A good network switch, positioned correctly, can make all the difference to the strength, speed and responsiveness of a network; whether it’s a compact 5-port desk mounted unit supplying network connectivity to a couple of access points and a VoIP phone, or a 48-port, multi-gig PoE powerhouse supporting a high-intensity mission-critical deployment, choosing the perfect switch for your network is a crucial part of your setup.
DrayTek, with their thirty-year tenure in the networking industry, fully recognise the importance of switches, and so offer a wide and varied portfolio with perfect options for any use-case. Managed or unmanaged, with or without powerful PoE in a range of wattages, with built-in Mesh support, a rich suite of security features, an intuitive single-pane-of-glass interface to manage them completely remotely, and a huge range of other features and capabilities - a DrayTek switch has become a byword for adaptable, dependable networking.
With such a varied portfolio, it can be tricky to know which switch is perfect for your use-case; luckily, we at NetXL have put together a handy guide to help you choose the right option to support your devices, protect against bad actors and external threats, and keep your network ticking over!
5-8 Port Switches
If you’re seeking a network switch for a home network, or just need to supply network connectivity to a handful of devices, DrayTek offer a range of compact, desk-mountable network switches from between five to eight ports.
These switches can be either managed or unmanaged, both of which offer their own separate advantages depending on what you’re looking for; a managed switch includes a full range of switching features like a customisable configuration interface, greater oversight and control over your network’s traffic, and deliver a number of features like Link Aggregation, Quality of Service, VLANs and more. These managed switches are also usually more expensive than an unmanaged switch, and require a greater level of expertise to configure and integrate into a network.
In contrast, an unmanaged switch instead offers an easier, plug-and-play setup to instantly expand your wired network capacity; they’ll be more straightforward to manage, and are frequently cheaper than a managed option, making them great options for smaller or simpler networks, home networks, or to support devices that don’t require much management.
Currently, DrayTek only offers one unmanaged device - the new VigorSwitch Q60x, a tiny desk-mountable multigig switch which nonetheless packs a real punch. Despite its compact frame, the Q60x actually features five 2.5G ports and a 10G SFP+ slot for superfast fibreoptic uplinks, reducing the possibility of network bottlenecks, and making it a great option to support high-throughput access points like the VAP1062C.
In terms of managed switches, your options are a little more varied - DrayTek offer units at a range of price-points and with a range of capabilities like PoE, Mesh Support, Quality of Service for network performance monitoring, and more!
For an ultra-compact, high-performance managed switch, the VSG1080 is a great option for smaller networks; it features eight Gigabit RJ45 ports, and can be unobtrusively sat on a desk or even mounted on a wall if space is at a premium. Notably, the VSG1080 features an innovative fanless design - the case of the switch itself acts as a heat-sink, meaning the VSG1080 can self-cool which dramatically reduces both operating noise (the VSG1080 runs near-silently, another important thing to consider when choosing a switch to mount on a desk!) and removes one of the most common points of failure on any networking device - the rapidly spinning metal fans.
If you’re looking for a similarly compact network switch that can supply both power and network connectivity to devices, the VSP2100 is a good solution; like the 1080, it features eight Gigabit RJ45 ports, and is nicely compact enough to sit on a desk or mounted to a wall. Unlike the 1080, however, the VSP2100 also features two SFP ports for fibre uplinks, and can supply PoE (Power over Ethernet) through each of its eight RJ45 ports, with a generous maximum budget of up to 140W - easily enough to support WiFi access points, VoIP phones, IP surveillance cameras and a huge range of other network devices. The VSP2100 is also a Layer 2+ switch, meaning includes more advanced routing and switching capabilities like VLANs, QoS, IGMP snooping and robust security features.
