Web Hosting Talk : Web Hosting Main Forums : Colocation and Data Centers : First time colo'ng need switch that does VLAN, anything else?

[hostbox]

So after some research, quotes, calls, I finally know a little bit more about colocation than before.

The datacenter will provide me with a cabinet, power and thats it. One network drop only (they do not provide management services). They will assign me a NETBLOCK for my cab, but its up to me to manage it.

Now, I have the servers already but I am going to need somekind of switch that will allow me to distribute the network and prevent people from stealing IPs, I believe VLAN is in place to prevent that.

Any other features I would need for a start-up colo? , any ideas of what kind of affordable switch or used on ebay I can get that will satisfy my needs?

All network ports to the servers will be 100MB, but I would like to be able to limit port speed at the switch in case of excessive bandwidth usage.

Would it be easy to understand and deploy this setup with some basic knowledge (no CCNA here guys) and some googling?

[osopolis]

Hi.

A Dell PowerConnect 3448 (48 x 10/100 Ports + 2 x Gbit Port) would fit your needs or the Dell PowerConnect 3424 if you need 24 Ports instead. Its 1U in Size.

You can select 10 or 100 Mbit for each Port which would limit it to that speed.

Cheers.

[JTY]

You'll want a layer 3 switch, as it'll allow you to create VLANs, and do their routing. A Cisco Catalyst 3550 or 3560 would be a good choice.

[ThomasB-ATLDC]

You might want to consider a CISCO 5500 series (depends on yur throughput needs). They have a lot more functionality, almost router quality, and an easy VLAN interface. You can get them on e-bay for a bit of nothing. I've got two if you're interested, we upgraded to 6500's. (not sure I'm allowed to say that, oops).

[kevworks]

Hi,

If they are giving you a netblock then it would be up to you to create the routes and vlans. The other alternative is have the data center handle the the ip addresses to you and put you in a single vlan and on your switch you can make acls for each port to see which IPs they can use (which is also a bit complicated).

To do the first option you will need a layer3 switch, 3550 for example. To do the second option I think you can get by on a 2950 but I could be wrong.

I would be careful if you do not know how to manage a layer3 switch. If something fails you could be at the hands of your data center or a third party tech trying to fix your mistakes.

[WII-Aaron]

The layer 3 switch, as said before, is the way to go however, I would stay away from the 3550. Find something that will do IPv6 so you're covered in the future.

[dkitchen]

Originally Posted by WII-Aaron

The layer 3 switch, as said before, is the way to go however, I would stay away from the 3550. Find something that will do IPv6 so you're covered in the future.

I would disagree.

The 3550 is a fair bet for an entry level unit. Sure IPv6 future compatibility is nice, but it comes with a rather large price tag too.

[volumedrive]

You can also have a look into the Extreme Networks brand switches. They are good for the price and depending on the license can handle full L3 and VLAN.

[jzukerman]

Other items you might want to look at is a remote reboot PDU and possibly a KVM/IP switch, both for remote troubleshooting. The latter can be expensive, but remote reboot PDU should be relatively inexpensive on eBay (APC MasterSwitch units) depending on how many ports you need.

[LevelHosting Inc]

I will also have to second the Cisco 3550 and 2950 which can also set VLANS. Both devices can handle a good load.

[HNLV]

If you are tight on pricing, you can give ProCurve 2626 a try. It does not have any advance features but it does VLANs.

[hostbox]

Originally Posted by JTY

You'll want a layer 3 switch, as it'll allow you to create VLANs, and do their routing. A Cisco Catalyst 3550 or 3560 would be a good choice.

Would a 48 port Cisco 3550 be limited at only 48 hosts, or can it be expanded?

Also with the EMI version of the 3550 is it any good or has it enough memory for BGP?

Thanks

[spaethco]

Originally Posted by Francisco

Would a 48 port Cisco 3550 be limited at only 48 hosts, or can it be expanded?

It can be expanded by purchasing another 3550. They're not stackable into one logical management unit though; while connectivity can obviously span switches there will be no "central intelligence" so each switch would need to be configured independently.

Originally Posted by Francisco

Also with the EMI version of the 3550 is it any good or has it enough memory for BGP?

How many prefixes?

If you're taking a 0's route from your upstream and only passsing up your netblock you should be fine. If you only have one upstream there's nothing that says you have to take any routes at all -- you can just use a static default route out and only use BGP to advertise your netblock.