Luke Judge

Smart switches, which offer web-based traffic management, are intended as a cost-effective solution for smaller businesses looking for basic Layer 2/3 management capabilities without the expense of a fully-managed switch. although they've been around for several years, the commoditisation of the core silicon is driving prices ever closer to that of unmanaged models. Skip related content

D-Link EasySmart DES-1100-24 review

D-Link's latest 24-port EasySmart model is a 1U rack-mountable 10/100Mbit/s switch for just under ?100, making it even more attractive to cash-strapped SMEs. But smart switches live or die on how easy they are to use after all, one of the key selling points is that you don't need users trained in configuring complex devices via a command line.

Smart switches should operate as a normal unmanaged switch requiring no configuration when you plug it in. The DES-1100-24 does this, but to access the web management interface proved troublesome. It ships with a default fixed IP address of 10.90.90.90, so to enable DHCP you need to connect to it with a PC set to the same domain using DHCP if a suitable server is found would be a more sensible option, especially given the target SME market.

That niggle aside, the web interface is admirably clear and simple. most users will probably head straight to the QoS features, where you can implement per-port 802.1p priority levels and bandwidth control.

The interface is fairly jargon-free, but lacks any help facility for that you need to open up the PDF manual, which is reasonably detailed but does assume a fair amount of background knowledge.

Virtual LAN (VLAN) setup is extremely simple if you choose the port-based VLAN option. you click checkboxes for the member ports and give it a name.

Alternatively, you can use 802.1Q VLANs, which is obviously a little more involved. For smaller companies with limited expertise, port-based VLANs are a good compromise. each port can be assigned to a separate VLAN if needed.

Layer 2 features are grouped into their own menu branch, and include port trunking for aggregation, IGMP snooping, and port mirroring, used for sending copies of packets to a monitoring station for troubleshooting purposes.

There's also a handy loopback detection feature that checks whether any cables have been accidentally routed back into the switch. It's very useful if the switch is connected to other unmanaged hubs or switches, when cabling might get confused.

In the Security section you can lock down the MAC learning function for each port individually by assigning a static MAC address, which helps prevent unauthorised connections. MAC addresses can be added manually or picked from a list of connected stations.

The Smart Console utility is mainly intended for enterprise use, and is likely to be of limited use for smaller businesses. It can monitor trap events from the switch and change IP address and password, but that's about it any advanced configuration still requires the web interface.

The DES-1100-24 comes with brackets for rack mounting, and stick-on rubber feet for desktop use. There's no power switch, and the power supply is internal.

The fanless design means it operates silently, and in use it remained very cool to the touch. a bank of green status lights at the left of the front panel shows link speed and activity.

cases Without Power Supply cost effective solution, sensible option, silicon, web management

Let’s look a little closer now at the interior features of the Thermaltake Armor A90.

Towards the front of the case, in the HDD rack there are raised bumps to secure a 2.5″ drive, it is still possible to use the bottom 3.5″ bay when you have a 2.5″ drive installed here which is good news, giving you a total possible drive count of seven HDD’s. You can also see the unrestricted cable management area.

Installed in the top of the Thermaltake Armor A90 is the ThermaltakeAF0046 200mm 12v DC blue LED fan with a max rotation of 800rpm @ 15dBa.

Looking now at the bottom of the Thermaltake Armor A90 we see the PSU mounting area, this is one area of the case that I am not keen on and I will explain why. Firstly it is vented and filtered which is great but the filter really wont be stopping much and it isn’t easily accessible either. Secondly, Thermaltake use a supporting/securing bar (seen towards the middle) this makes installing the PSU a pain and time consuming, as this bar needs to be removed prior to installing the PSU and then re-installed after. Removal and re-installation is done by removing/securing two screws that are underneath the case – and after all this the bar really doesn’t do anything other than prop the PSU up from underneath, which could be done much more simply with two rubber standoff’s.

A look here at the drive bay tool free securing mechanism for both 5.25″ and 3.5″ bays. The only difference between the two is size, they work by sliding the latch to the right and the mechanism will swing open upwards, once your device is inserted you swing it down again and two pegs (one on each end) insert into the screw holes of the device to be installed, then you simply push the latch to the left to lock it in place. As previously mentioned these latches only feature on one side of the drive bays and so should only really be used in a static case that won’t be moved around, otherwise it is recommended to also use screws in addition to the tool free locking mechanism’s.

At first I was a little skeptical about the lack of cable routing holes and lack of space behind the motherboard tray, I really thought that I wouldn’t get very good results by simply jamming bundles of cables behind the 3.5″ bays. But as you can see above, with a little time and planning, you can get a really nice and tidy install. It would have been nice to have a partition to cover over the PSU and front panel header wires as seen in the HAF-X but it’s not the end of the world.

This is where the cables you want hidden go, it is possible to do this tidier but they are hidden and don’t matter too much once they are back here. Also, after talking about it so much, I finally decided to buy a premium 12v ATX power cable extension from NZXT, this allowed me to pass my power cable round the back of the motherboard tray rather than over the motherboard, making for a nice tidy install.

cases Without Power Supply 12v dc, cable management, pegs, screws, standoff