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RouterFreak: Home Lab Switch and Topology Recommendations

Aloha RouterFreakers! 🤙

Home labs are exceptional learning environments and by far the best way to show off your networking nerd street cred. Whether you’re building your first home lab, optimizing your current setup, or keeping pace with enterprise innovations, RouterFreak is here to guide you every step of the way.

In this week's edition, we dive deep into the essentials: discover the best affordable network switches for your home lab, explore beginner-friendly network topologies, and get the latest scoop on upcoming industry events that no network professional should miss. Plus, we’re inviting you to connect, share, and grow with the RouterFreak community.

Let’s power up your networking journey together—read on for expert insights, practical advice, and opportunities to engage with fellow network pros!

Featured Articles

1. Affordable Network Switches for Home Labs

Building a cost-effective home lab starts with choosing the right switch. This article reviews three standout options:

• TP-Link TL-SG108E: A smart managed switch with VLAN support and a fanless design, ideal for beginners.

• Zyxel XMG1915-10EP: A PoE++ powerhouse with 2.5GbE ports and 10G uplinks, perfect for advanced labs.

• Cisco SG200-18 (Used): A discontinued enterprise-grade switch offering LACP and VLAN features at a bargain price.

Key Takeaways:

• Managed switches provide VLAN and QoS flexibility, critical for segmenting lab traffic.

• PoE support simplifies deployments for IoT devices and wireless access points.

• Energy-efficient models like the TL-SG108E reduce long-term costs.

The guide also includes tips on link aggregation, monitoring with open-source tools like Zabbix, and future-proofing your lab with multi-gigabit hardware. Whether you’re a student or a seasoned engineer, these switches offer enterprise-level features without breaking the bank.

2. Top 3 Home Lab Network Topologies for Beginners

Designing a functional home lab begins with selecting the right network topology. This article breaks down three foundational setups:

1. Star Topology: Centralized around a switch, offering simplicity and easy troubleshooting.

2. Hybrid Topology: Combines star and mesh elements for scalable, segmented networks (e.g., separating lab and IoT traffic).

3. Virtualized Topology: Leverages Proxmox or VMware ESXi to create software-defined networks (SDN) on a single server.

Pro Tips:

• Start small with a star topology and expand using VLANs.

• Use pfSense firewalls to secure traffic between network segments.

• Simulate complex setups with GNS3 or Cisco Packet Tracer before deploying.

The guide emphasizes documentation, security best practices, and repurposing old hardware to minimize costs.

🗓️ Upcoming Events for Network Engineers

Because even the best engineers need to escape the server room sometimes. Here’s what’s on the horizon:

• Cisco Live!
  June 8-12, 2025 | San Diego, CA
  The Super Bowl of networking. Expect deep dives, hands-on labs, and more Cisco swag than your luggage can handle.

• DevOpsCon

  June 16-20, 2025 | Berlin, Germany

  While not purely a networking conference, you are sure to practice your pronunciation of Kubernetes and DevSecOps.

• AWS re:Invent
  Dec 1-5, 2025 | Las Vegas, NV
  Cloud, AI, and enough networking sessions to make your head spin (in a good way).

That’s a wrap for new content this week! Keep Scrolling for Data Call, Engineer Resources, and Opportunities to Contribute and Connect.
Got a killer tip, a burning question, or a meme-worthy network diagram? Hit reply—we love hearing from you (and yes, we read every RFC you send).

P.S. If you enjoyed this, forward to a friend or your favorite sysadmin. Sharing is caring—unless it’s your root password.

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Data Call

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Resource Center

To improve accessibility to our free resources, we will include links to our free downloads page in every newsletter.

Call for Resources:

Do have Visio Stencils we are missing or Python Scripts we can share with other newsletter subscribers (no paywalls, we only ask visitors to subscribe to our newsletter for access). Reply to this email with whatever you can help our community out with!

​Specific Requests:

We've received requests for the following Visio stencils, does anyone have these so we can get them into our archive and out to the specific RouterFreaks who asked for them?

• Cisco RV345 dual WAN router

• AudioCodes Mediant 1000B Gateway

• Versa box

Contribute and Connect

We believe that the strength of our network lies in the collective wisdom of our members. As we continue to grow and evolve, we're reaching out to tap into the vast pool of knowledge and resources that you, our valued readers, possess.

We're looking for:

• Technical guides you've created or found particularly useful

• Troubleshooting tips that have saved the day

• Book recommendations for network engineers at all levels

• Online courses or webinars that have enhanced your skills

• Tools and software that have improved your workflow

• Industry reports or whitepapers worth sharing

• Regular content writers

Your contributions will help fellow network engineers tackle challenges, stay updated with the latest trends, and grow professionally. By sharing, you're not just helping others – you're strengthening our entire community. How to contribute:

1. Email your resources to [email protected]

2. Include a brief description of why you find the resource valuable

3. Let us know if you'd like to be credited by name or remain anonymous

We'll review all submissions and feature the most impactful ones in our upcoming newsletters and on our website. Remember, every bit of knowledge shared is a step towards a more connected and informed RouterFreak community. Let's pool our resources and grow together!

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Mahalo,
​

Dan on behalf of RouterFreak