Managed Vs Unmanaged Vs Smart Switch – What are their major differences?

There are several types of switches to choose from including managed, unmanaged and the newer smart switches. In the following article, we’ll look at how they compare and review the best switches in the market today.

A switch is an unintelligent device that is basically used to provide more Ethernet ports. However, advanced switches such as the managed and smart switches perform more complex and advanced functions. Today, switches are rarely used for residential or home use due to the presence of modems and routers with multiple ports. They are however quite popular with large business enterprises, industries and institutions. Only managed and smart switches can be used on such large scale networking. Unmanaged switches on the other hand are more common in households, café’s and single offices. The following table highlights the major differences of these devices

What are the differences between unmanaged, managed and smart switches?

Managed vs. Unmanaged Switch vs Smart Switch – How do these devices compare?

Functionality and use

The differences between these three devices is slight. On one hand, we have the unmanaged switches that work simply by providing extra Ethernet ports for the network. Managed switches on the other hand provide ports as well as offer control to the user for managing and prioritizing traffic in a LAN. What this means is that the network admin can direct more bandwidth to a specific user of device. They allow user to set up and control every aspect of the network. Smart switches are quite similar to managed switches with slightly more extra features such as IP muticasting. Overall, the smart managed switch is a better purchase as it offers much more functionalities.

Special Features

Another key difference between these devices is the features they come with and how they help improve performance. Smart switches are better as some come with advanced features such as free top notch security and antimalware. Furthermore, they also contain features such as IP casting, although few smart switches have this. This is because there are different types of smart switches including: smart managed switch, web smart managed switch and cloud smart managed switch. On the other hand, managed switches come in second boasting a myriad of nice advanced features. These include: Link aggregation, VLANs, Web Management and Quality of Service handling. Smart switches also have these in addition to their features mentioned above. Lastly, we have unmanaged switches which do not have special features. There are only a few may support link aggregation.

Security

With networking devices, security is an essential component of the system. Here, the managed switch offer the best security of the three devices. The major reason for this is that they are much more advanced in functionality than unmanaged switches and more specialized than smart switches. Managed switches come with preinstalled security systems. These are installed since the switch is able to monitor the network and identify threats such as malware and virus attacks. Security features such as encryption and access control lists are used to protect the network from unauthorized users. Unmanaged switches on the other hand come with physical security in form of a cap protector for the ports. Smart switches feature little to no security features.

Managed vs Unmanaged Switch vs Smart Switch – A comparison Overview

Smart Switch

In a large scale network such as industry or school, the need for a smart switch is needed more than ever. This is because, in a network, the more devices connected the more the need for data prioritization. Smart switches are built with the ability to prioritize traffic among many other functionalities. First, there are web smart managed switches which as the name suggests are managed via web browser. These are simple devices that offer VPN connection but lack advancements such as SNMP and CLI control. The other type is known as cloud smart managed switches. These enable and monitor remote cloud management of your network remotely. They usually come with 10 Gbe SFP ports for fast speed connection.

TP Link TL SG2008 Smart Switch

Kasa Smart Plug Classic 15A, Smart Home Wi-Fi Outlet Works with Alexa & Google Home, No Hub Required, UL Certified, 2.4G WiFi Only, 1-Pack(HS105) , White

• Control From Anywhere: Turn electronics on or off from anywhere with your smartphone using the Kasa app...
• Voice Control: Works with Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant and MicroSoft Cortana supported devices for a...

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There are not many smart switches in the market today. Among the most popular and best-selling is the TP Link SG2008. This smart switch feature eight ports and other top features such as a MAC address table size and remote management control protocol. It also features LED status lights that indicate either on or off. The only major downside of this modem is its lack of Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) and CLI management. Instead it uses a web based interface which is not ideal for network technicians

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Managed Switches

Managed switches are the most advanced types of switches in the market today. They are used for large networks such as factories and industries to manage and control the traffic in all the connected computers. Multiple devices in many departments may cause heavy strain when each of them is pulling data at the same time. For this situation, a managed switch is what you need. They perform the following functions. Limit access to specific devices to control the performance of the network. Monitor performance and detect problems as well as repair them without a technician having to inspect the devices. Provide routing to link smaller networks to larger networks.

D Link DGS 1008G

D-Link Ethernet Switch, 8-Port Gigabit Plug n Play Compact Design Fanless Desktop (DGS-1008G), Black

• 8 Gigabit ports
• D Link Green technology helps conserve energy when the device is not in use

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We included this amazing switch to cater for the gamers. The D Link 1008G is a powerful little black switch with high data transfer rates. It comes with 8 gigabit ports and boasts one of the sleekest designs you will see on a switch. The product is easy to configure with its plug and play feature.

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Unmanaged switch

Unmanaged switches are networking devices whose major function is to provide extra Ethernet ports for a large network. It is the main reason they are referred to as unintelligent networking devices as they do not perform any form of data processing. An unmanaged switch is used mainly by institutions where lots of Ethernet ports are needed for connectivity. Because of this simplicity, they offer no security to the network. The following is a great example of an unmanaged switch.

Netgear GS308 Unmanaged Switch

NETGEAR GS308-100PAS - Discontinued by Manufacturer

• PLUG-AND-PLAY: Simple set up with no software to install or configuration needed
• VERSATILE MOUNTING OPTIONS: Supports desktop or wall mount placement

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The GS308 is the bigger brother of the previously released GS108. It is an 8 port switch designed for both home use and enterprise use. Like all other unmanaged switches, this is easy to setup due to the plug and play feature. There is no software needed and all you have to do is plug it into your router or modem. Furthermore, it is very quiet.

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Conclusion

To select the best of the three, consider what you need most from the device. For large unmanaged networks, go for a managed or smart switch. If you only need a few extra ports, the unmanaged switch would be the best choice.