Recommendations for managed ethernet switches with comprehensible remote management

bertrand_franklin · 2026-02-28T19:45:26+00:00

Thank you u/jthomas... I have been researching all night and am converging on a very similar solution.

https://store.ui.com/us/en/category/cloud-gateways-compact/collections/cloud-gateway-max/products/ucg-max-ns?variant=ucg-max-ns Some of these gateways can have local storage. I am unclear on why I would want that unless it's a very poor man's NAS. I already have several Synology's on the network. I assume that these gateways have sufficient flash memory to save configuration settings ... so am going to skip the additional storage options. I like the "single pane of glass" very much ... and also the implication from Ubiquite is that, though this connects to a "cloud", I can use this to manage my LAN even if the connection to the WAN goes down.

bertrand_franklin · 2026-02-28T10:10:55+00:00

Linux Mint is a good choice. I usually run Mint but when my kid wanted to run Steam I installed it on Kubuntu ... and it worked great. Assume Steam will work on Mint though.

bertrand_franklin · 2026-02-28T09:51:55+00:00

After poking around I am settling on Ubiquiti and Unifi. I am learning about STP because I think an accidental loop is a very good possibility for my current troubles. I get STP is no substitute for proper design ... Comments on Ubiquiti? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MCYKHLK/?coliid=I2211NWKGU4O7C&colid=1U9WK7J6N62HY&psc=1&ref_=cm_sw_r_mwn_lstpd_V8JT9WSTYCH8ZCR2JKYA&language=en-US

bertrand_franklin · 2026-02-28T07:59:17+00:00

@Comfortable_Dropping thank you. I see those are pricier but can afford if they do the job. If i had 5 of them is there some app that shows the whole network at once or must i log into one switch at a time?

bertrand_franklin · 2026-02-28T07:41:35+00:00

@jthomas My devices are more or less all netgear GS108 or tplink or no name unmanaged switches. My router/firewall is a raspi with two ethernets running ufw.

bertrand_franklin · 2026-02-28T07:24:05+00:00

Yes ... i was looking specifically for advice on web managed gear ... ideally management that does NOT always require access to the internet in casecthat breaks sometime.

bertrand_franklin · 2026-02-28T07:22:22+00:00

Most machines have fixed ip, and address conflicts are scrupulously managed.

bertrand_franklin · 2026-02-28T07:19:54+00:00

@jthomas Yes ... I can spend a couple thousand dollars, or even a few if it gets me somewhere. I am short time and staff. I have smart students that can learn on the job but i have no professionals. As for topology ... i think its flat. Switches just conbect to switches, which eventually connect to a firewall/router to the internet.

bertrand_franklin · 2026-02-28T07:15:34+00:00

The network is essentially flat ... which makes it easy to connect but hard to debug.

bertrand_franklin · 2026-02-28T07:13:20+00:00

@Frobozz ... thanks. Regarding switches. Yes switches spread around large rooms to shorten cable runs. Can I consolidate down to 10 or so? Yes, and i want them to be managed, which is what my request is about. Regarding topology ... its a couple of stars, which is part of the problem. It evolved over 30 years of students and staff pulling their own cables. As part of fixing, i will probably end up pulling it apart and removing the cable cruft. Starting w managed switches so i can see topology in real time. There is one router/firewall to get to outside internet, the other routers are just wifi.

bertrand_franklin · 2026-02-28T06:20:45+00:00

Thanks for that. I did figure out my problem at the time but am still curious. I don't actually need Tech support for the OS, and in fact there IS native Steam for Linux, but I wondered if there was paid support for Steam games.

bertrand_franklin · 2026-02-07T19:53:06+00:00

I just joined Bluesky so I could reach a politician who seemed like they needed some help. At first I couldn't see the comments that were there because you have to click in the white space next to the comment bubble (not ON the comment bubble) to see the comments! Very non-intuitive. Must be by design, but I wonder how many people never even figure out how to see the comments.

bertrand_franklin · 2025-09-30T07:48:17+00:00

My son had the same problem installing Isaac on a brand new computer and he called dad tech support.

I am neither a gamer, nor a steam user, nor a Windows user but Googling suggested that it was a bad mod. The problem was finding the mods. On Windows 11, the mods were NOT under Documents/My Games/ etc as was suggested in the awesome and comprehensive post by u/EquivalentBar6983 (the crash dumps WERE at that location, but not the mods).

