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WTF is up with switches? (lazysoci.al)

submitted 7 months ago by sabreW4K3@lazysoci.al to c/homenetworking@selfhosted.forum

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Okay, I've been watching lots of YouTube videos about switches and I've just made myself more confused. Managed versus unmanaged seems to be having a GUI versus not having a GUI, but why would anyone want a GUI on a switch? Shouldn't your router do that? Also, a switch is like a tube station for local traffic, essentially an extension lead, so why do some have fans?

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[–] BestBouclettes@jlai.lu 0 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

A managed switch allows you to have vlans, routing, QoS, spanning tree protection etc. You don't necessarily need a gui, a lot of them are cli only, which is preferable but less user friendly if you're not used to it. Depending on your needs a managed switch can be overkill.

[–] sabreW4K3@lazysoci.al 0 points 7 months ago (1 children)

But doesn't the router do the VLAN stuff? Sorry, I don't know how to phrase it properly

[–] rtxn@lemmy.world 1 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

VLANs are an extension of the Ethernet technology, and operate on the link layer (OSI layer 2). They are handled by switches. VLANs can belong to different subnets, and communication between them requires routing, which happens on the network layer (OSI layer 3) on either routers or layer-3 switches, but VLANs themselves are handled by switches.

I recommend Network Chuck on youtube, his videos are very noob-friendly.