8 Port Switch Recommendations

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gatorchoice

gatorchoice

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Aug 19, 2011
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I'm moving a small business office to a house, and the Internet provider (fiber) has installed a modem with 4 port wireless router. I need to expand capacity to 6 or 8 ports and wouldn't mind including some firewall/security options.

I'm a bit of a novice with this, so reaching out to anyone that may have a recommendation. I definitely don't want to spend top dollar, but am not necessarily looking for bargain basement either. I'm a fan of bang-for-the-buck when it comes to technology purchases and was hoping to find something decent for around $300 or less. I'm open to increasing that limit if necessary.
 
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The function you describe are done by a router. Switches are designed for speed and function using asic chips. Although some switch have very advanced functions like ip routing you will not find a device that can do what you want.

Pretty much if the device is going to modify or deeply inspect packets it will delay the data. The manufactures of even the most advanced switches you can buy exclude features that delay data.

For VPN there are many device you can find that can do both client and server. Content filtering depends on how advanced you want it. Consumer router have things like parental controls or firewalls that can do some of this but if you want to say use subscription lists or do deep packet inspections you will need a...
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jsmithepa

jsmithepa

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Jun 14, 2014
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Unnecessarily.

Dumb switches can be had for less than usd$50, and smart switches, $100. Smart switches have more controls and potentially can manage fair usage for the many people in the house.

The best security is regular backups of your irreplaceable data, and, to me, maintain OS image backups, so if any prob, just restore, 15mins and you are back in business, not spending hours/days running a virus cleaner.
 
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gatorchoice

gatorchoice

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Sorry I wasn't clear - I was considering a VPN, content filtering security device. Great recommendations however, I appreciate it. If I choose to go with just a switch, those are great choices.
 
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bill001g

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Aug 9, 2012
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The function you describe are done by a router. Switches are designed for speed and function using asic chips. Although some switch have very advanced functions like ip routing you will not find a device that can do what you want.

Pretty much if the device is going to modify or deeply inspect packets it will delay the data. The manufactures of even the most advanced switches you can buy exclude features that delay data.

For VPN there are many device you can find that can do both client and server. Content filtering depends on how advanced you want it. Consumer router have things like parental controls or firewalls that can do some of this but if you want to say use subscription lists or do deep packet inspections you will need a firewall. If you go with a firewall the selection will be mostly based on how much traffic you expect.

So you likely will need to buy a router/firewall and a switch. The cost of routers with more than 4 ports is silly expensive compared to using a external switch.
 
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