"Michael Vincent K. Pozon - CompE" wrote:
> >
> > 1. Why is the 3Com hub much bigger than the Intel InBusiness hub?
> > 2. Why is a 12-port hub more expensive than the 16-port hub?
> > 3. Bottomline: what makes the two-fold increase in price worthit?
>
> i think that model of 3Com is stackable compared to the intel which is
> probably not.
a little net surfing showed that while said 3Com model is called "SuperStack," it
actually is not logically stackable. logically stackable means being able to
connect to other ethernet distribution frame devices(switches, hubs, repeaters,
etc) via a physical device(a stacking cable), and be treated as a single logical
device that can be managed. said 3Com model does not have the appropriate physical
outlets to do so. the back view only gives power supply sockets. it doesn't even
have the usual transceiver port.
the only "stackable" feature i see for this product is that it fits nicely into a
rack with other SuperStack products piled one on top of the other. all SuperStack
devices have the same chassis shape and really looks cool when rack mounted.
i wouldn't recommend a 3Com SuperStack for an Office Environment setting. the cost
is just way to much for the lack of features. the SuperStack series devices were
made for each other, to be assembled in a rack and provide an ethernet distribution
frame. bought and operated singly, it doesn't give you much for your money.
other than SuperStack being not necessarily stackable, my experience with 3Com
SuperStack devices is that the individual ports and their circuitry are not that
resilient. slight surges in the network lines coming from transient sources would
tend to render a port unusable. given the price per port ratio of 3Com products,
it's quite unacceptable. i look at my 3 SuperStack switches right now, and it looks
like a toothing kid's mouth. daming bungi. =) my stacked D-Link 1824s on the same
network hasn't given me any problems.
i think that's enough for the rant on 3Com.
looking at that intel in-business hub, one can see the difference. 3Com is
rack-mountable. this guy small, to be put on a desktop. it's 3Com equivalent is the
OfficeConnect series, not the SuperStacks. tsk tsk tsk. these devices are
physically stackable as well, but not logically.
i cannot see anything that justifies the higher cost of that 3Com device. well,
maybe the bigger, rack-mountable size. that intel device gives you a higher port
density at 16 ports for the 12 ports at half the price. =) none are stackable
logically. both are dual sensing 10/100s. your choice.
vince.
p.s.
i hate 3Com's prices. even their dumbass devices(no SNMP) are priced almost twice
as much as their competitors, and i can't see a single justifying thing.
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