Networking / AV-IT
Managed vs Unmanaged Switch
01 — Definition
The difference comes down to one word: control. An unmanaged switch is plug-and-play, has nothing to configure, and treats all traffic as equal — fit only for small, non-critical systems. A managed switch can be configured: QoS, VLANs, IGMP snooping, port mirroring, RSTP, bandwidth monitoring. It is the minimum for any professional AV network.
02 — In the field
An unmanaged switch is not a professional AV switch. As soon as there is Dante, NDI, sACN or network-controlled gear in the system, take a managed switch with QoS and IGMP snooping configured. The price difference is trivial next to the troubleshooting time you save.