I have a 3COM 5500 series here that works very well. I use them in all of my sites (some with POE some without). Pricing is better that Cisco so far.
>>> "Kim Longenbaugh" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> 11/14/2008 11:24 AM >>> Don't overlook Nortel. They have some excellent layer 2/layer 3 switches. Look at the Enterprise Router Switch offerings. Their pricing is good compared to Crisco as well -----Original Message----- From: Ben Scott [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Friday, November 14, 2008 9:23 AM To: NT System Admin Issues Subject: Re: Network core switch On Thu, Nov 13, 2008 at 1:09 PM, Chinnery, Paul <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > I wanted to ask the group for their opinions regarding other company's products ... > 95% of all network traffic passes through this switch which is a layer 3, > btw. 48 gig ports, 6 or so gbics and the balance will be 100 meg. Are you hitting the layer three features hard, or are you really just using it as an expensive layer two switch? I'm a big fan of HP's ProCurve stuff for layer two switching. It's cheaper than Cisco by far. They include technical support, warranty coverage, and firmware updates "forever"[1] in the base purchase price. As opposed to Cisco, where they won't even talk to you without a SMARTnet contract, and the firmware license is invalid for used equipment. The plague of horrible support which has infected HP's printer division doesn't seem to be affecting the ProCurve division, for whatever reason. I can't speak to HP's layer three performance. My impression is that they have layer 3 features, but it probably doesn't do everything you can do with a Cisco. Hence my question above: Do you *need* to do everything a Cisco can do? If so, by all means, buy a Cisco. But if you don't need it, why pay for it? [1] Obviously, nothing is "forever", but HP is still is issuing occasional firmware updates for stuff from the 90's. -- Ben ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ ~ <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~ ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ ~ <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~ Confidentiality Notice: This e-mail message, including attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure, or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and destroy all copies of the original message. ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ ~ <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~
