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[Michael Cates]

Hello,

We purchased 20 SD2008 business class switchs around September of 2007 to rollout to our stores.  I found the version of the units to be v2.1 and all of them have a very large power supply.  I have had over 5 fail on me and begin swapping out with spares that were also v2.1.   Then purchased some backup/spares because of all of the issues that I am having.  Well, strangely the new ones were v3.0 and the power supply is completely different, it’s smaller and lighter.  I have begun swapping out the old ones with the new v3.0.

   The issue each of the SD2008 v2.1 experience is that after 3 months or more the SD2008 v2.1 begins dropping packets and causing the network to slow down to a crawl.  Once I replace the unit with a new one, the network begins working perfectly. Everyone that fails experiences this same issue.

My questions are as follows

1.  Is this a result of a bad version (v2.1)?

2.  Will v3.0 experience the same issues over time or does it fix this issue that I am experiencing with v2.1?

3 Can I request Linksys to swap out my entire batch of v2.1 with v3.0?  My feeling is that there is something inherently bad in the v2.1 and every one of them is going to fail and I would rather be proactive and swap this out now before they all fail?

Or should I consider going with another vendor of switches?

Any feedback from Linksys would be appreciated.

Message Edited by Michael Cates on 06-03-2008 11:54 AM

[gandalf]

Not sure that the version 2.1 is bad or not .... however i am also using the same version & it is working good ....

[Kurion]

I have the same exact scenario in my labs. We have over 60 of these switches and we get the same problems; dropped packets, slow performance, and timeouts. As soon as we swap the switch out the problem is gone. 20-30 of the 60 switches that we have had experienced this issue. And the kicker is they all exprienced it within 30 days of the first time it happened. Since we bought these in large batches it almost begs the question of planned failure. Getting these replaced by support is time consuming and the sheer quantity now has me chucking these in the trash and looking to buy Netgear or Dell (they now have 8 port switches cheap).

[kmarsh8]

If you are looking for another small managed switch, I recommend AGAINST the Dell PowerConnect 2708. To start, it cannot handle Jumbo Frames like its big brothers in the 27xx series, and it can only be managed over VLAN 1.

If you look on their web page, you'll see that the firmware has not been updated since the original issue in 2005 (the one and only one listed is the one that comes with the switch anyway. I reported a bug- turning on a certain combination of extended VLAN's and port speed settings bricks the 2708- they sat on the bug for a year and then finally admitted to me that they were not going to fix it.

The real problem I have is that they will work well for a while, then certain connections will experience terrible slowness while others work OK. I can verify this by quickly swapping one out and then speed will return on those same connections... for a while.

I am in the process of replacing them with SRW2008's for managed edge switches. While so far it seems to solve the Dell's problems, I am having a new set of problems, which you can see in my other threads.

-Ken.

[Michael Cates]

Thanks for all the repsonses, it appears that I am not the only one.   I as well purchased in a batch of 20.  Now I have over 6 of them sent out to Linksys and get this they are all BACK ORDERED for my replacements.   I can assure you that I will not be purchasing any more of their products since experience the awful technical support for such an awful product that Linksys is unwilling to admit there is a problem and fix it.  I am continuing to post on the net in may areas of the lack of quality and service by Linksys.  

Please keep me up to date on your experiences...

[SSR1]

Well, I will join the club here. Here at my job we have started to experience the same problem. We now have 15 and counting. Linksys won't admit there is a problem and I you spend upto an 1hr with tech support to get it replaced and so I have had to stack them all up and call them in at the same time. I am trying to get V.3 in hopes it will solve the problem. I will keep everyone posted.

[bass44player]

Glad to have found this thread, I didn't know what was causing my network to kick down to 100base.

After reading threads here about the SD2008 I went and got a few 470uF @35wvdc caps and opened up my v2.1 switch.

Sure as anything, there sits one very bulged capacitor, closest to the heatsink, very easy to see, upon replacing this cap and re-assembling the unit, it immediately autonegotiates back at 1.0 Gbps speed now.

That's all it took.

[bass44player]

Michael,

Your switches and mine are made at the same time, more than likely the same exact models externally and internally.

I'm willing to bet the same capacitor is causing your problems as it was mine.

If you can't find someone locally to swap out a single capacitor for a reasonable charge and you aren't getting anywhere with Linksys, I would offer to do the repair if you contact me.

At the point I was at, a warranty was only an afterthought. I need things that work without the downtime and the trouble of exercising the warranty, or the expense of replacing the unit with another brand.

[Michael Cates]

Thanks for the offer.  I am going to open one up and see how difficult it looks to do and / or if I can find the capacitor in town.  My only concern is that I am sure that once I do this it will void my warantee and then if I ever need to send to Linksys they would love to then deny my claim.

Get back to you soon.  Thanks for all the information from everyone and keep it comming.  i have been post all over the net becuase Linksys is unwilling to be responsible and work to help replace these bad units in a more timely manner.  As with all of us, we all have a job and to waste an hour for each one insteand of just batch replacing my KNOWN bad ones is in excusable.

[dwagelaar]

Same problem with the switch: blown capacitor. As the switch runs very hot too (enough for the glue of the rubber feet to melt), I've decided to add a fan to the case. A complete description and some photos can be found here.