What is smart switch? Are security measures and operational management perfect?

From "hub" to "switch".

Replacement of network equipment that supports the underpinnings of corporate IT is progressing in small and medium-sized environments.

Of course, this is not correct. To paraphrase it properly, the expression "from a 'simple' switch to a 'smart' switch" is accurate.

The ``hub'' that is essential to constructing a network learns the terminals connected to each port from a simple ``hub (repeater hub)'' that sends data to all ports connected to a network cable. However, it has evolved into a "switch" that sends data only to the port to which the destination terminal is connected.

However, even with the different mechanisms, the roles of these hubs and switches haven't changed much. Both hubs and switches bundle network cables connected to multiple terminals to build a LAN in which terminals can communicate with each other.

However, as various departments in the company use servers and NAS on the network, and terminals such as IP phones are also connected to the LAN, the configuration and usage of the network becomes more complicated. It is becoming difficult to meet the needs of companies with the role of simply bundling network cables.

"I want to separate management servers and development department servers that contain confidential information from the networks of general employees and users", "I want to know the status of network equipment in case of failure", "IP phone voice is Even if there is a need such as "I want to stabilize communication without interruption", there were many cases where a simple switch could not meet the needs.

This is where a product called an “intelligent switch” comes into play. VLAN (Virtual LAN), which logically divides multiple terminals physically connected to a single switch into ports, etc., and SNMP (SNMP), which allows monitoring of the connection status of each port from software installed on a management terminal, etc. It is a switch equipped with functions such as "Simple Network Management Protocol" and "QoS (Quality of Service)" that suppresses delays by preferentially processing data such as voice and video.

However, conventional "intelligent switches" are expensive, ranging from hundreds of thousands of yen to hundreds of thousands of yen, and their settings are generally command-based (CLI: Command Line Interface). It was.

On the other hand, the "smart switch" has been attracting attention recently. While achieving a price of tens of thousands of yen that even small and medium-sized enterprises can easily purchase, it is equipped with a GUI setting screen that can be easily set even for the first time, and it is attracting attention as a product that allows the functions of the intelligent switch described above to be used more closely. there is

The new BS-GS series from Buffalo is likely to open up such a smart switch market. Even the 16-port "BS-GS2016" is a smart switch that achieves a very reasonable price of 24,800 yen (excluding tax). It is attracting attention as a product that realizes an all-smart switch by replacing the simple switch that was installed.