Recommended 24 port GigE switch and wireless access points? 1

[aflyctus]

I'm asking this question in the ProCurve forum because I've read good things about HP ProCurve quality and price. However, feel free to recommend non-ProCurve.

Basically, I'd like a recommendation for a quality 24-port Gigabit switch with VLAN and QoS support. I'm leaning towards the HP ProCurve 2810-24G. If I go with this one, I'll probably buy it off eBay since I'd rather not pay more than $500-$700 on a switch. Any idea if I'll still have HP's lifetime warranty?

And while I have your attention, do have any recommendations for a quality 802.11n wireless access point (not necessarily HP)? The things that matter to me for a WAP are:
* Range - the building has 14400 square ft. first floor, 3600 square ft. second floor
* Reliability - I don't want to reboot it all of the time
* 802.11b/g/n
* VLAN support - I'd like to create two wireless networks, each on a separate VLAN. I'm also open to buying twice as many WAPs without VLAN support.
* Price - I'd rather not spend more than $500 on wireless access points, but I can go higher if necessary
* PoE - I won't necessarily have a power outlet where I place the WAP

The Cisco Small Business WAP4410N looks tempting, but it's had some reliability issues. The ProCurve units are pretty expensive (for example, the MSM410), and I can't tell if I need to get a "Mobility Controller" (e.g., MSM710) in order to achieve multiple networks on separate VLANs.

If it helps, here's what I'm trying to achieve:

My church has Cat 6 wired to a number of locations throughout the building, so I'd like to provide GigE to all of the outlets. There will be some shared resources for people who attend the church (e.g., printer, file server) and I plan on putting these resources on one VLAN. There is also a wireless network that will be on the same VLAN. Guests who rent the facility will only have wireless Internet access on a separate VLAN. Finally, there is a requirement for playing live video streams over the Internet (on the internal VLAN) and I want to provide QoS to the computer that is playing the video.

Thanks for your time!
aflyctus

 

[unclerico]

you can't go wrong with ProCurve. great product that just works. one thing you need to evaluate is whether or not ACL's are going to be needed on the switch itself because the 2810 model does not support them. it may not matter, but i just wanted to let you know.

for VLAN support, i'm assuming that your L3 device supports VLAN's to facilitate inter-vlan routing??

the product that we use here in my company is called Aerohive. these devices are by far the absolute best AP's that i have ever worked with. they are a tad bit spendy, but if you get multiple 300 series AP's you can manage up to 12 AP's from one. they meet all of your criteria except for price, but since you are doing the work for a non-profit they might cut you a deal.

as for your scenario, you must make sure that you enable port-security on the switch since ports will be accessible to the general public. the qos requirement will depend on whether your L3 device supports it or not.


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[aflyctus]

I think I can live without ACLs (actually, I didn't even know what they were until today). Thanks for the heads up though.

I'm planning on using a FreeBSD or Linux box as my router between my network and the Internet, and I'm pretty sure that both support VLAN trunking and QoS.

I talked to one of Aerohive's their reps today and they're definitely outside of my budget. I may end up going with a few cheap WAPs if I can find one that's known for its reliability.

Thanks for the tip about port security! I learned something else new today that I didn't know about. And it looks like the 2810 supports this feature.