manageable switch or not?

[Pierre Brua]

Rochus Schmid wrote:
> One more question ... sorry!
> What are the benefits of a manageable switch in a 100BT networked
> beowulf?
> Are there some general considerations about when it is ok to go for a
> cheaper unmanagable switch?

Here are a few reasons :
* you can modify port speed and autosensing on a port basis (usefull for
incompatible autonegotiation in the network card);
* you can logically cut the switch in two subswitches for channel
bonding;
* You get statistics about your network usage without a specific
software analysing the traffic on each node;
* you can reboot the switch remotely if something gets wrong.

If those reasons are not important for you compared to the managability
price, you can stick to an unmanagable switch.

Hope it helps,

	Pierre BRUA
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