[nycbug-talk] Smart/managed switches

[Tim A.]

jonathan at kc8onw.net wrote:
> What I want:
> Gigabit
> 8-24 ports
> 802.1w Rapid spanning tree
> rs232 console port for out of band management
> As cheap as possible without getting junk
>   

Personally, that's not a boundary I'd want to explore.
Going with something like HP or Adtran (equipment I'm ready to trust) 
already puts you at 1/2 - 1/3 Cisco prices.
If you want to push the 1/5 - 1/10 boundary, you may find yourself on 
the wrong side of the not-so-fine line between cheap and junk.

Same thing with used equipment. Unless it's for testing or some other 
non-priority role, why get something that has a head start on its trip 
towards its mean-time-to-failure?