3Com Baseline 24 10/100 Superstack 3C16465A

[lanuser]

Hi all,

Currently I have a 3Com Baseline 24 port 10/100 Superstack 2 Switch 3C16465A and I'm looking for a compatible switch to extend it to another area. The 3com switch (3C16465A) does not have a matrix port but I have connected a straight cable from another switch to one of the ports to act as the uplink.

I know that by using matrix ports between switches will increase the speed as compared to the Cat5 cable but that means I need to get 2 new switches.
1)Are there any alternatives?
2)How do I know what switches are compatible with this model? Suggestions anyone?

Thanks in advance.

 

[TimRegester]

The matrix cable will only be suitable if both switches are co-located in the same cabinet.

Any switch that is fully 802.1z compatible is fine but I would use a crossed cable to ensure it works.

You will be building a bottleneck into your network in the shape of the 100BASE-TX uplink so you need to be aware of the potential pitfalls, for example if you add another 24 port switch and your server is plugged into the original switch you only need an average utilisation of 5% before this bottleneck could potentially be realised. That said your server is doubtless connected by 100BASE-TX so you already have the potential bottleneck.

The baseline switch was designed for small office enviroments as an entry into switching. The model you mention has been superceded a few times since it was brought out. There are no gigabit options and no support for link aggreagation.

So sit back take a deep breath and ask yourself the following questions.

Is the network traffic or potential traffic likely to find out the bottleneck? if so swap both switches for a pair of switches that can link by gigabit or stacking. if not two dumb switches connected by 100BASE-TX will do.

Is the business/organisation likely to grow beyond the two switches? if the answer is yes look at stacking switches. If not then nuy another switch, but maybe one with an upgrade path so you may only have to replace one if you miscalculate.

Remember you can swap out both switches and have your old PC racked as a hot spare should one of the new ones fail, such an insurance policy will make you feel better.

Lastly shop around some dealers and partners will may have a trade-in policy so your old switch may save you some money.

 

[lanuser]

The company is really small and wants to cut down/reduce costs in spending on the switches. Furthermore the boss has indicated that they don't need a Gigabit link for the switches at the moment(Future planning included). The actual moving of the 24 port switch is only about 5-10 metres away.

I think there are some switches that utilise a "uplink port" to connect to other switches. I have suggested stackable switches but the problem lies in the setup of the network as shown below:

2 stackable switches(area A)--------Cat5------------DSL router and server(area B).

1 switch(area A)--------Cat5/or matrix cable----------switch, server and DSL router(area B)

If we go by the first setup,the switches will connect by matrix port and the link to the server and DSL will still be via a CAT5 cable.
The company is using the second setup now without the matrix cable. CAT5 cable is used as the uplink between switches. Its hard to move in the current design because the DSL line is not long enough to place all equipment together.

I have suggested getting 2 3Com switches like 3300 and am also looking around for switches with specfic uplink ports.

Comments on better switches available?

 

[MTMnet]

The 3Com 4400SE 24Port 10/100M switch has a feature called Auto MDIX which means that you can plug your existing switch into any one of the ports on the new 4400SE and it will automatically determine what type of cable (straight or crossover) and give you a link light, which will provide your 100M Full Duplex connection between the two switches.

More Info:

http://www.mtmnet.com/3C17206_Refurb.htm

fyi,
Mike
mmcgovern@MTMnet.com

 

[lanuser]

Thank you for your help