heavily involved in data center architectures designed to provide fault-tolerant

enterprise applications and services to thousands of users.