Mindovermaster Moderator Posted April 11, 2018 Moderator Share Posted April 11, 2018 (edited) I got this switch a few days ago, and I noticed that the small fans inside are REALLY loud. Has 4 on right side, and 2 on the other side. AFAIK, a switch like that needs to be cooled. So fanless (remove fans) isn't really an option. I've seen people insert new little fans. But those are so hard to find nowadays with the correct screw holes. And they are quite expensive. I also saw people on YT inserting a 120mm fan on top panel. Take a dremel and cut a hole on the top panel. Any help here? Or should I just sell this one and get silent one? (we're having a rummage sale in June) (please move if needed, think this is more hardware than networking) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sc302 Veteran Posted April 11, 2018 Veteran Share Posted April 11, 2018 It is a low end switch. I haven't found a low to mid grade switch in the 49-52 port range that is quiet. Sure a cisco catalyst 2960xr is quiet as a mouse and only spins up the fans as needed, those switches start in the $4-5k area from reputable sites (cisco certified resellers), $2k on amazon (not a cisco reseller). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mindovermaster Moderator Posted April 11, 2018 Author Moderator Share Posted April 11, 2018 (edited) Yeah, I got this switch from a good friend of mine for $100. I thought it would be a good investment, but now, this thing is LOUD... It will of course be in our basement, but my Mom is crazy about electric stuff. She could easily hear it from our kitchen, and she would turn it off... Edit: I think this is a mid-range switch. It is a smart switch after all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sc302 Veteran Posted April 11, 2018 Veteran Share Posted April 11, 2018 27 minutes ago, Mindovermaster said: Edit: I think this is a mid-range switch. It is a smart switch after all. Not what I would consider mid range. It is more of a low end than a mid range. Good for a mom and pop shop as the price point is there. No cli support, not sure how you would back up the switch (programming) via third party or by script. I wont go into lack of routing as it is a layer 2 switch, not a layer 3. But it is a low end switch. Enterprise low end has a few more features (not a lot more that you would use) but has fully automated support, ability to backup configs/files, single pane of glass view vs punching into each individual switch, dhcp snooping, etc...this is where I would start to say it is a more of a mid range switch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mindovermaster Moderator Posted April 11, 2018 Author Moderator Share Posted April 11, 2018 38 minutes ago, sc302 said: Not what I would consider mid range. It is more of a low end than a mid range. Good for a mom and pop shop as the price point is there. No cli support, not sure how you would back up the switch (programming) via third party or by script. I wont go into lack of routing as it is a layer 2 switch, not a layer 3. But it is a low end switch. Enterprise low end has a few more features (not a lot more that you would use) but has fully automated support, ability to backup configs/files, single pane of glass view vs punching into each individual switch, dhcp snooping, etc...this is where I would start to say it is a more of a mid range switch. OK, thanks. I didn't know, so i took a guess at it... TBH, I'd rather sell it and buy another 16-port unmanaged switch. I'm not big in networking like you or BudMan... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xendrome Posted April 11, 2018 Share Posted April 11, 2018 Netgear ProSafe switches... yup.. the fans are really loud on them for some reason, same issue here with a few, but I have them in an isolated I.T. closet at a remote site... I googled it at first thinking it was a bad fan, turns out others have said the same on Amazon reviews etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mindovermaster Moderator Posted April 11, 2018 Author Moderator Share Posted April 11, 2018 6 minutes ago, xendrome said: Netgear ProSafe switches... yup.. the fans are really loud on them for some reason, same issue here with a few, but I have them in an isolated I.T. closet at a remote site... I googled it at first thinking it was a bad fan, turns out others have said the same on Amazon reviews etc. From what I read, they were loud because they were running on a high voltage. Therefore the fans are loud. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sc302 Veteran Posted April 11, 2018 Veteran Share Posted April 11, 2018 Being that it doesn’t do layer 3 you would have a hard time with it anyway. Layer 3 allows you to route between vlans. You could always trunk up to your firewall but it does add another layer of complexity where your firewall would have to handle your routes. It is nice to learn but not needed in a home environment. I just put in a few sg300s at a friends house to help home out. Wasn’t getting the speed he was paying for from Comcast. 10/100 isn’t going to do much for 300mb/s. He was getting 80, was going to have Comcast out to troubleshoot but knew what the issue was before. I fixed it. Those Sg’s are way over kill for what he needs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neufuse Veteran Posted April 11, 2018 Veteran Share Posted April 11, 2018 2 hours ago, sc302 said: It is a low end switch. I haven't found a low to mid grade switch in the 49-52 port range that is quiet. Sure a cisco catalyst 2960xr is quiet as a mouse and only spins up the fans as needed, those switches start in the $4-5k area from reputable sites (cisco certified resellers), $2k on amazon (not a cisco reseller). Unifi US-48's are silent but then once you go PoE they have always on fans.