Buffalo Affordable BS-MP2008 10Gbe Switch Software Review
The growth of 10Gbe in storage and networking has really exploded in 2018. There was once a time when a 10x gigabit ethernet network in your home was utterly unthinkable, mainly for reasons of price and compatibility, and therefore 10g was considered the Enterprise-only choice. However, fast forward to today and we find that one can upgrade an entire network gradually or all in one swoop for just a few £100s, (compared with the tens of thousands of pounds just a few years ago). One of the biggest and most vital components of a 10Gbe network is the management switch.
This device (whether managed or unmanaged – we will get to that later) is what keeps your files moving to and from all users on the network. You could have the most powerful and fastest computer in the known universe, but if you do not have the means to ensure data packets are sent and received efficiently, your computer is as fast as a Windows XP budget desktop from 2002.
One well-established name in 10Gbe is Buffalo technology. With an already impressive history of both 10Gbe network attached storage for home+business and they’re incredibly popular Windows Storage Server range of TeraStation NAS, it is unsurprising that they also produce some pretty awesome managed switch too. The Buffalo BS-MP2008 8 port 10gbe managed switch is by far one of the most affordable, yet powerful switches you can buy and arrives at just over £350 without tax. Given that there are a number of unmanaged (brainless) 10Gbe network switches out there that cost more than this, you have to wonder how good the Buffalo BS-MP2008 really is? So let’s take some time to look at the Buffalo Switch hardware and software, to find out if this network management tool is what you have been waiting for to begin your move towards a 10Gbe upgrade.
Buffalo BS-MP2008 – Quick Conclusion
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Buffalo Affordable BS-MP2008 10Gbe Switch – Hardware
Both the external and internal hardware of the Buffalo BS-MP2008 switch has been discussed on NASCompares before. Indeed the hardware of this network switch ticked all the boxes in our review earlier this year. Before reading the software guide to this device and all it Utilities, I recommend you check out the Buffalo BS-MP2008 hardware review in the link below.
OFFICIALLY the Lowest Priced FULL 10Gbe 8-Port Switch EVER – Buffalo BS-MP2008 at £400+
Buffalo Affordable BS-MP2008 10Gbe Switch – Access
Once we connected the Buffalo switch to mains power and connected several 1GB and 10gb devices over 10GBASE-T and RJ45, the switch was up and running and accessible inside 60 seconds, alerting us with a cheerful beep.
It was recommended to us that we install the business switch configuration tool, in order to locate and access the switch management interface over the network. It is a simple tiny application that lives on your PC and lets you find your Buffalo BS-MP2008 easily. Alternatively, you can also simply open your web browser and enter your IP if you prefer.
A quick scan of your network environment is made with the tool and it should find your Buffalo BS-MP2008 switch in seconds.
Once it finds your switch, it also provides you with lots of relevant information for your device and its place in your network environment. These include the IP and Mac address of your switch, as well as firmware information and model details. Once you have identified your network switch, merely double click on a Buffalo BS-MP2008 icon to begin accessing the web interface via this network tool. Once again you can simply enter the IP into your web browser (Chrome, Mozilla, Safari, etc) URL bar and this will directly access this which if you prefer.
Upon double-clicking the switch you will be given access to a few options for accessing the web interface or changing the switch’s IP and place on your network if needed. This will only be required for those that have pre-existing network security and hardware setups that require a static IP for all devices, to ensure stability environment. Generally, a dynamic (automatic) setup will more than suffice.
Buffalo Affordable BS-MP2008 10Gbe Switch – User Interface
If you access the web interface via this tool, it will make great efforts to provide you with the default login information for your switch. Do bear in mind however that if you have changed your access information to switch user interface, this information will be incorrect. Otherwise the default login will be ‘admin’ and ‘password’. I know, very safe…
Accessing the switch user interface via a default web browser, such as Chrome or Safari, gives you access to the login screen for your Buffalo BS-MP2008 10G switch. Just enter the default login information or those that you set up yourself, and let’s get started.
The first thing you are presented with a hardware system information screen. From here you can see all of the pertinent hardware information regarding your Buffalo BS-MP2008 switch, ranging from its place on the network, to serial information and hardware attributes. Firmware updates are available quite frequently and the latest revision that you have installed will be displayed here. Within this menu, you are also able to rename the switch, as well as assign property information towards its location and who to contact in the event of problems.
