[AusNOG] Fwd: Re: 12V Gigabit Switch suggestions

[Paul Gear]

On 02/08/2013 09:11 AM, Thomas Jackson wrote:
> I've seen you mention VLAN tagging on Mikrotik several times, and I'm not
> sure where you have been stuck on this.
>
> 	/interface vlan add interface=ether1 name=my-vlan vlan-id=100
>
> Creates a virtual interface called my-vlan, primary interface ether1, VLAN
> ID 100. From there, it is treated like another interface in the rest of the
> system (routing, firewall etc). If you want to use VLANs on a switch group,
> define your switch group by defining the master-port on each slave port,
> then use the above command with your master port.

Here's the configuration tutorial i started with:
     http://wiki.mikrotik.com/wiki/Vlans_on_Mikrotik_environment

As it stands, it works.  Now take the configuration they outline there, 
and produce an equivalent config to this one from a Cisco 2950:

int f0/1
     switchport mode trunk
     switchport trunk native vlan 10
     switchport trunk allowed vlan 20
int f0/2
     switchport mode trunk
     switchport trunk native vlan 20
     switchport trunk allowed vlan 30
int f0/3
     switchport mode trunk
     switchport trunk native vlan 30
     switchport trunk allowed vlan 10
int f0/4
     description Uplink
     switchport mode trunk
     switchport trunk allowed vlan 10,20,30

Or, even simpler and clearer on a ProCurve:

vlan 10
     untagged 1
     tagged 3-4
vlan 20
     untagged 2
     tagged 1,4
vlan 30
     untagged 3
     tagged 2,4

To do this with the Mikrotik we need to:

  * Add another VLAN with an access port.  Pretty straightforward.
  * Add a tagged VLAN to each access port (it could be for voice,
    servers, or whatever).  Not hard, but this definitely produces a
    configuration which is a whole lot more complex than the sample on
    the wiki.

Now do it on the switch chip.  This is my lay-down misère.  When you go 
here, you end up dealing with stuff that is (as far as i can work out) 
just a thin CLI wrapper around the switch chip's TCAM API.  (It turns a 
2-minute job into a 2-hour job for me.  I'm sure others who are more 
skilled and practiced with RouterOS could get it down to 20 minutes or so.)

Those working in service provider environments may not mess around with 
VLAN tagging much, but for me these are everyday tasks, and i don't have 
that kind of time to spend on it.

> Obviously Mikrotik isn't going to suit everything (and I don't think it is
> quite the right fit for this use), but they are great when used in the right
> place like any tool. Comparing a routing platform that can do some switching
> (Mikrotik) to switching platforms (Netgear GS108T or ProCurve 1810G) isn't
> quite a direct comparison either.

This did start as a thread about suitable 12V switches... :-)

> To tenuously get back to topic, the GS108T
> is powered from a wall-wart if my memory is right, so may actually suit this
> use-case. I would rather saw my arm off than use a Netgear GS108T after some
> previous bad experiences, but that is a story for a different day!

That was my point - i feel the same way about Netgear GS108Ts and 
ProCurve 1810s. ;-)

Paul

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