#16 in Computer networking switches
Use arrows to jump to the previous/next product
Reddit mentions of TP-Link 24 Port Gigabit Ethernet Switch | Plug and Play | Sturdy Metal w/Shielded Ports | Rackmount | Fanless | Lifetime Protection | Unmanaged (TL-SG1024)
Sentiment score: 11
Reddit mentions: 16
We found 16 Reddit mentions of TP-Link 24 Port Gigabit Ethernet Switch | Plug and Play | Sturdy Metal w/Shielded Ports | Rackmount | Fanless | Lifetime Protection | Unmanaged (TL-SG1024). Here are the top ones.
Buying options
View on Amazon.comor
- 24 10/100/1000M RJ45 ports
- Supports MAC address self-learning and auto MDI/MDIX
- Standard 19-inch rack-mountable steel case
- All ports support Full/half duplex transfer mode for 10Mbps/100Mbps and Full duplex transfer mode for 1000Mbps
- Supports IEEE 802.3X flow control for full-duplex mode and back pressure flow control for half-duplex mode
Features:
Specs:
Color | BLACK |
Height | 1.73228 Inches |
Length | 17.3228 Inches |
Number of items | 1 |
Release date | December 2005 |
Size | 24 Port |
Weight | 3 Pounds |
Width | 7.0866 Inches |
Here's the composition of the rack:
Elsewhere in the house/other useful parts:
Useful things I learned:
I'll try, if you have any questions or if I wasn't really clear on something, ask away and I'll try to explain it better.
A normal home network is quite simple, in order starting from your ISP's line coming into your house, you usually have a modem, a router, a switch and an access point. Most consumer routers are actually a combo router-switch-access point all in one. They provide you a few ports for wired connection and the wifi in a single convenient unit. What you can also do is split up this combo unit to be able to place each device in a better location. If you have your modem in the basement, putting the router next to it makes sense, but putting the access point there often means it will be completely unusable on the second floor. Don't be afraid, separate unit aren't really more complex, you just need to wire them together. I'll recommend a few unit throughout, but feel free to ask for a second opinion!
Personally, after witnessing the extreme difference in quality between home all-in-one routers and dedicated separate unit, I will strongly recommend you go with a separate unit setup. Ubiquiti makes super great hardware that won't cost you much more than a combo but will give you much more performance. Here are the recommended devices, I'll explain the setup right after :
So, your provider will supply you with a modem (or you will buy your own) and plug that directly in the DSL/Cable/Fiber line that comes from outside. Then, you will plug the router in the modem. The router will allow all the devices in your home to communicate with the internet. In the router, you will plug the switch. In the switch, you can plug all the lines that are going through your house. You can also plug several switches in the router, or a switch in another switch (example : a switch in the office plugged into a line that goes to the second floor, a switch on the second floor, that will work). Also plugged in the switch : the access point. You can plug it (or them if you buy more than one) directly in the switch, or at the end of a long line that goes where you want the access point to be. For a two stories house, you might get good result by having a central AP on the first floor, or an AP on each floor, depending on construction, materials and interference.
So now, we have the classic modem > router > switch > AP, using separate devices for greater flexibility and performance. Once it's all plugged in, time to set it up. For the router, simple, follow the wizard. For the switch, these switches are plug and play, no config needed. For the AP (or APs), install the software on your PC, follow the wizard, done! The controller software is used to configure the APs, but is not needed for the APs to work. The APs, once they get their config from the software, are completely standalone and independent, you can turn the PC off without issues.
Hope this answers your questions, as I said, ask anything that wasn't answered and I'll try to explain it.
> but I do want a very reliable, modular, but manageable home network
Mah nig ... like-minded fellow.
 
> I will be subscribing to Comcast
I am so sorry for you :(
 
Ok, let's tackle wifi first as there is more to talk about here.
First off, yes, wireless access point (AP) is the correct name, very good, seriously, most people just call them "router" or thingamajig or whatever else.
Second, also very good on the idea to decouple everything from each other and to put multiple APs around the house. So many ask for a magical all-in-one device that can reach the moon with wifi and act as a NAS for a small country via one USB attached HDD.
So, the device: Ubiquiti UniFi
Why: it does what you want: the seamless handoff. Basically this allows you to roam around your house without dropping signal, as the APs know when to hand you off to the nearest one.
This is a feature that is rarely found in consumer grade gear, and works decently in even fewer devices. On the UniFi devices it is so good that it does not drop a VoIP call when transitioning.
There are various versions of the device, N is the normal standard, only on the 2.4Ghz band (use Wifi Analyzer on Android to check how your spectrum is), then there is Long Range, Pro, and even AC.
IMHO they are not worth the extra money, or rather, in your case where most devices are wired and with your internet speed, you would not have great benefits from faster wifi.
These devices are around or under $70 on Amazon.
> is there a simple way to have more than wireless access point
More than 1 or what are you after here?
If it's with the UniFi devices, you can add as many as you want, just need the ports on a switch.
 