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard King Posted April 11, 2018 Share Posted April 11, 2018 Like others have said its a low end switch. Unfortunately it took me a few of them to figure that out. Fans suck, ports go bad I highly recommend not using this switch especially in an enterprise environment. Overt eh years I have found you get what you pay for when it comes to switches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DevTech Posted April 11, 2018 Share Posted April 11, 2018 Oh how on earth do you get into these ridiculous situations? And it is for his home with nothing special and he will never need any "smart" function ever for the end of time so all these poofy pronouncements on whether it is a low end or mid-range $3000 enterprise equipment are about as crazy as the situation itself. For $100, he has a 48 port switch when he needs a 16 port switch, if that. But here's the thing. He likes to tinker. He has that wonderful hardware itch just like the rest of us and maybe one day he wants to play with a 100 Raspberry Pi cluster or something and he has all the ports he will ever need. And no matter what it's gonna look cool hanging from the rafters in his basement! So all it needs is to be freakin quiet so lets mod it to do that. So lets bling that baby! 1. Buy a RGB or otherwise bright LED 200 mm fan. They rotate real slow and quiet and the light will forever remind you to be proud of being a tinker whenever you visit the basement. 2. Don't do any metal work near the circuit board. Tiny slivers can kill it! 3. remove case. 4. No need to kill a bunch of Dremel disks, just drill a bunch of holes, yeah a ton of holes plus 4 mounting holes. 5. unplug or cut wires to existing fans and plug in or wire up new fan. If there are no plugs, cut existing wire near end opposite to circuit board so you have some length to work with. Verify voltage and polarity with a volt-meter. Solder each wire, tape up and secure with a cable-tie. 6. If you found a RGB fan, extra points for using a Raspberry Pi to control color tuned to motion detection and human voice so it responds to you every time you visit basement. Creates a friendly Digital Entity and makes it a real smart switch! Circaflex 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xendrome Posted April 11, 2018 Share Posted April 11, 2018 29 minutes ago, Mindovermaster said: From what I read, they were loud because they were running on a high voltage. Therefore the fans are loud. The switch is standard 110v.. they can put whatever fans they want in them to cool them at whatever voltage/speed. They likely just used crappy fans or their hardware thermals are designed bad so it calls for that airflow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mindovermaster Moderator Posted April 11, 2018 Author Moderator Share Posted April 11, 2018 (edited) 4 minutes ago, xendrome said: The switch is standard 110v.. they can put whatever fans they want in them to cool them at whatever voltage/speed. They likely just used crappy fans or their hardware thermals are designed bad so it calls for that airflow. yeah, figures... Edit: And Dev, shut up... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DevTech Posted April 11, 2018 Share Posted April 11, 2018 21 minutes ago, Mindovermaster said: yeah, figures... Edit: And Dev, shut up... Hey, I wasn't being sarcastic! My plan would work and it could be a fun project instead of the box gathering dust until you sell it for $10 in a garage sale. Also, if you study the manual there might be a way to turn down the fans. And opening it up and clearing dust bunnies could help too. And any old fan lying around in your scrap box would do the job actually. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mindovermaster Moderator Posted April 11, 2018 Author Moderator Share Posted April 11, 2018 1 minute ago, DevTech said: Hey, I wasn't being sarcastic! My plan would work and it could be a fun project instead of the box gathering dust until you sell it for $10 in a garage sale. Also, if you study the manual there might be a way to turn down the fans. And opening it up and clearing dust bunnies could help too. And any old fan lying around in your scrap box would do the job actually. I was... There aint no dust bunnies, the thing is clean as a button. I don't have any, what is that 48mm, fans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DevTech Posted April 11, 2018 Share Posted April 11, 2018 9 minutes ago, Mindovermaster said: I was... There aint no dust bunnies, the thing is clean as a button. I don't have any, what is that 48mm, fans. Well I was thinking if you didn't like my voice sensor super-bling idea, just use any old 80 mm or 120 mm lying around, preferably the old 80 mm size. Remove the tiny internal fans, and just cover the holes from the outside by screwing in one screw in the one hole that would match up and then using cable ties to secure one of the other 80 mm holes to prevent wobble. It is either beautiful or ugly depending on your subjective feelings about tinkering and mods. Either way, its in the basement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandon H Supervisor Posted April 12, 2018 Supervisor Share Posted April 12, 2018 16 hours ago, DevTech said: Well I was thinking if you didn't like my voice sensor super-bling idea, just use any old 80 mm or 120 mm lying around, preferably the old 80 mm size. Remove the tiny internal fans, and just cover the holes from the outside by screwing in one screw in the one hole that would match up and then using cable ties to secure one of the other 80 mm holes to prevent wobble. It is either beautiful or ugly depending on your subjective feelings about tinkering and mods. Either way, its in the basement. as ghetto sounding as that is it's genius Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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