Reddit reviews NETGEAR 8-Port Gigabit Ethernet Smart Managed Plus Switch (GS108Ev3) - Desktop, and ProSAFE Limited Lifetime Protection

Unmanaged switches just connect devices.

Managed switches can do more; like monitor performance (via SNMP), create VLANs, aggregate multiple ports into a bonded interface, provide electricity to run other devices (power over Ethernet, or PoE) prioritise traffic via QoS, etc.

The managed version of your switch would be something like the GS108E, GS108T [can trunk/aggregate ports] or GS108PE [can provide PoE].

If you don't need any of the managed functions, an unmanaged switch is fine.

PM me a mailing address. I have one of these that I'm not using. I'll try to get it in the mail tomorrow.

Thanks for the suggestion. I was hoping to get a switch that has a few more ports, though. I was looking at this

Seems pretty decent, are there any significant benefits getting the mikrotik over this?

As explained already, you'll need a device that supports VLAN configuration (priority and tagging) instead of the Linksys switch you're proposing.

All you'll need to swap in this situation is the switch with something supported, and add a PoE injector to power the fiber jack.

A cheap managed switched like the Netgear GS108E can do this for you.

One thing to note is that I don't think you'll be able to get phone or TV service doing this, since you probably need the network box at the front of the topology pulling the IP. I'm not 100% sure if you can just stick the NB somewhere and it just "works" so just keep that in mind.

You will not need a modem. They are using fiber, and will provide a fiber to ethernet bridge. You will plug this straight into your router. I am assuming this, though and I may be incorrect.

If it were me, I would get an Ubiquiti USG router and an Ubiquiti AC Pro Access Point. These require a controller to initially program and use the advanced features. If you have an always on PC/Server, you can install Ubuntu (or fav linux) in a VM and install the software there. Or you can use a raspberry pi, or buy one of their standalone devices. You will also need a switch. Any switch that supports VLAN's should be sufficient. Like this one.

Hope that helps!

neither option is optimal. go with a good router straight off the modem with a 8 port SWITCH right next to it. then either use a couple waps or routers configured in wap mode to fulfill your wireless needs. most applications only call for one router in the network and unless configured correctly you can get some pretty big headaches from having more than one device issuing dhcp on the same network (not good) do you already have the components and if so what are they? if not we can definitely give you parts recommendations to really streamline things!

edit: if your in a position to start from scratch:
Ubiquiti Edgerouter and
Netgear switch and
Unify AP's

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say:... it's because you're using cheap/shitty equipment.

• Switch = Trendnet..... I'd throw this away. It's a cheap $15 switch. If you spend something in the $50 to $100 range (example: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00M1C0186/ref=twister_B00MGMPT9W ) You'll get better & more reliable performance.
  
  
• Router = That Verizon FIOS router is just a re-branded Actiontec MI424-WR. Honestly it's got fairly low end specs. Here's the info-page: http://wiki.openwrt.org/toh/actiontec/mi424wr. It's got a CPU that only goes up to 533mhz, 32mb of RAM and 8mb of Flash (firmware storage space). Most modern home/consumer level Routers these days are anywhere from 600mhz to 1ghz+ CPU's.. with 128 to 256mb of RAM and 128 to 256mb of Flash.
  
  As far as the OpenELEC ... Looks like it uses an integrated AMD-chipset and is capable of Gigabit Ethernet.. so as long as your AMD chipset drivers are up to date.. you should be fine.
  
  As far as the DELL... The network drivers were last updated December 2013: http://www.dell.com/support/home/us/en/19/product-support/product/inspiron-15r-5520/drivers (look under NETWORK and Realtek )

There is a Netgear WNR3500L which is $35 USD that seems to have some good reviews. Since it runs OpenWRT it should give you all kinds of capability, including vlans. However, you will have to configure it of course (do your homework). You could also consider a managed switch like the Netgear GS108E in the out years to amplify what you want to do (also look at the Netgear GS108T as well, just a little more money). I am using four GS108Ts in my home network with around 8 vlans for various purposes.

Nice. I do the same thing with an instance of Security Onion, but I would like to implement Splunk or an ELK stack as soon as I have more time. I use this switch because it's cheap and it supports port mirroring (https://www.amazon.com/NETGEAR-ProSAFE-Gigabit-Managed-GS108E-300NAS/dp/B00M1C0186). I have a Ubiquiti ERX connected to my Cable modem and I use my old Asus wireless router as an AP.

I know these aren't as fancy as some of the switches that get talked about here often, but these look really decent for someone looking to start their own homelab. I don't really have experience with NETGEAR equipment, but a lot of these are managed, PoE and 10Gb.

THIS 8-port managed switch seems pretty cheap, there's a $10 rebate form.

SAME SWITCH but with 4 PoE ports.

Here's a cheap Netgear Managed Gigabit switch.

Using this with VLAN's will be like having 8 network cards to segment your network: https://www.amazon.com/NETGEAR-Gigabit-Lifetime-Protection-GS108Ev3/dp/B00M1C0186/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=netgear+vlan+switch&qid=1569007589&s=gateway&sr=8-3

TP-link makes OK stuff in a pinch, but I would look towards something like..

https://www.ebay.com/itm/HP-1920-JG923A-16-Port-Managed-Gigabit-Layer-3-Switch/302715238253?hash=item467b3bf76d:g:Eq8AAOSw8zNa3nNX

Or if you're on the cheap
https://www.amazon.com/NETGEAR-Gigabit-Lifetime-Protection-GS108Ev3/dp/B00M1C0186/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1525047885&sr=1-3&keywords=netgear+managed+switch

What you want is.. VLANS and LACP. LACP will allow you to take advantage of the multiple NICs on your server.

It's what I am doing as well. My server has only one port. What you need is a managed switch like http://www.amazon.com/NETGEAR-ProSAFE-Gigabit-Managed-GS108E-300NAS/dp/B00M1C0186?ie=UTF8&keywords=netgear%20switch&qid=1464365215&ref_=sr_1_8&s=pc&sr=1-8

I have two Vlans. One is for the modem and the other is for the rest of the network.