Managed vs. Unmanaged Switch: Which One Should You Use?

hi guys welcome back on today's episode we're going to answer an important question which is better for your network a managed switch or an unmanaged switch you'll find out next on the ultimate tech hub [Music] so guys on today's video we're gonna answer an important question which switch should you have in your network a managed switch or an unmanaged switch and is it possible to have both types of switches in your network well before we answer both of those questions we'll need to answer this question first what are the differences between a managed switch and an unmanaged switch when designing your home network a network switch is effectively the brain of your network these switches connect all devices together on a lan local area network and these switches are constantly redirecting and forwarding data to the correct destination network switches come in various sizes and these switches can have up to 48 ports so what is the actual difference between a managed switch and an unmanaged switch in the most simplest of terms an unmanaged switch allows you to immediately plug and play devices into your network while a managed switch allows for much greater control and unmanaged switch is simple you connect all your ethernet devices to it with no configurations an unmanaged switch is perfect for the person who values convenience over security on the other hand a managed switch allows you to manage configure and monitor the settings of your lan including controls over land traffic prioritizing certain channels and create new virtual lans to keep smaller groups of devices segregated and to better manage their traffic and a managed switch also has features that can recover data in the event of a device or network failure and an unmanaged switch has none of those features as far as performance and security a managed switch surpasses an unmanaged switch however an unmanaged switch is easier to use and costs far less than a managed switch so back to our original questions which switch should you have in your network well this answer could be a bit complicated but i'll keep it simple for a basic home network with five to eight users an unmanaged switch should work well however if one or multiple users work from home and are working with sensitive information which may require more security you may want to use a managed switch which provides better security benefits and if you're interested in learning how to program manage switches like cisco switches i'll have a link right here to my playlist packet tracer labs these labs will show exactly how to program cisco switches and routers so the last question we need to answer can you have both types of switches in your network and the simple answer is yes a matter of fact in my network i have both i have a ruckus icx managed switch and several tp-link and netgear unmanaged switches so guys for the average home consumer a basic unmanaged switch should work fine installing a managed switch and programming it can be very complicated and it may require professional assistance and this video is not about programming a managed switch i already have dozens of videos on that subject and if you want to learn how to program a managed switch then be sure to check out my packet tracer labs i have everything there to show you how to program a cisco switch well guys we're all done here and i want to encourage you to visit my patreon page where two dollars a month can help keep this channel going and remember for every new patreon member i give a personal shout out on the very next video and guys remember if you like this video give a thumbs up and share it if you love it hit subscribe to keep this channel alive thanks again for watching