netgear m4300 24

[JohnApple]

Hello, 

I wanted to buy the switch on top -

netgear m4300 24 to use for my home office and to test and learn about the switch and what it can do but it’s too costly. It’s 4000 dollars. 

Can someone tell me more about the switch and how I can get it cheaper for my use ?

[Filip Knezevic]

I'm kind of confused.

If you want to learn Cisco, why would you buy Netgear? All Netgear switches I worked on were using GUI. I see this one has Cisco commands, but I'm not sure if it's full IOS. Also, it features 10G ports. Do you really need 10G ports in small office setup?

Why would you even considering buying such an expensive switch to learn Cisco networking? Couple of Cisco 2950 used switches would suit you better, and you can get them very cheap. If you want to practice L3 functionality, you can go with 3560/3750 switches, which are also dirt cheap.

[JohnApple]

I didn’t know that Cisco switch is different than Netgear switch. I wanted to learn net gear switch and specifically the one I posted because that is the one the office use. However I am on a Cisco forum. 

can you advise on what netgear switch to buy that does the same as on top but very cheaply ? 

[JohnApple]

I didn’t know that Cisco switch is different than Netgear switch. I wanted to learn net gear switch and specifically the one I posted because that is the one the office use. However I am on a Cisco forum.

can you advise on what netgear switch to buy that does the same as on top but very cheaply ?

[Filip Knezevic]

In that case, maybe it would be a good idea to visit Netgear forum:

https://community.netgear.com/

From my perspective, Netgear is a company that mostly makes dumb switches and almost dumb switches. I don't think they have a variety of switches with CLI, so you are very limited with your options.

However, all you really need to do to understand the Netgear switch is to download Packet Tracer and follow couple of labs from You Tube. Once you understand the concept of VLANs, tagged and untagged ports, etc, you will be able to understand the Netgear switch too.

So you don't need to buy anything to learn how a switch works.