[nflug] Routers switches and the urge to get very vocal with a Dell tech support rep

[Richard Hubbard]

A number of months ago, I purchased a Dell 6224, layer 3 switch, with the idea of using it to break my 150+ machine network into subnets, primarily so that some tech in a lab wouldn't shut down the network with a broadcast storm.

According to Dell, this is what I should be able to do.

According to me, every set of instructions we got to do a simple "break your network into 8 IP subnets" has not worked.

Which brings up 3 possible solutions
1. Beat a Dell rep with a stick until he gets an engineer who is not doing a visual inspection of his own lower intestine.
2. Bite the bullet, and get recommendations for something that is advertised as a "real router". Gigabit ethernet is a requirement. 
3. Build a cheap box and make a router using linux.

Any advice with the above would be helpful. Specifically regarding 2 (What can I get that is inexpensive, does Gigabit ethernet, and doesn't necessarily include a bunch of crap I don't want, like ISDN, firewalls, proxys, etc), or 3 (Inexpensive motherboards/rack mounts/PCIe Network cards, etc).
One thing I am curious about, I seem to remember from long long ago, that linux only supported 4 network cards. Is this the case for real, or just a bad memory?

Thanks!

 <span style="font-family:comic sans ms;">Richard Hubbard </span>
ATTO Technology Inc



      
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