Managed switch vs. unmanageable: which one is better?

The switch is one of the most important devices in a network. Your good choice will allow this network to have the expected performance, and of course the users will be the main beneficiaries. This in-depth guide will discuss the essential differences between the two types of switches that exist: the manageable (or also called manageable) and the unmanageable (or also called unmanageable). Which one is right for me? Is a manageable switch always worth the money instead of an unmanageable switch? These and other questions will be answered so that you can make the best decision.

It never hurts to brush up on the concept of the Switch and what you need it for. The switch has the ability to connect multiple devices on a local network. Consequently, they will be able to communicate with each other to access the various resources of the system. In addition, they will be able to share resources such as documents, software and even other network devices such as printers. Switches have ports that allow devices to be connected and therefore manage to communicate with each other and share resources.

You can find switches with 5 ports, 8 ports, 24 ports, 48 ​​ports or more. Of course, this is only one of the variables that determines its cost. It is possible to realize that, depending on how many devices we need to be part of a network, we will choose a switch with more or less ports. There are also PoE switches that will allow us to power Wi-Fi access points or IP cameras with PoE, in this way, through the Ethernet network cable itself, we can power the devices.

However, there is a much bigger variable that will determine how well your network performs. It exists manageable and unmanageable switches . In principle, se podría decir que un switch no gestionable es lo más conveniente si no necesitas opciones de configuración avanzadas, y solamente necesitas tener muchos puertos para intercomunicar diferentes equipos, sobre todo porque los switches no gestionables no necesitan de ningiauna prevarectión, simply configuración and ready.

Unmanageable switches

Un unmanageable switch performs the basic function of the switch itself, which means that it is a type device plug-and-play , you connect it to the power supply, connect the different equipments via a cable, and they can automatically communicate with each other and transfer data.

Now, is an unmanageable switch a hub? No, and this is very important. Although the devices are connected without setting anything in the configuration first, a switch of this type already has some default characteristics and configurations that the user cannot change. Normally the switches use a Store-and-forward architecture, the frames do not collide within the device itself, and there is no CSMA / CD protocol in this type of device, since we have dedicated links.

Ingestible switches are used for smaller networks or when temporary workgroups need to be added to a large network, such as multiple corporate networks. Some devices will have a higher priority in terms of connectivity or have higher or lower transmission rates. The default configuration offered by an unmanageable switch was created to keep your network, in general, functioning in the most appropriate way and to avoid typical network problems.

Manageable switches

Un managed switch provides all advanced configuration functions and options to configure the network in detail at the L2 layer. This type of switch has the particularity of being able to customize the configuration according to the needs of your network. In addition, it is possible to monitor the performance of your network with a higher level of detail. The main advantage of this is greater control over what is happening with all connected devices.

Another detail to keep in mind about manageable switches is that the level of customization reaches the point of being able to configure each port according to what is needed. Why would we need such granular control? Large networks such as several corporate networks could, for example, be divided into several VLAN (Virtual Local Area Networks) because not all employees need to access the same resources or such high / low data rates. Later, we will discuss in a little more detail what a VLAN is and its usefulness in networks.

It may be necessary for IT support or an information security specialist to need to remotely access the switch to make adjustments, either because of an identified need or a problem. A manageable switch, thanks to the possibility of adjusting the configuration, will allow us to activate remote access by console and / or web interface. Remote access is advantageous, as it will not be necessary to go to the office itself to make settings.

Other features of managed switches

In RedesZone, we are going to explain some functions that largely distinguish manageable switches from unmanageable switches. However, that doesn't assume that what's best is manageable, we'll just give more context on what a Manageable Switch does so that we can better understand what it can do and ultimately you make the best decision. Then you can see the seven functions which we will explain in detail what they are and how they could be applied in a network environment.

Link aggregation

In spanish it is called link aggregation . It consists of the union of two or more physical connections of a switch. The main objective is that, at a logical level, it becomes a single link with a higher data transmission speed.

Consider the following example: you have an 8 port switch. One of the ports corresponds to a firewall which is responsible for filtering traffic coming from the Internet. This link between the firewall and the switch is 1 Gbps. So far, it works pretty well and doesn't seem to have any issues. However, it is likely that at some point there will be a bottleneck and the problems will begin. The solution would be to improve the equipment so that the links are faster, for example, multigigabit speeds of 2,5G or 5G, and even reach 10G wired connections. But, the costs would be very high and it is not always worth the financial effort.

Another alternative that could be very useful is to occupy more ports of the switch for the firewall and thus increase the capacity of the link. At first glance, we have already increased its capacity, but the link itself is not redundant, so if there are any issues, we have to make the adjustments for the additional ports to work as the "primary" port is " is broken down. It is not convenient.