As this is a managed switch, there is an additional settings menu providing you with a detailed breakdown of each of the eight available ports on the Buffalo BS-MP2008 switch. From here you are able to see the reported top speed available in both megabits per second and gigabits per second on each port, as well as a monitoring aggregation and locating priority.
For those that want to use a 10Gbs switch, like the Buffalo BS-MP2008, in a business environment that utilizes voice (VoIP) for internal and external communication, you will be pleased to hear that this reasonably priced switch allows you to assign VoIP priority for any port that is utilised for VoIP phone lines. In practice, this means that in high bandwidth usage situations (large uploads, downloads, impromptu backups, etc) phone lines will take priority and stable clear telephone communication is insured. One of the often overlooked necessities of a managed switch in business and surprisingly harder to find that you would expect in 2018!
For those that worry that their website will be the target of a denial-of-service attack (DoS attack) by malicious users, this BS-MP2008 switch from Buffalo arrives with numerous anti-DoS and bombardment measures to alert and protect you in the event of a cyber attack your network. This can be set to be largely automatic or manually handled, resulting in the DoS path be locked out or the DoS method deflected.
Buffalo Affordable BS-MP2008 10Gbe Switch – Traffic Management
Another popular feature in network attached storage, and one that the Buffalo BS-MP2008 switch provides easily and effectively is link aggregation, otherwise known as port trunking. Using the very straightforward and easy port trunking option, you are able to select anywhere between 1 and all 8 ports, then combine them to a single connection pathway. In real terms, this means that any device connected via multiple 10GBASE-T or RJ45 LAN connections to these ports will double triple or even quadruple their upload and download speeds. Many Buffalo NAS, alongside other NAS servers, feature multiple LAN ports that once connected to a link aggregated switch, such as a Buffalo BS-MP2008, will upload and download considerably faster than any other device. The port trunking support on this Buffalo 10Gbe switch alone almost completely justifies the modest price tag, with the cheapest 1Gbe LAG 8-Port switches from Netgear already costing in excess of £150.
The other main reason that many users are told to purchase a managed switch for business, compared with a brainless or unmanaged switch, is to do with traffic control. With multiple users and their machines connected to your switch or network of multiple switches, it is inevitable that some machines will have a higher priority in your business network environment than others. The traffic control menu on the Buffalo BS-MP2008 switch user-interface allows you to assign maximum and minimum access levels per port, and therefore assign priority or lack of to individual connected devices easily. These settings can be accessed quickly and changed within seconds as your situation requires. Lastly, these options are incredibly user-friendly and ensure that even a network novice can micro manage their network easily.
Bottom line, can you honestly say that Deborah in Human Resources needs equal network priority to the finance team? Or the warehosue guys need network access every bit as much as the Web Development team? Switch and port management gives you the ability to assisgn priority to those that need if for your business
For the more analytical and network experienced user, there is an entire statistics submenu available on the Buffalo management user interface on this 10Gbe switch. If you have multiple devices on your network and you need to ascertain which device is consuming the most bandwidth, or even just figure out how much each device is using in a given period, the statistics menu will provide you with some great analytical information regarding the number of data packets sent and who is receiving them. Used in conjunction with the traffic control tool, you will have a fantastic means to rein in or divert priority to connected users who need it the most.
Many users will ensure that one of the ports on a 10Gbe switch is connected to the internet, either directly or via an available router. Thanks to this you are able to check for firmware updates that are quite frequent with this Buffalo BS-MP2008 switch. Alternatively, you can upload directly from any machine that is connected via the Buffalo 10G network an update to the software. The facility for uploading firmware is limited only to those with administrative rights, to ensure that no erroneous software can be uploaded and conducted through a web browser.
The Buffalo BS-MP2008 10G switch allows you to create your own unique administrative account and log in. Though, in the event that you would rather return the device to factory settings, there are numerous restart, reboot and reinitialise options available to you via the user interface.
Buffalo Affordable BS-MP2008 10Gbe Switch – Conclusion
The bottom line is that for those that are looking at a10-gigabit ethernet switch to move their network environment gradually or completely to 10Gbe, the Buffalo BS-MP2008 is one of the very best switches I have used in a long time. Even if you were not won over by the impressively affordable price tag at around £350, you are still looking at a network switch with a huge amount of software and hardware to back it up. With virtual LAN management, total traffic management, loop prevention, loop detection and of course that all-important link aggregation support across all 8 ports, this is a great 10-gigabit switch for any home or a Business user looking to speed up production.
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