Unmanaged Switch Configuration

[Brayan Sedillo]

Whenselecting the right type of switch to meet your needs, one consideration is whether to use a managed or an unmanaged switch. The key difference is in the amount of control you have over the settings of the switch.

Unmanaged switches are designed to just plug in and run, with no settings to configure. These are fine to use in small networks with only basic needs. Managed switches, however, are fully configurable, are customizable, and provide a range of data on performance. Those attributes make them more suitable for larger networks and networks supporting critical activities.

Managed switches, with the flexibility and control they provide, are a must for networks where reliability and security are critical. Typically, such networks power enterprise-level businesses, government agencies, universities, and healthcare organizations.

A third type of switches, called smart managed switches, offers a compromise between cost and features. These switches are suited for small businesses that have limited budgets but need better security protection and want to improve their networks' performance.

Managed switches have more capability than unmanaged switches, but they also require a skilled administrator or engineer to make the most of them. A managed switch enables better control of networks and the data frames moving through them. Unmanaged switches, on the other hand, enable connected devices to communicate with one another in their most basic form.

Unmanaged switches use autonegotiated ports to determine parameters, such as data rates and whether to use half-duplex or full-duplex mode. Additionally, unmanaged switches have no concept of virtual LANs (VLANs). Thus, all devices belong to the same broadcast domain.

Unmanaged switches do maintain a media access control (MAC) address table, however. This table tracks dynamically learned MAC addresses and the corresponding switch port on which the MAC address was learned. The inclusion of a MAC address table means unmanaged network switches offer a separate, per-port collision domain.

A collision occurs when two devices within the same domain attempt to send data at the exact same time. If this occurs, the switch drops both packets, and the end devices are forced to retransmit. A collision domain is a Layer 2 network boundary where devices can send a broadcast frame and reach all devices within said segment.

Managed switches let users adjust each port on the switch to any setting, enabling them to manage, configure and monitor the network in many ways. They also provide greater control over how data travels over the network and who can access that data.

Managed switches generally offer Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP), which enables users to monitor the statuses of the switch and individual switch ports and provides statistics like traffic throughput, network errors and port status. Network admins can track this data over time and use it for both troubleshooting and network capacity purposes.

Managed switch ports can be configured as trunks, a process that tags data frames with a VLAN ID and transports multiple VLAN frames across a single link. Trunk ports are typically used to connect two switches together or to connect a switch to a VM server that requires access to multiple VLANs. Admins can also virtually combine multiple ports to form port aggregated links that transport at two, four and eight times the speed of a single link.

Lastly, managed network switches usually have a remotely accessible console -- command-line or web interface -- to enable administrators to make configuration changes or adjustments from different physical locations.

Control and performance. A major difference between managed and unmanaged switches is control and performance. From this standpoint, the networking team is responsible for maintaining both managed and unmanaged switches. The difference, however, is teams can configure managed switches to handle network traffic differently. Other differences include the ability to remotely access configurations and the ability to monitor devices using monitoring protocols, such as SNMP, NetFlow and other network telemetry data.

Managed switches also require one or more administrators that understand network configuration and monitoring concepts and how to apply those concepts to a switch configuration. Unmanaged switches have more of a plug and play installment process.

A unique feature of unmanaged switches is the aforementioned MAC address table. Maintaining a MAC address table helps reduce the overall number of broadcasts transmitted, limiting the number of potential collisions within the domain. This is also a key differentiator between an unmanaged switch and an Ethernet hub.

Cost. Looking at cost, unmanaged switches are considerably cheaper compared to their managed counterparts. That said, few unmanaged switch options are considered enterprise-grade. Instead, organizations interested in unmanaged switches can purchase them directly from the manufacturer online or through big-box stores.

Cloud-managed switches, on the other hand, are controlled in public cloud environments and only require an administrator to have internet access. Thus, for geographically distributed networks, a cloud-managed switch architecture can simplify the remote management process.

As mentioned, managed switches are more expensive than unmanaged switches, as they require software patches, updates and -- often -- a skilled professional for implementation. That said, complex networks that consist of servers, wireless access points, PCs and IoT devices often necessitate the configuration options found on managed switches.

Small businesses with several dozen connected devices can likely get away with deploying an unmanaged switch. The capabilities found in managed switches likely won't be used, as a single flat network can easily handle the level of traffic a small network generates. Thus, a managed switch's extra cost will likely not add any additional value for the business.

An organization may require a managed switch if the business begins to approach hundreds of devices. In this case, the ability to break up the LAN into multiple broadcast domains using VLANs can ensure the network performs optimally. Additionally, larger businesses will likely have an IT network professional on staff who can configure advanced performance, security and monitoring features.

Layer 3 switches are important in enterprise networks -- particularly in designs with many subnets and virtual LANs. What is a Layer 3 switch, what can it do for you, and how does it differ from a regular switch or router?

There are different types of network switches, such as KVM switches, ethernet switches managed vs unmanaged, smart and POE switches, each serving a unique purpose. A clear understanding of managed vs unmanaged switches can help administrators exercise better control and cost across the data center.

Let us examine two frequently-used types of switches. i.e., managed vs unmanaged switches. This will help us understand an important question: what is a better, a managed or unmanaged switch for your business? We will also deep dive into the benefits of managed switch vs unmanaged switch.

Managed switches allow users to map each port on the switch with different settings, allowing them to monitor, configure and manage the network flexibly. Managed switch ports are also configurable as trunks, allowing for transporting VLAN frames across one link. Admins can virtually assemble different ports and transmit information at 2x,4x, and even 8x the speed of a single link.

Another feature of managed switches is the support for Simple Network Management Protocol (SMNP) which allows admins to track status updates for troubleshooting and conduct network capacity assessments.

Unmanaged switches determine parameters like data rates and switching between half and full duplex modes with auto-negotiated ports. Most unmanaged switches belong to the same broadcast domain and do not support VLANs.

An Ethernet switch or network switch is a networking device that connects multiple devices on a Local Area Network (LAN) and enables them to communicate with each other. The main difference between a managed and an unmanaged Ethernet switch lies in the level of control and configurability they offer to network administrators. Ethernet managed switches provide advanced features like VLANs, QoS, link aggregation, and security mechanisms. They can be configured, monitored, and managed by network administrators using a web-based interface or CLI. On the other hand, ethernet unmanaged switches are plug-and-play devices with fixed settings and no configuration options. They are simpler, less expensive, and suitable for basic connectivity needs. Managed switches are ideal for larger networks requiring customization and control, while unmanaged switches are commonly used in smaller networks or home environments.

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The first use case has a subnetwork which has to be able to communicate with many other subnetworks but only one at the time. E.g. A computer with the address 10.0.1.162/29 has to be able to talk to another computer with ip 10.0.1.2/30. For this I defined VLAN 1 with ip 10.0.1.161/29 and VLAN 10 with ip 10.0.1.1/30. Assigned each VLAN to the correct interface and it worked.

The second use case is much simpler since the the SG300 should just work like an unmanaged switch. However, I'm not sure how to set this up correctly such that I'm still able to access the CLI via an ethernet connection. The simplest configuration would just be to remove the IP address vom VLAN 1 and assign it to all ports but then only managed to access the SG300 via console cable.

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