Favorite Network Switches for Surveillance 2015

By Ethan Ace, Published Mar 24, 2015, 12:00am EDT

5 manufacturers stood out as integrator favorites for network switches from more than 140 votes / explanations submitted.

These 2015 statistics replace our 2012 network switch favorite results.

In this note, we break down: favorite 5 switch manufacturers, the top cited individual models and what the major changes were over the past three years.

The favorite 5 switch manufacturers
The top cited individual models
What the major changes were over the past three years
Why integrators picked what they did with color commentary

The Favorites

This chart shows the responses:

As with our 2012 results, Cisco, HP, and Netgear once again dominated the responses with near 70% of integrators selecting one of these three. Cisco not only maintained their top position among integrators, but strengthened it, with a higher percentage of integrators selecting them in this survey than previous. Netgear slipped slightly, down ~6% from our 2012 survey (14% vs. 20%), while HP remained nearly the same, 18% vs. 19%.

Aside from the top mentions, Comnet and Trendnet both gathered more than 5% of the vote, a marked improvement over 2012.

In total, 21 manufacturers were named as favorites but aside from those listed here, none received more than two votes.

Cisco

Once again, more integrators chose Cisco than any other switch brand. 37% of respondents chose them as favorite, up from 31% in our 2012 results. Reliability, performance,

Cisco - As a wise man once told me; "No one has ever been fired for choosing Cisco."
It's got to be Cisco, right? Not for my own preference, but because the IT people are already halfway convinced that security integrators are idiots when it comes to networking, and showing up with Brand X only helps to reinforce that thinking.
Cisco switches: For their wide range of network protocol support including L2-L3 features, multicast switching and routing, link aggregation, security and integrated PoE. A host of troubleshooting and management features are also useful.
Cisco - reliability and support
Cisco, good brand, good quality and price
Cisco. Gives the best performance and best management features.

Cisco Small Business

A number of integrators specifically mentioned Cisco's Small Business line, most often the 300 series:

Cisco small business. They haven't been changed in forever, but they continue to deliver in terms of value and reliability
Cisco SF300-24PP-K9-EU SF300-24PP 24-port 10/100 PoE+ Managed Switch w/Gig Uplinks Reliable low cost PoE switch.
Cisco SMB 200/300 series. Good set of features for the right price.
SG300 series from Cisco. Very reliable, manageable, options for almost all PoE types, life time warranty.
CISCO SMB - good and affordable
Cisco 300 series small business switch

Previously third behind Netgear in our 2012 survey, HP [link no longer available] moved to second with ~18% of respondents. Those choosing HP cited their value with advanced features for a price lower than Cisco. The 1910 series was most commonly mentioned.

HP1910-8-PoE+ Switch and HP1910-24-PoE+ Switch. They are Layer 3 POE switches with SFP Ports. We are currently getting them at a price that allowed us to move away from TrendNet, have the HP name, and still be competitive.
HP 1910 is cost effective and simple to use.
I use HP Pro-Curve line for all indoor projects. They are very solid relatively inexpensive considering the features they have. Nice GUI interface for people that are not Command Line experts. Good security features (I enable port security and disable all unused ports).
For a core switch we use an HP 5400 series models and for an access layer switch we use HP 2920 series.
HP Procurve - Relatively affordable, good management, lifetime warranty
HP gives good performance and feature-set (like multicast) for good price.
HP switch because the price is reasonable, easy to configure and reliable
HP ProCurve - good range of managed switches for every type of application, similar functionality to Cisco but at a much lower cost.
HP - because of lower cost, and better performance compared to Cisco.
HP 1910 Series, because they offer a good cost-benefit ratio and are easy to configure (work out of the box). Plus the 365W Version easily powers all 24 ports with min 15,4W at once.
HP ProCurve - standardization with a top tier support, not Cisco

Netgear

Netgear came in third with ~14% of the vote, down from 20% previously. Those who chose Netgear cited low cost and reliability as the top reasons, with the FS728TP being most popular:

We have been using the Netgear Pro Safe Smart Switch Series with great success. FS728TP model is $150.00 cheaper than it's Cisco 300 Series counterpart. Very reliable and priced right. We've only had 1 flake out on us in 3 years. Unless IT wants Cisco, we give them Netgear.
Netgear GS728TPP. This gives us 24 PoE ports at 384 watts, as well as management capability. We can also expand the power, if needed, and these are readily available from many sources including Amazon and NewEgg. If we need a few more cameras, the GS752TP allows for 48 PoE ports (gigabit), but at the same 384 watts (with no power expansion capability), so we know not to get crazy with it.
Netgear Smart Switch line. Good value, can remotely connect to it and they have a lifetime warranty.
Netgear FS-728TP. 24 port POE switch. Easy to set up, very reliable
Netgear 728TP - inexpensive and installed my first one ~6 years ago and never went back.
Netgear. Most bang for the Buck. The prosafe series has lifetime warranty.
Netgear always works and always available at a local retailer
Netgear, meets normal requirements, good price point.
We use Netgear switches as our first choice
Netgear, never had a problem, fairly inexpensive.

Comnet

Comnet's lifetime warranty was cited by multiple integrators, along with good support.

Comnet. Great design. Layer 2. Lifetime warranty
Lifetime Warranty, repairs and tech support.
Comnet CNGE and CWGE series. We have good support from the local rep. The price point for the PoE+ and throughput is a good value. They have been working well in the field so far with quick set up and few service issues.

Trendnet

Those selecting Trendnet pointed to low price as the key driver:

I have hundreds if not thousands of cameras running on Trendnet switches. We create private networks for our systems and they seem to work and have stood the test of time. I haven't had one failure and for the cost of it vs. a high end switch if it goes down I'll just put in a brand new one but it hasn't come to that and we probably switched over to budget switches 2-3 years ago. I have sites with 100+ cameras and switches loaded up to capacity that are running smoothly.
The past year or so we have been using Trendnet, their built well, priced right and we haven't had any problems.
TRENDnet POE+ series Good value, availability, reliability