Managed vs. Unmanaged Switches: What Should Be Your Choice

Understanding the different types of network switches can save you time and money. What are the key differences between managed vs. unmanaged switches? How do you make the right choice?

Network switches are an essential component in forming any LAN or WAN infrastructure. When a network is being designed, the type of switch deployed is a critical choice. Small and home offices generally use unmanaged switches, whereas enterprise networks and large businesses choose smart, managed switches for scalability, security, and performance needs.

We have previously discussed the main features and differences between switches. This article aims to dive deep into the comparison between managed vs. unmanaged switches. If you need clarification about what a network switch does and the main features they offer, you can check our beginner's guide by CLICKING HERE.

What is a managed switch?

Managed switches are a great way to scale, secure, and boost network performance. These switches are best known for providing redundancy, port-specific configuration, access control lists, and much more. Managed switches can be used for network/VLAN segmentation that saves extra switch costs or replaces multiple unmanaged switches as one unit. These switches also offer granular control and security features. A managed switch is best for scalability needs. Businesses can extend their network and enhance performance by segmenting ports to use different VLANs, such as trunks or access modes. Managed switches have a rich set of characteristics that administrators can configure to boost network performance and traffic optimization.

Users can adjust and configure each port on the managed switches according to their needs. They can:

· Pass different VLANs

· Turn on and off PoE

· Enable port mirroring, port security, and many more.

These switches also offer a Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) that enables network administrators to monitor the switch traffic, network flow, throughput, and port status. Moreover, administrators can write descriptions for each port to better understand and recognize the interface connections.

The managed switches can be accessed using CLI and Web UI. The management IP can be used for both, and CLI access can be taken using a console cable by connecting to the console port. Managed switches also offer port channels by virtually aggregating switch ports in the form of 2, 4, and 8 ports to form a port channel. This allows greater bandwidth and throughput and endures redundancy when a member port inside the port channel fails to work.

Top choices for managed switches

● Cisco Catalyst Switches

● Cisco Business Switches

● Cisco Industrial Switches

● Juniper EX Series

● Aruba Switches

Advantages:

● Flexibility & Scalability

● Security

● Redundancy

● Port-Channel

● CLI & GUI access

● Performance centric

● Network monitoring

● Ideal for small and large businesses

● Best choice for complex distributed networks

Disadvantages:

● Requires skilled professionals to run and operate

● Expensive

● Complex to operate

● Each vendor has its own way of operating the switches

● Takes time to set up

What is an unmanaged switch?

These switches are plug-and-play appliances. When plugged in and powered on, unmanaged switches immediately start forwarding data traffic across the network. Unlike managed switches, these do not need manual configuration to process traffic.

 These switches have auto-negotiated interfaces that determine whether to use a half-duplex or a full-duplex mode for data transfer. All the devices connected to an unmanaged switch belong to the same broadcast domain, but just as managed switches, unmanaged switches also offer a per-port collision domain.

Unmanaged switches are relatively easy to set up and deploy compared to managed switches. No technical knowledge is needed to run them. Unmanaged switches are best suitable for small and simple networks without any complexities with few users. The unmanaged switches cannot be configured or modified by administrators. Traffic management can be simplified using unmanaged switches by just connecting ethernet hubs to the unmanaged switch port.

Top choices for unmanaged switches

● Cisco Business 110

● Cisco Business 95

● TP-Link TL-SG108E

● D-Link GS-316

● Netgear GS308

Pros:

● Can be used as plug and play

● No configuration required

● Costs significantly less than managed switches

Cons:

● No scalability

● Lacks network/VLAN segmentation

● No network monitoring feature

● No QoS technology

The Difference: Managed vs. Unmanaged

Both managed and unmanaged switches have their pros and cons in relevant environments. Unmanaged switches are ideal for small businesses with uncomplicated networks, whereas managed switches are the best fit for large, complex networks. Let's find out some key differences between them in terms of the key decision points:

1. Cost

Cost is always a deciding factor, no matter what business you run or the complexity of the network. Managed switches from well-known brands like Cisco, Juniper, and Aruba cost more than unmanaged switches. Managed switches are priced high due to the multiple features and characteristics offered. The cost may include license and customer support depending on the type of subscription or module.

