Switches are now at the point where the only difference comes from price and features. The FSM7268 wins on both of these, although it is best suited to the edge of the network.
Network IT Week, 19 Jun 2002
The price of dumb Fast Ethernet switches has fallen to the point where they are now an obvious choice. With the launch of NetGear's first managed switch it looks as though the same can be said for more intelligent devices.
Fortunately, the addition of management does not mean that there is a reduction in the number of features. First, the hardware is impressively kitted out. In addition to the 24 Fast Ethernet ports there are two Gigabit-uplinks.
These can either be used via the built in copper ports or by buying GBICs to provide fibre access. In addition, the stacking ports at the back allow up to six switches to be joined and managed together.
Internally the backplane supports 12.8Gbps of bandwidth with a non-blocking architecture. 8,000 MAC addresses are supported, which is more than enough for an edge device such as this.
Management of features can be carried out through the console, web, SNMP or RMON. For this test we used the web management. Following the designs of its other products, NetGear has made management of the switch as easy as possible.
In theory, this means novices and experts should have few problems. Annoying parts of the system, such as the dialogue box that warns about playing with VLans, can be turned off. This protects novices, and lets experts get on with the job.
We started off with the advanced functions and first was port mirroring. The switch setup allows one port on the switch to be mirrored to another port on the same stack. Next, port trunking is used to get a bigger pipe by aggregating several ports together. The FSM726S supports up to eight ports in a trunk, although they have to be in the same bank. The management screen graphically depicts this, so it is not too hard to work out.
Up to 64 VLans can be implemented using the 802.1q protocol, which is compatible with other switches on the market. In addition, high-priority VLan tags can be given to a switch port. This prioritises traffic using a weighted round robin scheme.
Standard switch settings include setting the port modes and speed, and the administrator password. By default authentication is turned off, but we recommend turning it on.
To test the switch we used a SmartBits SMB6000 Chassis from Spirent Communications. In our fully meshed tests the switch dropped less than 0.5 per cent of traffic, even at 100 per cent load. Latency results showed the product to have a capable switching fabric on a par with other, more expensive, switches on the market.
As the performance results show, switches are now at the point where the only difference comes from price and features. The FSM7268 wins on both of these, although it is best suited to the edge of the network.
Product Details
Pros Good hardware specs; Good management
Cons Only suitable for the edge of the network
Price £599
Contact NetGear 01344 397021
Web www.netgear.com
Review tested on Spirent kit: www.spirentcom.com, tel: 0129 376 7979
Good hardware specs; Good management
Cons Only suitable for the edge of the network
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