[Beowulf] gigE switch suggestion

[Jack Chen]

Hi All,

Can any one please offer a suggestion on the choice of a gigabit Ethernet
switch?  This is for a 16-node cluster with gigabit connection.  I know
having jumbo frame support is important and it seems like most SMC switches
has this support (and being lower $).

Now, I have trouble deciding which 24 port switches to get (both support
jumbo frame).

The first is: SMC8524T EZ Switch 10/100/1000, this costs around $450 US
The second is SMC8624T TigerSwitch 10/100/1000, this costs around $1800 US

Below lists the product overview of the two switches from the SMC website.

All we need is to support interconnect between the nodes.  I guess the
questions is, can go with the cheaper switch, and if I do, what are the
limitations I'll face?

thanks in advance..

Jack
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SMC8524T EZ Switch
http://www.smc.com/index.cfm?event=viewProduct&localeCode=EN_USA&pid=1157
Overview
The SMC8524T is a feature-rich, high-performance 24-port 10/100/1000
unmanaged switch designed for power users looking to migrate to gigabit
speeds on their network. Delivering a combination of Ethernet, Fast
Ethernet, and Gigabit connectivity in one compact solution, the SMC8524T
removes server bottlenecks and speeds up access time for your users in just
one move. Each port supports auto-MDI/MDI-X to simplify integration into a
network. The SMC8524T also supports Jumbo Packets, complies with the
IEEE802.3, IEEE802.3u, and IEEE802.3ab/Gigabit Ethernet standards, and
features store-and-forward mode with wire-speed filtering to ensure data
integrity. Automatic Source Address Learning and Aging ensure superior
delivery of data., while broadcast storm control and runt and CRC filtering
prevent erroneous packets from propagating, optimizing the network
bandwidth. The SMC8524T also features IEEE802.3x-compliant full-duplex flow
control and HOL blocking prevention. At A Glance LEDs show ongoing switch
status and simplify troubleshooting.

___
SMC8624T TigerSwitch
http://www.smc.com/index.cfm?event=viewProduct&localeCode=EN_USA&pid=1182

Overview
The SMC8624T is an all-Gigabit Layer 2 switch designed for departmental
connection. It provides 24 10/100/1000 Mbps ports, plus 4 mini-GBIC slots
for flexible fiber backbone attachment. Designed to handle heavy traffic
associated with enterprise workgroups and power users, this tri-speed
high-density gigabit switch delivers blistering throughput speeds up to 48
Gbps using a non-blocking switching architecture. For even greater
performance, the SMC8624T provides MultiLink Trunking with LACP, which can
boost network bandwidth to 800 Mbps. Advanced features that include four
levels of priority queuing, VLAN with GVRP, SNMP, and IGMP snooping are
provided, allowing a department to effectively and securely deploy a
bottleneck-free switching network for easy integration with a larger
enterprise or campus network.