[rescue] Advice on 10/100 switches

[Robert Rose]

Hey rescuers,

I'm looking for advice on a used 16 - 24 port 10/100 UTP switch for my 
rescue network, features I'd like:
- blinkenlights
- rackmountable
- SNMP manageable
- VLAN-able
- expandable if I ever rescued something with FDDI or ATM
- respectable brand

I've currently got a couple of kalpana 15 port jobbies and a few synoptics 
2803's but I'd like to rationalise the rack space and be able to go faster 
than 10Mb.

I've been bidding on cisco 2924s on ebay but the prices seem to be a bit 
high for what I can really afford.  I've found some cheap cat5000's locally 
but I've had problems with them and hme interfaces in the past.

I need advice on what other brands/models are good.  The baystack 350's 
seem a bit more affordable, the 3Com superstacks even more so, but I have 
zero clue about how good they are or if there are any issues with any of 
the systems/NICs I have or may rescue.

Any input would be appreciated.

thanks,

Rob.