Grouptest: Dual-speed Ethernet switches - Avaya Cajun P133G2

The Cajun P133G2 is one of an extensive range of workgroup switches from Avaya. It complements its 24 dual-speed ports with a pair of small fixed pluggable (SFP) ports, which accept optional 1000BaseSX and 1000BaseLX transceivers.

The main bank of 24 ports are set back in a panel, and a comprehensive display matrix sits above the expansion slots.

This provides a wealth of visual information as a couple of buttons below can be used to switch between displaying link status, detected collisions, receiving or transmitting activity, link speed and duplex mode. The P133G2 has a comparatively low backplane capacity of 4.4Gbps. Although the switch had a perfect score in the forwarding tests, latency at full traffic load was poor.Avaya makes every effort to ensure swift installation. A visit to the CLI is required first and, although it is more complex than most, needs only a single command to provide the default VLan with an IP address.

The web manager is Java-based and will require a plug-in to be downloaded from Avaya's web site to function. The main interface is extremely well designed and easy to navigate, providing a tidy graphic of the switch front panel with hotspots for quick access to system and port settings. The various features can be reached easily from a menu bar above, and a wizard is provided for creating port trunks or link aggregation groups (LAGs).

These allow high-speed, fault-tolerant links to be created between switches or to devices such as servers; up to four LAGs, each with eight ports, can be implemented. There is support for 62 802.1q VLans and these are just as easy to create from the web interface. The P133G2 isn't stackable but the two SFP ports are promoted as a means of cascading more switches as required; up to four can be placed in a stack and managed using a single IP address.

Installation 4/5
Build quality 4/5
Features 3/5
Performance 3/5
Value for money 3/5
Overall 3/5

Contact Avaya 0800 698 3619
www.avaya.com
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