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| Q60x | VSG1080 | VSP2100 |
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12-24-Port Switches
If your requirements push you beyond a 5-8 port switch, DrayTek has a healthy portfolio of mid-size options, with or without PoE and with a mixture of port types. The VSG1282, for example, is focused primarily on Gigabit network connectivity through its 24 x RJ45 ports, making it a great option for mid-sized networks; it doesn’t support PoE, meaning it’s a good choice for keeping costs low as long as a power source isn’t required, and also includes 4 x Combo Ports - ports that can be switched between GbE RJ45 or SFP Fibre uplinks depending on your requirements. The VSG1282 is also part of DrayTek’s WebSmart range, denoting switches that have a particularly comprehensive range of switching features like Spanning Tree Protocols, DoS Defence, SNMP and more; because of this range of features, WebSmart network switches are uniquely scalable, and ideal for fast-growing businesses.
If, however, PoE is required to streamline the installation or if there aren’t enough power outlets available, the VSP2282x could suit your requirements, especially for larger or more complex SMB networks. Like the VSG1282, it features 24 x Gigabit Ethernet LAN ports, but in addition to the RJ45 capacity it also sports four dedicated SFP+ 10G ports for superfast up and downlinks. Critically, the VSP2282x can supply PoE+ through every one of its 24 RJ45 ports, up to an impressive maximum of 400W, making it perfect for supporting larger IOT networks - providing a network and powering framework simultaneously for a vast range of possible devices, including access points, VoIP phones, IP cameras but also LED lighting, Point of Sale kiosks, motion sensors, and any other compatible device. The VSP2282x is especially suited for distributing power reliably to mission-critical devices and applications thanks to its dual power inputs, with a DC power input ready to seamlessly step in in case of complete AC power failure.
On the other hand, if your network is based exclusively on fibreoptic links, or if you need a switch dedicated specifically to handling fibre connections, look no further than the FX2120! This is a full-fibre network switch featuring 12 x SFP+ ports for an impressive 240Gbps switching capacity, aimed primarily at enterprise-level networking requirements. Like the VSP2282x, the FX2120 also features a backup DC power socket for power redundancy, making it perfect to support critical applications and processes. The FX2120 is also an L2+ switch, meaning it supports a variety of Layer 2 and Layer 3 switching protocols like IP conflict prevention, automatic VLANs for VoIP and IP surveillance, and detailed QoS reports.
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| VSG1282 | VSP2282x | FX2120 |
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48-Port Switch
For the largest and most complex networks, DrayTek offers the VSP2540XS; this switch can act as the backbone for even the most demanding networks, featuring 48 x RJ45 ports which can all supply PoE+ up to a maximum of 400W. Its power delivery budget of 30W per port means it’s capable of supporting Enterprise-level networking requirements, ideal either for large offices or data centres or for wide-reaching IoT deployments. The VSP2540XS’s PoE capacity also supports a number of redundancy and maintenance protocols, like customisable power scheduling, automatic restart of connected PoE devices if they don’t respond to pings, an LED alert for particularly high PoE usage, and at-a-glance power consumption per port through the easy interface. For 10G fibre uplinks, the VSP2540XS also houses six SFP+ cages to reduce bottlenecking.
Like many of the other switches in DrayTek’s portfolio, the VSP2540XS is an L2+ switch, and so comes with a host of protocols designed to improve network performance; it can support up to 256 VLANs with dedicated VLANs for Voice and IP Surveillance connections, and features QoS with eight different priority queues, port-based rate control and priority queue scheduling. To increase bandwidth and prevent logic loops and broadcast storms, the VSP2540XS offers both Spanning Tree Protocol and Link Aggregation, and keeps the network secure with a broad range of network security measures like DoS protection, port isolation, DHCP snooping and more!
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| VSP2540XS |
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Conclusion
Since their inception, DrayTek have leveraged their knowledge of the industry to build switches for a huge range of niches and verticals, from unmanaged five-port network expanders to 48-port L2+ workhorses. A DrayTek network switch is designed to be a durable, reliable and versatile solution for any networking requirement, and with their comprehensive and far-reaching product portfolio, there’s a DrayTek switch for any budget or network requirement!
