Our branch office is upgrading its internet from a 1 Gbps circuit to a 2.5 Gbps connection. The challenge is that our current network switches are outdated gigabit models from eight years ago, so I'm on the lookout for budget-friendly options to replace them with 2.5 GbE switches. I've noticed there's a lack of affordable, non-consumer options available. Major brands like HPE and Dell have multi-GbE switches starting around $7K, which is out of our price range.
I'm considering using QNAP switches, specifically three QSW-M3224-24T-US switches, and connecting them to a QSW-M3216R-8S8T-US aggregation switch via CAT7 LAG uplinks to create a total of 20 Gbps uplinks. The aggregation switch would connect to our firewall's HA pair using its 10 Gb SFP+ interfaces.
While I realize that QNAP doesn't offer a 48-port 2.5 GbE switch, this setup seems solid and offers better performance than most consumer-grade gear at this price point.
I'm curious if anyone has experience using QNAP switches in a production environment, given that our office has about 50 endpoints plus various printers and devices. Also, has anyone else made the jump from 1 Gbps to 2.5 GbE in a small business setting? Did you notice any tangible improvements, especially with user satisfaction, as many home Internet plans now offer faster speeds? I believe a gigabit connection is technically enough, but I want to stay competitive as employees return to the office.
5 Answers
As someone in a cloud-focused environment, I get your point about needing that extra bandwidth. Just to clarify, while a jump to 2.5 GbE may be beneficial, you don't need to deliver it down to every desk. Instead, using 10 Gbps uplink ports on your switches to aggregate traffic while maintaining 1 Gbps to the workstations should suffice. That way, you can serve that higher necessary bandwidth without overspending on switches.
I would recommend looking at some alternatives. Have you considered Ubiquity or Mikrotik? They offer more affordable options that might fit your budget better than the QNAP setup you're looking at.
Upgrading to 2.5 Gbps seems excessive unless your office has a huge number of active users. Usually, having several gigabit connections is sufficient, and it prevents any single user from hogging the bandwidth. Have you checked your network monitoring data to see the actual traffic patterns? Understanding the 95th percentile on your uplinks could help clarify your needs.
Honestly, I don't see why you would need to extend 2.5 Gbps to every endpoint. For most setups, a solid gigabit connection to each workstation is still viable. If certain machines, like a backup server, need more, consider giving just those devices a 10 Gb SFP connection instead.
Just to throw this out there, I’ve had some experience with QNAP switches, and while they are decent, I’d suggest looking into more networking-dedicated brands like Ubiquiti or even Cisco. They might provide better reliability in a professional setting compared to QNAP, which is primarily a storage company.
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