We’ve all been there, sat on the sofa on a Friday night ready to dive into the latest streaming sensation or big blockbuster that everyone is talking about only to be paralysed by the vast choice on offer. The inevitable swiping begins and in the end you’re as likely to stick on the same thing you’ve seen a dozen times before or even just accept defeat and head for an early night.
Believe it or not, the same can be true when it comes to selecting your networking technology. Many excellent brands provide a broad range of products to suit any organisation’s needs. For example, we stock equipment from Arista, Brocade, Cisco, Dell, and Juniper, to suit a wide range of needs and budgets.
But it can all get a bit confusing when there’s so much choice, especially if your needs are quite specific. It doesn’t have to be that way though and we truly believe in the right kit for your job rather the right kit for a job.
That’s why we’ve come up with these four tips to help you pick the right networking equipment for your business:
- Consider the size of your network. The number of ports an organisation will need on a switch will depend on the number of devices you need to connect to your network. For small business, you may only need a switch with a few ports. However, larger business with many devices, will need a switch with more ports.
- Consider the speed of your network. The speed of your switch will depend on the type of traffic you need to support. If you only need to support basic traffic, such as email and web browsing, a switch with a slower speed will be sufficient. However, if the organisations needs to support more demanding traffic, such as video streaming or file transfers, it is best to pick a switch with a faster speed.
- Consider the features you need. Some switches have additional features, such as PoE (Power over Ethernet), which can be useful for businesses that need to power devices over the network. Other switches may have features such as VLANs (virtual LANs), which can be useful for businesses that need to segment their network into different groups.
- Consider the budget. The price of a switch will vary depending on the features and the number of ports. It is important to find a switch that fits your budget and your needs.
ETB’s Switch Finder
We’re not going to stop at those tips though. We’ve gone one step further. To help identify the switch that is right for your business, we have created the ETB Switch Finder.
This tool is easy to use and can help identify the exact switch to match any business requirements.
Just select the filters to match your requirement – and we can find the switch to match.
If you're looking for something different or unusual, we can look at some other products that might suite.
But when should I buy refurbished?
Whilst many build their entire infrastructure using refurbished IT, some organisations also mix it with brand-new equipment – it just depends on their specific needs.
We find some organisations come to us looking to make purchases because they cannot find the right equipment at the right cost or they are looking to limit the cost of running non-critical data internally in their business. Others find that they can vastly increase their capacity with refurbished within the same budget as new.
Why choose ETB Technologies?
ETB Technologies has established itself as a leader in providing refurbished enterprise IT equipment for more than two decades.
Supplying servers, storage, and networking equipment to more than 70 countries around the world, the company is a stockist of many major brands including Brocade, Cisco, Dell, and Juniper, with any product shown in stock on our website ready to ship immediately.
The team can offer support with technical queries and provide advice on the right product for any organisation’s needs. All products purchased are guaranteed with a robust warranty.
Keen to find out more? Our sales team can help with any questions you might have about switches, and which one might best suit your needs. Get in touch with them via 01556 610167.
