cisco switch upgrade questions;

[bfordz]

We're looking to upgrade our network equipment to up our bandwidth speed and through put.
I'm not a "network engineer" or guru, but I'm in charge of keeping everything working once it's setup; I've also been tasked with making the decision for the new network equipment.
When comparing switches what spec's should I pay the most attention to?

We currently have Cisco Catalyst 2900 / 2950 series switches and we'd like to look at gigabit switches.
We have approx. 90 employees who access the internet; 1/3 of those access a small CRM server onsite.
We also have 28 IP security cameras, those 1/3 need access to; the cameras are basically on their own network with the exception of a Cat5e cable from their Switch to one of ours. (one of the reasons to increase our bandwidth) They don't share any of my current Cisco switches, they have their own gigabit switches.

When Cisco talks about their SG series SMB edition switches how "small" or big do they consider "small business"?

I'm being quoted for Cisco Catalyst 2960x series switches but I can't help but wonder if the SG500x series would be a cheaper avenue to save some money.
We're spread out between 4 buildings; connected by fiber; two different stores, each with there own internet connection and firewall; wireless customer lounges in each building, plus some wireless access to the network in our service departments.
We also don't have any VoIp phones either. We're all digital(some analog,chimes) over copper on one big campus.

I'm not sure what spec's I should really be concerned about when comparing these two models and at what point am I paying for overkill with the catalyst switches or how am I short changing myself with the SG500x series.

Does anyone have any input or experience with the two switches in question before I have to make a decision?
Any input would be appreciated.

 

[madwok]

I would stick with tried/true 29xx series . They are not that expensive .

 

[iggsterman]

While I personally prefer 2960 as they are in a completely different class, SG-series should be more than enough in terms of capacity.
Cisco's "SMB" just like everyone else's is just a marketing term. It does not really correlate with the number of employees directly. All you need to know/have is:
1. port speed
2. switch capabilities i.e. Spaning tree, auto-MDIX, port protection, support for voice if needed, PoE if needed, QoS, etc.
3. Switch throughput. In other words how much traffic do you expect to get switched at peek time?
4. Capabilities for stacking.

Good luck