Best Switch?

[sagvan]

Hello, dears!
I hope this post finds you well.

We currently have Fortigate firewall, FortiAP (231F, 231G, and a few outdoor ones), and Hikvision cameras in our network. We also have switches from different brands, including Planet, Hikvision, ONV, Dahua, etc. (4-port, 8-port, 16-port, 24-port).

We need industrial switches at some areas, but most are non-industrial.

We have planned to start using a new brand for better management, visibility, remote control, great visual tools, etc. However, we need a brand that could cover our needs. Our company is medium size, with around 50 access points and 250 cameras installed so far with the high expectation of expansion. That's why, we will also implement HikCentral system for our CCTV room.

We have received some recommendations, but each sources seems to praise what they sell.
This is the list of recommended brands:
- Ubiquiti (Unifi)
- Cisco (too EXPENSIVE)
- Planet
- Ruijie (easy and modern management system with lifetime cloud management option and 3-5 years of replacement warranty even with little problems)
- Hikvision (I was told the company's only good at security systems, such as surveillance cameras, not networking switches)

The main question is, which would work best for our network environment, considering that our devices are from both Fortinet and Hikvision.

Can we consider FortiSwitches? They are expensive, I know, but maybe one at a main point would make sense, right? Or should we stick to one brand? I want the minimum number of brands.

#Switch #Network #Fortigate #Fortiswitch #HikVision #Planet #Cisco #Ruijie #Dahua

[johnathan]

If ease of management and visibility into your network are priorities, you can look into using the FortiSwitch. Once integrated with the FortiGate, all configuration for the switches would be done via the FortiGate. They aim to have it be as seamless as possible, this video goes over what you can expect: https://video.fortinet.com/latest/manage-fortiswitch-with-fortigate-fortios-7-0