Managed switches automate many administrative tasks and provide greater insight into the health of the network.
In today’s increasingly decentralized computing environments, IT networks must support not only core systems but a growing array of remote users, branch offices and edge networks. However, scaling networks to meet these demands often creates management inefficiencies.
Gartner analysts estimate that 95 percent of network changes today are done manually. That’s no longer practical as networks continue to grow in both size and complexity. Manual change processes are simply too slow, unreliable and error-prone to effectively handle the growing volume of service tasks.
Many companies are looking to address these issues by automating repetitive management tasks. In most cases, achieving pervasive network automation is greatly facilitated by upgrading their network architecture with managed switches. That’s why market research firm Fact.MR estimates that the managed switches market will see a compound annual growth rate of 8.4 percent through 2032.
A network switch connects all devices network, redirecting and forwarding data to the correct destination. For decades, virtually all networks used simple and inexpensive unmanaged switches that connect devices to the network with a fixed configuration. Designed to offer easy plug-and-play connectivity, they have no manageable features.
Key Features
By contrast, managed switches are highly configurable and customizable, allowing administrators to configure and monitor network settings. From a central console, administrators can adjust switch settings to automatically enforce traffic controls and prioritize channels. They can also create new virtual LANs to keep smaller groups of devices segregated and to better manage their traffic.
Traffic prioritization is one of the more important features of a managed switch. With the explosion of voice and video applications requiring real-time communication, managed switches can automatically prioritize traffic based on QoS classifications. This minimizes the chances that high-priority traffic gets dropped due to network congestion.
Managed switches also enable traffic segmentation through the use of virtual local-area networks (VLANs) that separate the physical network into multiple logical networks. This helps reduce unnecessary traffic in key network segments. Administrators can also use VLANs to segment networks based on users, devices or job functions without regard for the physical location of the user or device.
Path redundancy is another key feature. Unmanaged switches allow only point-to-point connections between any two network device ports, which means any device or connectivity issue will interrupt communications. However, managed switches use ring topologies to create multiple paths. In the event of a problem with the primary path, traffic is automatically diverted to an alternate path.
A Clear View
Managed switches also provide a great deal of insight into network operations by using network protocols such as the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) to monitor devices on the network. This allows administrators to monitor the health of individual devices as well as the network as a whole. For example, administrators can see how many messages are being received and sent from each port, and identify dropped or faulty packets that might indicate problems with certain devices.
The ability to centrally manage these switches from the cloud further streamlines operations in highly distributed network environments. Administrators need only an Internet connection to remotely configure and monitor thousands of switch ports from any location, whether onsite or remote. The ability to view and troubleshoot all switches directly from the cloud interface eliminates traditional manual device tracking processes.
Increasingly distributed and complex IT networks create management challenges for most organizations. In a new SolarWinds study, nearly half of IT professionals say having key resources scattered across cloud instances, physical servers and virtual servers reduces their visibility into the IT environment and limits their management capabilities. Managed switches can help reduce complexity by automating many management tasks.
