Hubs & Switches

Network switches for offices, server rooms and access layers

Switches are the workhorses of any wired network. Every device in the building connects through one, and a poorly chosen switch becomes the bottleneck nobody can find. The right switch matches the port count, port speed and management needs to the network it serves, with enough uplink bandwidth to feed the busiest hours.

What this category covers

Unmanaged 5-, 8- and 16-port desktop switches for very small networks; smart switches with web-based management for VLANs and basic QoS; fully managed Layer 2 and Layer 3 switches for medium and large installs; and PoE and PoE+ switches with power budgets from 60 to over 700 watts.

How to choose a switch

Pick the port count with margin

Count the active ports today, then add 25 percent for growth. Adding a second switch later is more disruptive and more expensive per port than buying one size up at order time. Common steps are 8, 16, 24 and 48 ports.

Match port speed to the workload

Gigabit (1 GbE) is still the office default. 2.5 GbE is appearing on access points and servers and is worth specifying for backbone uplinks. 10 GbE belongs on server connections and uplinks between switches. Mixing speeds (gigabit access ports, 10 GbE uplinks) is the typical pattern.

Decide on managed or unmanaged

Unmanaged switches are cheaper and plug-and-play, fine for very small networks under ten devices. Managed switches add VLANs, port-level monitoring, link aggregation, spanning tree and QoS, all of which become important as soon as a network handles more than a handful of devices or supports voice or video.

Specify PoE for access points and cameras

Wireless access points, IP phones and IP cameras almost always run on Power over Ethernet (PoE). Specify a PoE switch with a power budget large enough for all connected devices. Watch the per-port wattage too: PoE+ delivers up to 30 W per port, PoE++ up to 60 or 90 W for higher-power APs and cameras.

Key features to compare

Layer 2 versus Layer 3

Layer 2 switches handle MAC-based forwarding and VLANs. Layer 3 switches add inter-VLAN routing and basic OSPF or static routing, useful in larger campuses where the core switch handles traffic between VLANs without involving a separate router.

Stacking

Stackable switches let multiple physical switches act as one logical unit, simplifying management and offering single-point uplinks. Useful in growing offices and dense access closets.

Cloud management

Cloud-managed switches give central visibility across multiple sites with a single dashboard. Useful for retail, branch and education networks; less useful for single-site offices.

What to check before buying

• Port count today plus 25 percent growth headroom?
• Port speed matched to the access devices, with faster uplinks?
• Managed or unmanaged, and which management interface?
• PoE budget large enough for all powered devices?
• Layer 2 or Layer 3 needed for the network design?

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between a hub and a switch?

Hubs broadcast every packet to every port; they are obsolete and have not been sold in business equipment for years. Switches forward packets only to the port the destination MAC address sits on. The category name is historical; in practice everything sold today is a switch.

Do I need PoE on every switch port?

No. Only ports connected to PoE-powered devices (access points, IP phones, IP cameras) need PoE. Mixed switches with PoE on some ports and standard ports on others are common. The PoE budget figure is the total wattage available across all PoE ports, not per port.

How big a PoE budget do I need?

Add the wattage of every PoE device on the switch. Typical Wi-Fi 6 access points use 15 to 25 W; Wi-Fi 6E and outdoor APs can need 30 to 60 W. IP phones use 4 to 7 W; IP cameras 6 to 30 W depending on features. Add 20 percent margin and choose a switch with that total or higher.

Should I use stacking or just trunk uplinks between switches?

Stacking simplifies management (one IP, one configuration) and allows cross-stack link aggregation. Trunked uplinks are simpler and cheaper but require managing each switch separately. For closets with three or more switches, stacking pays back; for a pair, either approach works.

What is QoS and do I need it?

Quality of Service prioritizes time-sensitive traffic (voice, video) over bulk traffic (file transfers, backups). On a network that carries voice over IP or video conferencing, QoS is genuinely useful. On data-only office networks with comfortable headroom, QoS rarely changes anything visible.