We have a certain location that is a death sentence to switches. Even our prized BlackBox Hardened Switches don't last as long as usual there. Unfortunately with added equipment, we have gone beyond the capacity of said 8-port BB Hardened Switches, and are in need of something else.
I first began looking for a PoE option (Digital Loggers Smart PoE, etc.) in order to eliminate some clutter, but unfortunately our combination of equipment at this site has so far made that goal unattainable. Do you folks have any recommendations for a decently priced hardened switch with 10+ ports? Obviously PoE would be best, but at this point with or without PoE would be fine.
Curious any ideas/clues as to what's killing them? Heat? Moisture? Grounding or electrical issues?
As far as switches go... we ended up taking over a WISP that used a lot of Digital Loggers devices and we ended up pulling out all of that gear because of failures and lack of decent tech support. That was a long time ago tho... maybe they've improved?
Have you looked into Netonix switches? We use them everywhere. Lots of different models, and very good tech support and firmware updates.
Well, I ended up grabbing a few 16 port WIWAV WDH-16ET-DC switches. I have them at two locations and so far so good. They're extremely cost effective but we'll see how they are in the way of longevity.
Coupled with a PacketFlux power+sync injector, a surge in between, a 24v power supply feeding it all and slapped on a DIN rail, it's a nice clean setup.
I don't know what your traffic load is for the tower in question, but the fact that it's a 10/100 switch would concern me - four ePMP APs plus a downstream PTP (I assume that's why you mentioned two) would almost certainly exceed 100Mbps aggregate on our network, which would end up being the limiting factor. Feeding a PTP600 into a 100Mbps switch feels like a short-term solution at best.