Page 128 - Security Today, March 2017

Carl Smith, System Design-Support Engineer, ScanSource Security
Dear IP Man:
What do I need to consider when purchasing network switches?
- Switch Hitter
Dear Switch:
That is a great question. Everything
that goes onto a network is connected with a switch. That is the primary
means of allowing all of your devices
to communicate with each other on a network. Here are just a few things to consider when selecting the right switch for a job:
Port Count – A port, or switch port, is what you plug your devices into via cat5e or cat6 cabling. This one may seem obvious, but you want to make sure that you have enough ports on your switch to accommodate all of the devices you plug into it.
Port Speed – Fast Ethernet Switches have a port speed of up to 100 Mbps. Gigabit switches can transfer data much faster,
at rates up to 1,000 Mbps. The important thing to note is that if you have a gigabit switch, the device and the cabling that connects to it must also support gigabit.
PoE – Power over Ethernet is a way to power devices off of the switch. It is important to do your homework and know the classification of PoE your devices require. Some devices are 802.3af compliant, meaning they can take up to 15.4 watts of power. Devices that require more power may be 802.3at compliant, meaning they could take up to 25.5 watts
of power. It is important to make sure your switch can handle the appropriate power requirements. Look at the total PoE budget for a switch and make sure it will be enough.
Routing Capability – You may hear the terms “layer 2” or “layer 3” switching.
In very simple terms, a layer 2 switch has no routing capability, and just “switches.” A layer 3 switch has routing capabilities built into it and can be used to pass traffic between different networks.
Note: there are many different flavors
of layer 3 switches, depending on the need for defining static routes, or using dynamic routing protocols, etc.
Managed – Lastly, does the switch need to be managed? A managed switch gives you more control over the LAN traffic and allows for more advanced features like creating VLANS (virtual local area networks), setting up QOS (quality of service), etc. If the switch is just going to carry one type of traffic like data, then this may not be necessary. But if multiple types of traffic are going on one network (voice, video, data), or if it is a very large network, you may want to consider some of the advanced features of a managed switch to help out.
These are just the basics, but hopefully this will get you pointed in the right direction the next time you need to make some switch purchasing decisions. Thanks!
Sincerely,
Carl “IP Man” Smith
3 | ScanSource Security Focus SPRING 2017