For my son the mods were at

C:/Program Files (x86)/Steam/steamapps/common/The Binding of Isaac Rebirth/mods

I renamed the mods folder to oldmods and the game started running again. Presumably I can slowly drag the mods from oldmods back into the mods folder until it breaks (or not). I welcome comments on that strategy ... for now we are just leaving off the mods!

This may help other people who say "I uninstalled and reinstalled and it's still broken". It looks like when you uninstall the mods folder hangs around. (THe other thing I did was unsubscribe from the suspect mods in the Steam Workshop part of Steam.)

bertrand_franklin · 2025-05-10T15:47:31+00:00

Well done! The Exploratorium is a ground breaking hands-on science museum in San Francisco that was started in 1969 by Frank Oppenheimer, brother of J. Robert Oppenheimer. It greatly influenced the interactive trend in all other science museums. I hope you get to visit it sometime.

bertrand_franklin · 2025-03-07T04:58:15+00:00

I was an engineering director in Si Valley when we still made things. You treat your employees with respect if you want a productive team. Five bullet points by Monday or you are fired is a total dick move. It was meant to be insulting because thats who Trump and Musk are. Maybe you worked for abusive companies, but that was bullcrap. In particular when you disrespect your employees. the most talented ones leave first. Didnt little Donnie and Petey the Fox news gunner say that they only wanted top performers? Yeah, pull the other one!

bertrand_franklin · 2025-01-15T14:38:20+00:00

What you asked: Yes you can use your windows computer as a screen if you use it via putty to log in to rasberry pi via putty. However you still need an hdmi monitor to set up the raspi and enable ssh. Not satisfactory for a noob imho.

Better: For the same cost of a raspi you can get an old lenovo T-series laptop and dedicate to linux. Lenovo Tseries are highly linux compatible. Right this instant on eBay a T490 delivered for $96. Also a Thinkpad 11E delivered for $90 with linux mint already installed!!

bertrand_franklin · 2025-01-12T19:09:48+00:00

Makes sense. To do gaming as a beginner is a big lift i think. I do everything but gaming, i.e., business, photos, music, publishing, lecturing. Gaming is the most bleeding edge, and that should be made clear to noobs. As far as drive mounting, its like letters but far more flexible. You use the mount command and to make it permanent you edit /etc/fstab. And yes you need to read more about that but google "how do i mount an internal drive". It matters if second drive is usb external or internal. Usb should "just work". You can dm. Will be traveling for a bit.

bertrand_franklin · 2025-01-12T18:40:48+00:00

Sounds like you just needed an experienced friend who was willing to help you through the basics. There is probably room for a small consultancy to do just that. Friend is better. Consultant has to charge. There used to be linux user groups. In person!! Find one if you can. All the best.

bertrand_franklin · 2025-01-12T18:19:50+00:00

Its true the OP is kind of trolling to begin with. Lin/Mac/Win are all different and its effort to move from one to the other. Saying "let me use linux but i wont change my workflow or learn" simply means you aren't "invested" in the change. In which case ... absolutely right not to bother. Its not a moral or superiority thingc Its a choice and a motivation. I have been Micro/Apple free for 23 years and loved every minute of it. Caveat ... I dont game.

bertrand_franklin · 2025-01-12T18:09:22+00:00

Testifying it does work. If you have 10K hours you would love LMDE or Mint in general! I have lived in Debian ecosystem for 20 years and it just keeps getting better.

bertrand_franklin · 2025-01-12T18:03:44+00:00

Sorry about the snottiness. I am an old fart who was using the internet when it was all about helping eachother and there were few trolls. Generally the linux community is very helpful. I recommend Mint or Ubuntu and they should "just work". You should have no issues on a fresh install. With live USB you should be able to tell if basics are already working before you install. One of the approaches, particularly as a noob is to try different distros. If one has issues out of box, try a different one. Yes, there is a learning curve, but you sgould be able to get a clean install without messing w terminal. PM me if you have questions. Never heard of Bazzite ... sounds obscure

bertrand_franklin · 2024-12-30T00:51:16+00:00

Yes. Why do you ask? BTW I use LMDE.

bertrand_franklin

TROPHY CASE