And the cost is sometimes drastically lower for unmanaged switches. Small businesses tend to go for unmanaged switches and ethernet hubs because they get them at half the price of managed switching solutions.

2. Performance

Businesses can increase their network performance and traffic flow using managed switches because it allows them to configure it manually and as per best practices. Using managed switches, administrators can configure port channels to bind the capability and processing of multiple interfaces to produce greater bandwidth and redundancy in case of interface failure.

Unmanaged switches don't offer a modification or any configuration capabilities to enhance the performance further. It just acts as a plug-and-play device: no port channels, no redundancy.

3. Scalability

Managed switches offer scalability in terms of network segmentation and by incorporating new networks with the help of VLANs inside a single managed switching solution. This scalability is not possible in unmanaged switches. Administrators can pass different subnets/networks from each managed switch interface, which becomes handy when there's a need to provision a new subnet/network for a newly built department or office area.

The unmanaged switches can not distribute or pass different subnets/networks from their ports. It is set to learn and pass only a single network out of all ports. Generally, unmanaged switches are not considered a scalable component of a LAN infrastructure.

4. Security

Security is the most critical aspect for both small and large businesses. Administrators can use managed switching solutions to impose additional security mechanisms on the switching layer. Administrators can configure port security, ACLs, ARP attacks, and MAC flooding. The unused ports can be manually shut down, so even if someone has physical access to the switch, they cannot just plug and play like unmanaged switch ports.

On the other hand, unmanaged switches offer built-in security features and no way to manually set up a tighter security control and ACLs. Administrators can check the history of commands entered and configurational changes made via CLI. The managed switches provide granular security control to enforce strict access and traffic flow toward end-users without compromising performance.

5. Ease of use/User experience

To operate and configure managed switches, users need product-specific knowledge and training. Managed switches are a bit complex to set up and deploy due to their multiple features and characteristics. If misconfigured, then managed switches cannot work as expected. This causes issues in the existing network topology and sometimes can also cause a bridging loop that could lead to the production network being down. Managed switches can be configured using the command line interface CLI or via WEB UI. The Web UI configuration wizard is ideal for users who do not have deep knowledge and experience with CLI.

The unmanaged switches are straightforward devices and, hence the nickname plug-and-play appliances. Power on the device, connect ethernet cables, connect to any switch or ethernet hubs, and see traffic passing through it.

Managed vs. Unmanaged Switches at a Glance

Which one to buy: managed or unmanaged?

The choice entirely relies on your budget and the need of the hour. Both managed and unmanaged switches are excellent deals for respective environments and users. An unmanaged switch will best serve your needs if you have a small business with 8-20 users or a home network. This choice would eliminate unnecessary configuration overhead and manual traffic optimization. These switches don't need dedicated IT staff to run and operate them. Due to its plug-and-play capability, anyone with little or no knowledge can connect it to the network.

Things get different when you have an extensive network with dedicated departments and a user base. Each department consists of multiple systems and requires tighter access control so one department cannot communicate with the other. This can be achieved via VLANs and a single managed switch that can forward traffic to the only destined department.

The managed switches also offer network expansion and scalability. If you think the number of users and departments will increase in the near future, then having a managed switch will reduce the cost of additional switches to provision a new subnet/network for the new unit.

Our thought?

Considering each port's customization capability and strict security control, we recommend using a managed switch even if your network is uncomplicated and only has a few users.

The systems and users can increase in the future, and so does the security need. When buying networking appliances, it is always best to go for scalable products and solutions.

If you decide to go for an unmanaged switch, especially for use at home, you can read our article on the FIVE BEST HOME SWITCHES OF 2022.

Moreover, you can always CONTACT our technical team for further questions.