Router: Unifi EdgeRouter Lite (ERL)
It's based on Vyatta, a Debian OS made for routers. It is super stable, a beast of a workhorse, and it has a ton of advanced features. IPsec VPN is probably the only advanced feature you will really care for (I assume).
It's a router and only a router, so no wifi and no switch. It has 3 ports, which should be plenty for your setup (naturally you will want a switch or two).
Is it overkill for your setup? Maybe, but for $100 it's (again IMHO) the best router that that kind of money can buy. People will tell you that it is not very user friendly, and it might have been in the past, or to users that are not a bit technical, but the new GUI is all you will need to use to create a basic home network setup.
Mikrotik is another manufacturer of prosumer / cheap but good enterprise level gear, but just spec wise, the ERL is superior.
 
I'll link you a few unmanaged 24 port switches. Let me know if you want managed switches instead.
The main difference between managed and unmanaged is that the former gives you more control over your network, and if you want to do some things, like fancy segmentation of the network (VLANs), or QoS within the LAN (unnecessary in the home really), then you will need a managed switch.
The Trend-Net TEG-S24Dg is the second cheapest 24 port switch (gig of course) that I would buy.
I have had an 8 port Trend-Net switch for about 5 years with 0 troubles. The one linked above is metal casing, which helps with cooling and rigidity, and is a small form factor, so you can place it on a desk if you need to, and it's not a huge rack-mounted 19" beast (it's 11 inches long).
The TP-Link TL-SG1024 is a full size, rack mountable switch. No clue how it performs, but a bunch of reviews say it is good.
As you can see the difference in price is very small ($100 vs $108). Pick the one you like best or another all together. :)
One thing I would say is that I would not go with a 10/100 switch, as switches limit your internal speed, which can far exceed your internet speeds. For example file transfers between the NAS and your devices. Gig is the way to go, I wish 10 Gb would be cheaper, as I would go for it myself.
 
> Cables & walls
If you are running cables, do it once, and do it well: run Cat 6a cables.
Cat 6a cables are shielded, which protects from EMI (interference), and can run 10Gb up to 100m. Be sure to get Cat 6 A, and not just Cat 6, as Cat 6 (without the A) is only rated for 10 Gb at 40 meters or less.
The question you might be asking: why not just go with Cat 5e, which does 1Gb speeds to 100 meters just fine and is cheaper?
Well, most Cat 5e that is sold around, is not shielded, and you want shielded to run in the walls due to electrical cables and grounding systems. Also, you are tearing holes in home walls. Even if you are there for only a few years, why save a few dollars when you can do the job right?
 
In addition, you will want a bunch of faceplates, amazon or monoprice will have loads for cheap, a bunch of RJ-45 ends (don't skimp to much on these, some are really shitty), and potentially a patch panel.
A patch panel is a thing where you terminate your cable runs into it, and it allows you to plug an ethernet cable into it.
Like this
Basically this makes it so that you don't have to move around the cables which could damage them over time, and gives you a nice organized way to label each run. That being said, it's not mandatory, it's just something nice.
 
