Re: [tlug] Class B Hubs not suitable for data center use?

["Jonathan Q" <jq@example.com>]

On 8/28/2002, "Jean-Christian Imbeault" <jean_christian@example.com>
wrote:


>I understand that it is entry-level and for SOHO but what would be the
>difference between a enterprise level device and a SOHO device. To me a
>100Mbps hub is a hub is a hub ...

A hub pretty much is a hub, especially these days when cheap ones are the
only kind there are.  Switches have more room for variation in both
hardware capability and (especially) software capability.  Hardware-wise,
enterprise switches are going to have more switching fabric bandwidth and
can probably switch all their ports at near wire-speed even under high
throughput.  The quality of the hardware firmware is also likely to be
better.  Where they really differentiate themselves, though, is on software
capability.  For an example, read some product literature or documentation
on Cisco 2900XL switches and you'll see what I mean.  Now, a lot of what
those do is something a setup like you described isn't likely to actually
need, but it will do what you do need better than a cheap switch will.  Of
course, you'll pay for that quality ;-)


>Again accordign to the 3Com specs all ports should be auto-sensing. I
have
>not been able to get to the DC in order to check that it has in fact
>correctly set itslef to 100Mbps and not 10.

It sounds like it is only auto-sense,that you can't port-lock it.  This is
common with low-end switches.  More expensive switches allow you to
manually set 10 or 100, full or half-duplex.


It's not uncommon to get less than great answers from first-level support
staff, since the first thing skilled support staff do is make themselves
less accessible :-)  Seriously, though, that's the way everything works. 
The first-level contacts are the least skilled but can take care of most
basic problems.  Somewhere behind them are more skilled people who only
take calls that have been escalated to second-level support.  Your biggest
challenge is probably getting a problem escalated to them.  Behind them,
there may be a crack team of third-level support people, or more commonly
the third-level support comes from the actual sysadmins and network
engineers.  Getting a problem escalated to them if it really needs it
probably isn't as hard as getting it from level one to level two, since one
of the things that level one people often seem to not know is when they
don't know and should escalate the problem or at least ask for advice from
a level 2 or level 3 person.

Jonathan