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3Com Switch 5500G-EI

Power Stack

I had no problem with setup from the console (serial) port (19200-8-N-1-N) and the command-line interface. The CLI is easy to navigate and offers both user and system views of the switch. The system view is a configuration mode, similar to Cisco's "configure terminal" (config t) command. I set both the IP address and mask of the default VLANs and their default routes and an external NTP (Network Time Protocol) server.

PoE support is optional; be sure to specify PoE support when buying or upgrading the power supply unit (PSU). PoE can be added for about $1,500 per PSU. To upgrade from a standard PSU to one supporting PoE, I turned off the 24-port switch, removed the standard PSU with a screwdriver and installed the new unit.


Good


• Stackable
• RADIUS authentication and 802.1x access control
• Power over Ethernet support (IEEE 802.3af)
• Dual power AC/DC


Bad


• CLI is not a Cisco IOS
• Slow Web-based GUI
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