I’m looking for recommendations for a managed network switch that either comes with open source firmware or can have open source firmware flashed onto it.

I read that some old TP-Links let you do this but the modern ones don’t. I also read some ZyXELs allow it, and I’m looking at the GS1900-8, but it doesn’t say anywhere in the description about the firmware.

Does anyone have any ideas or knowledge to share? Do I need to buy an old one second-hand?

I’d prefer something with 8 ports, but 4 or 5 is probably enough, honestly. 8 would just be more future-proof if I decide to expand my setup.

PoE isn’t a dealbreaker for me but I consider it a nice-to-have. And I don’t need SFP (unless someone can explain why I might?). I do want something managed though, for setting up VLANs, QOS prioritization, NGFW, etc.

Thanks in advance!

  • wonderingwanderer@sopuli.xyzOPEnglish
    2·
    3 days ago

    Aha! That’s perfect, thanks. It turns out the GS1900 is compatible with OpenWRT. Good to know!

    OpenWisp sounds interesting. Is that similar to Prometheus or Grafana, or does it do more? And should I put that on my router or network switch?

    • Harold@feddit.nlEnglish
      1·
      3 days ago

      I suppose you could deploy OpenWISP in a container on your router if it has the capacity.

      It is more akin to Ubiquiti’s Unifi I would say. Allows you to manage multiple OpenWRT devices centrally, or at least the common configuration elements.

      • wonderingwanderer@sopuli.xyzOPEnglish
        2·
        2 days ago

        I don’t think I need that, but it sounds interesting and I’ll keep that in mind if I run into any problems that it might fix.

        My main intent is just to run a router to the switch, and then connect a few different devices, like a raspberry pi and a couple old laptops, set up VLANs, and basically just use it to learn computer networking. I don’t have much use for a homelab at this time, but it sounds cool and I want to learn how to do it