It's here what is involved in the aggregation of links to allow all the ports we need for the link between the firewall and the switch to function as a single link (at a logical level). In addition to the logical link having increased data transmission capacity, we will achieve the necessary redundancy to keep the network running despite one of the ports that are part of the link aggregation stop responding. That is, if three ports are with LACP and one stops working, this protocol works in such a way that this problem is not noticed and the connection proceeds. We will also have load balancing between the different hard links, so that information flows through all three hard links simultaneously.

QoS (Quality of service)

This is one of the most important networking features. If the QoS rules to prioritize certain types of traffic are configured correctly, the user experience will be excellent. In addition, the available bandwidth will be used much better. Although unmanageable switches have default QoS settings, these cannot be changed. They were created on the basis of certain standards that will allow a performance, of course, standard. Nothing very specific or particular. But if we are talking about manageable switches, we can adjust the configurations as we like, creating and maintaining any rules we can imagine.

A typical use case is to create and configure QoS rules that prioritize one or more devices that frequently pass data to each other. These QoS rules will allow them to receive as much bandwidth as possible since these devices are part of the priority.

SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol)

This protocol is considered the standard for network management and monitoring. It allows you to monitor both current state and performance without the need for physical access to the switch. The advantage of this is that any inconvenience that arises can be both detected and resolved remotely, and we can set up a monitoring system to have everything under control.

VLAN (virtual local area networks)

Multiple devices can be connected to a single switch. Grouping them into small networks will make their management much more convenient, and nothing will get out of hand. At first glance, you would need additional equipment and wiring. However, VLANs or VPNs can help you group multiple devices together, eliminating the need to purchase network accessories.

One of the advantages of these VPNs is that you can apply various security measures to each of them. These metrics can vary continuously depending on each VLAN. The main situation that a VLAN prevents is the reduction of unnecessary traffic that compromises good network performance.

A typical case of applying VLANs is when you have an enterprise that has multiple zones: A, B, C, and D. If you have a managed switch, you can create four VLANs for each of the zones. Thus, the traffic that occurs in each of the virtual networks will not interfere with the other. The end result is a network with stable performance and, of course, happy users. Security must also be taken into account, rules can be applied so that there is no communication between these services.

Port mirroring

Port mirroring is one of the most useful features of manageable switches because it is very useful in detecting problems with the network. Basically, this is the function of capturing traffic coming from one or more ports of the switch so that it is later shared on a port of the switch itself specially configured for port mirroring.

All of this information captured from the traffic can be used by different programs. network traffic analysis such than Wireshark . Please keep in mind that this tool and other network traffic analysis tools are of great help to us in identifying and resolving issues. In addition, in many cases, you will avoid having to leave the network unusable or with reduced performance.

With this feature, we can detect problems in the network and capture the traffic to forward it to that specific port.

What type of switch is the most practical?

There is no one-size-fits-all choice that tells you that a manageable or unmanageable switch is the most convenient in any situation. It is important to know and understand what the needs and requirements of our network are. It doesn't matter if it is a very small or a very large network, it is our obligation, as the network manager, to have what it needs or needs in order to be able to function properly. One of the consequences of not knowing or not knowing about switches, especially when it comes to the difference between manageable and unmanageable, is the acquisition of equipment that is not really needed. As a result, economic resources that could have been used for other purposes are wasted.

Managed switches are characterized by the ability to customize the performance of our network in a fairly granular fashion. We had mentioned one of the most important characteristics like VLANs, which allow several devices to be grouped together at a logical level into smaller groups, in order to be able to prioritize this traffic, and even to isolate these devices so that they do not communicate with them. other equipment connected to the device same switch. Of course, all of this customization carries over to the cost of the switches, logically, managed switches are in a higher price range compared to unmanaged ones.

If we are talking about switches that are not manageable, we can say that they are characterized by their extreme practicality. We don't have to worry about almost any aspect of the setup. However, time passes and the offer of unmanaged switches is more and more wide and the functionalities available in the default configuration are approaching managed switches, such as the possibility of QoS or IGMP Snooping. There is no doubt that home networks are growing in terms of the number of connected devices.

Gone are the days when the house only has a computer, another laptop, a mobile and a television. Today, we can already count on more specific devices such as NAS servers , which allow us to efficiently and intelligently manage our files. On the other hand, in homes it is already normal to have wireless access points or repeaters that help us extend coverage throughout the house for a connectivity experience no matter where you are in. the House.

Finally, what's the best thing for me? We must reiterate that there is no absolute decision in this regard. The secret to making a better decision when purchase of switches is to know in detail the needs of our network, because after all, one way or another, the investment that we will make will certainly be significant and it will not be a device that we will buy every three months. or every year.