I know this is a wall of text, but I think I should have covered all your points.
You probably have more questions, ask away :)
You need a switch. What switch depends on your needs. If you don't care about VLANs and other managed features then a cheap dumb switch will do fine. Something like this would do. If you need more features then the price goes up. The switch that your friend recommended would do fine, but it is more expensive because it supports PoE. If you don't need PoE you can get cheaper managed switches.
So when I originally moved in to my house last year, I set things up in a very temporary setup that became more permanent than I was hoping. I also had to bring another box home from my office when we moved locations and we no longer had a dedicated internet connection so I couldn't expose anything directly to the internet.
I've been looking at setups from everyone for a while now, getting ideas of what I needed and I finally settled on the following:
I don't intend on purchasing full sized rack mount servers as I just use desktop class hardware for the most part but I took the two systems that I had in desktop cases and put them in the Rosewill cases that I've seen a lot of people use and a coworker recently suggested them as well as he recent did a rack setup. Since I don't need full size servers, I decided to go with a 4 post "network" rack as I don't really need the extra depth. I'm just using a 1U blank to help stabilize the servers in the rack so they're not just hanging from the front.
If anyone is looking to get some of the same components, I would say that the 1U shelves that I bought don't really work that well as I had to get creative with the brackets to make them work and they do extend out the back a bit but I knew they would do that when I purchased them, I just didn't realize I would have to flip around some brackets to make it work.
My network is really basic so I went with a 24 port unmanaged gigabit switch. I did have to get some POE injectors for my 3 WAPs as I did have a 8 port switch that had built in POE before but I knew that 8 ports wasn't going to cut it and I wanted to go with a rack mount switch.
Future plans are to replace the 3 regular PSUs with something rack mountable. Right now I have one PSU for each box and then the 3rd is for all of the network equipment. I'd also like to get a KVM but for right now I have HDMI cables ran to the side where I can easily switch them out and the keyboard I only plug into the front panels if I need it.
For those that are curious:
What am I using them for?
I just had my house wired up with Cat6 last week. I'm not an expert but I have some basic networking knowledge.
I purchased the following items:
I would also figure out how many cable drops per room you want.
For me, I had 4 drops in the living room, 4 in the loft, 2 in the guest bedroom, 2 in master bedroom, and 4 in home office (16 total).
> One 24 port switch would be the best way. But in reality it won't make much difference in any case unless those switches are
24 port switch will cost more than the current estimated cost, I'm guessing OP is attempting to save money.
Edit: However, I did Amazon a 24 port switch and came up with this Which would be an absolute perfect solution for your question.
Looks like this should fit the bill TP-Link 24-Port Gigabit Ethernet Unmanaged Switch | Plug and Play | Metal | Rackmount | Fanless | Limited Lifetime (TL-SG1024) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003BU0EKW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_sjQOCbDZKNSJY
Yes, but that doesn't mean you need to have them all connected. Just run the cables from each room to a central location and label them all. Then you only need to plug the ones you are going to use into the switch.
You can get a 24 port switch pretty cheap though if you want to connect them all.
https://www.amazon.com/Ethernet-Unmanaged-Rackmount-Lifetime-TL-SG1024/dp/B003BU0EKW/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1506691857&sr=8-3&keywords=24+port+switch
Sounds like the unmanaged switch will be fine for you. TP-Link 24-Port Gigabit Ethernet Unmanaged Rackmount Switch (TL-SG1024) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003BU0EKW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_ArBLzbNXRX2T2
Something like this
I think staying with 6 is fine. Most people will say if you are wiring now to go with 6a because the cost is similar but I find it is thicker and harder to bend. If you really want to future proof then you could go with 6a but right know 10Gbps is a little excessive.
AP wise you call Ubiquity expensive but the newest UAP-AC-PRO is the same price as the Linksys and will be much better, it is hard to find now because of limited supply. Sorry Its actually $20 more
I would spend a little extra for the Edgerouter Lite over the X but they are similar.
Unless I missed it I don't think you mentioned how many wall jacks you will have. So I will assume 24 drops. A good 24 port non POE switch is This normally $160 is on sale for $100
And This for POE only 8 ports though
EDIT
Sorry didn't release the netgear switch wasn't all POE you might be better off with a cheap 8-10 Port switch and POE Injectors
Like /u/topcat5 said you can get UAP-AC-LITE for $90.
TP-LINK TL-SG1024 10/100/1000Mbps 24-Port Gigabit 19-inch Rackmountable Switch, 48Gbps Capacity https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003BU0EKW/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_9kgSub067FXZH
They are not managed switches though. Was not needed for this install. But those hp 1810 are very reasonable for a managed switch
Thanks for the tip!
I plan on running the following at 100% cpu 24/7 most of the time.
I currently use an old WRT54G and a 4-port TP-Link gigabit switch, that'll be upgraded to this 24 port and my A6 will take the blunt of internet passthru once again.
I use 3 monitors (2x 1080's and a 5:4 lcd vga monitor that use to be on a KVM switch for my 2U server and laptop when needed).
I also have a random assortment of a 60W picoITX 5.25 bay computer, an old HTPC, and possibly an old Core 2 Duo that can easily be retrofitted into a 2U. I don't plan on using them (low CPU performance per watt) unless I go big or go home.
I just need to stop using laptops on wifi.
Basically anything with at least 4GB of ram and a passmark of 5K+ I plan on plugging in.
I was looking at this TP-Link:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003BU0EKW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_GRswzbGTHG9TG
But only 5 year warranty.
This Netgear has lifetime warranty:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002CWPW2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_TSswzbEF9ZDNZ
Is the TP-Link still the better choice? If so, why?
I'm also getting fiber (1Gig).
By satellites I'm referring to dish satellites that you may want to mount on the exterior of the house for any cable service you want such as DirecTV and similar providers. Here's a picture.
If you wish to have the ability to hot swap the Internet feed to any room at any time, all you need to do is find the coax cable that currently runs into the house. From there, you extend that cable with this coupler only if the cable doesn't reach your preferred central point, and then that goes to the central point. So then all the coaxial cables are heading to the central point, you should always label regardless of how much you think you memorize where each cable heads to. Now you do the same thing, get the coaxial with the ISP feed, put a coupler on it and pick the corresponding coaxial cable the modem will be in and attach it to the coupler. Like I mentioned before, I would recomneed having the modem sit in the central point. It'll have the same outcome as if you were putting it in a room but this just ensures all your equipment is one place and prevents you running longer cables from one point to another because the modem is in one room and the central point is another.
Now for the ethernet wiring, one hole slightly bigger the size of a golf ball should do for coaxial and ethernet. This is an example of a good install. All the cabling goes to one location in the house, the cables are securely punched down to a patch panel which the patch panel is securely mounted on a wall rack. Here's some items that will get you a clean and professional look while not breaking the bank: