adding different brand switch into existing network

pinkiaiii

So in production environment there's scenario where there isnt any free ethernet ports left,network is configured fully,would there be any issues adding just different brand switch to gain extra ports,without doing any configs on existing switches or new one ?

Since in my mind switches just do switching thus would pick up new ports and dhcp would assign IPs to new hosts thus only issue could see troubles with spanning tree changing on blocking ports etc.BTW switches wouldnt be cisco, but different brand,or would hub be better option,even thou hub would create collision domains withing connected hosts to it thus replicating incoming packets -thus crc errors ?

clarson

being they didn't think far enough ahead for their production environment that they ran out of physical ports. They probably ran out of logical subnet address also.
you have all your cisco proprietary protocols, cdp, vtp, ios syntax that will have to be made compatible with the other brand and vice a versus.
is the environment using ipv6 and how
then you have how well do they negotiate everything from port speed to poe.

--chris--

Short answer: It depends (on alot).

If its just a basic stock configured Cisco access layer switch, then yes adding another basic access layer switch from most vendors will just be plug and play.

If the switch has vlans configured, STP enabled (it should by default), etc...you would need to verify and adjust settings as necessary.

OctalDump

It's preferable not to simply daisy chain switches. But how much of a problem that is depends a lot on the specifics of the network - it can mean anything from 'no noticeable change' to complete network failure. As for using a hub, there is really no reason to use a hub in a production environment. Actually, I'd go further and say that if you are considering using a hub in a production environment, it's likely you shouldn't be touching the network at all.

As for homogeneity vs heterogeneity in networks (or IT infrastructure generally), there are plusses and minuses, but for most networks the negatives out weigh the positives.

You can go and buy a new 24 or 48 port Cisco Catalyst switch for under $2000. A messy network that kills productivity can easily cost you more than that. And you can likely find an MSP to correctly install and configure it for under $1000.

pinkiaiii

its a bit more complicated then some think .im just doing desktop support role,thus no hands on networks besides patching new users/printers in.now all switches mostly would be alcatel,if i get idea correctly either they won contract or just because they are cheaper since they support PoE,which is needed for every host.

then every comms room for some reason unknown to me is basically fitted with 24-28 port switches,that exactly matches how many users work in each block,thus any new network device is major headache since in most cases some old has to be removed to make space,and in this instance there cant be removed any.

dhcp wouldnt be concern for me since adress block used would be class a with subnet mask of class B so id imagine plenty of room for expansion left there.And person in training im with said getting hub to get extra ports,thus this didnt sit right with me,since in best case extra hosts would be getting same packages sent to them constantly via it and dropped causing further issues and bottlenecks.

networker050184

Adding a new switch to the network with out doing any config, regardless if it's the same brand or not, isn't a very good idea.