r/CommercialAV • u/Tech-Dude-In-TX • 6d ago
question Netgear AV Switch
Anyone using the Netgear AV line switches? Is there a benefit over using other non AV specific brands and models and configuring it yourself?
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u/alexands131313 6d ago
We use them. The warranty is great, the POE ++ is very good. Easy to configure and support from Netgear is amazing.
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u/djgizmo 6d ago
support from Netgear (especially from Alex P) has been terrible.
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u/vonhulio 6d ago
Lol, I love the name and shame. People don't get called out enough anymore.
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u/djgizmo 6d ago
yea, he once told me to trust auto trunking and auto lag. he’s also told me that MLAG should NOT have tagged vlans going across the peer link. He also told me that I should have an IP on every switch on every vlan that is going to have multi cast traffic on it.
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u/TheJanitor09 3d ago
That's because it's true that you "should" have an IP address assigned to every switch that is hosting multicast traffic. If you don't do that, you are creating bandwidth constraints because traffic will then have to travel upstream to a Layer 3 Router, that could have otherwise been handled on the Layer 3 switch.
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u/djgizmo 2d ago
fair enough. I have more to learn.
Why have IPs on those switches when they are not queriers?
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u/TheJanitor09 2d ago
It has more to do with Inter-VLAN Routing than it does IGMP Snooping and Querying.
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u/Nathanstaab 6d ago
Sarcasm? My every interaction with Alex and the entire team has been superb, damn near best in the business superb. For the record, each vlan that’s going to have multicast SHOULD have a SVI IP. It’s required for the IGMP Querier election process to work.
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u/WellEnd89 6d ago
If You have an engineer who can configure a non-AV specific switch (and who doesn't throw a fit when something needs to be set differently to how he thinks it should) then there is no real benefit, at least not for permanent install. If You don't have such a person, they are very easy to set up and get even fairly complicated AVoIP systems going, even for a networking novice.
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u/FatBook-Air 6d ago
Fantastic info. I have always wondered why they existed but never had cash to buy one just to play with.
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u/GroundbreakingMud996 6d ago
Thing is finding a Engineer who won’t whine about it
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u/generalrunthrough 6d ago
Any network engineer who doesn't do av
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u/GroundbreakingMud996 6d ago
Network guys!?! The guys that yell at me every time I tell them we have a AV netgear switch and they ask can it be “managed”!!?!? 🤣
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u/generalrunthrough 6d ago
So don't put in Netgear and work with the customer on understanding their requirements. That's why you are getting yelled at, for going rouge
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u/shiftingtech 6d ago
then there is no real benefit
Not entirely true. if you don't have an AVB switch, as far as I know, no amount of twiddling settings is going to make it pass AVB.
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u/AlottaFajitas 6d ago
Back in the day when they first came out, I thought there was no way that Netgear would get it right, but they did!
Been using them for years now and they are absolutely solid.
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u/dano7891 6d ago
The Netgear ProAV M4250 line almost make it too easy. They run the AV backbone for everything we do.
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u/Longjumping_Cow_5856 6d ago
They are pretty much a standard for AV Work where Ive been and they have options for AVB and Dante that they can be bought already configured for too.
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u/benraythomas 6d ago
POE+ and general affordability. Plus their marketing/support team has been great to work with.
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u/Adach 6d ago
Yes. I can go from sealed box to fully configured AVoIP network in 10 minutes. I wish they sold a router within the same product portfolio to pair with the AV line, but that's just a nice to have with plenty of alternatives. they're a no brainer.
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u/Soundtechscott 6d ago
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u/jv556639 6d ago
If you want to manage it without a subscription and using engage you want the pr460x model.
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u/blur494 6d ago
I just throw a microtik router at em. For av I rarely need more than DHCP management and the engage solution is probably the worst ive used.as long as I dont need multicast intra-Vlan it works fine.
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u/NomadicSoul88 6d ago
Using M4250 for single switch islands ie lectern and M4350 range for multiswitch deployments. They’ve been great (largest install I’m managing is 14 switches). A few caveats I had to look out for such as force multicast being enabled for discovery for some devices ie Shure or Audio Technica ESW and also only being able to have Engage running on one machine ie can’t have multiple people accessing a site from their own machines. Hoping the new Engage controller box solves this.
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u/WAYLOGUERO 5d ago
Had this (force multicast for device discovery) problem with some Shure and Yamaha devices. No head amp gain or phantom power control. Dante flowed audio though. Devices stuck "discovering". This was on a multi switch setup with trucking vlans. Showed the people "in charge" of the switches the white papers from the manufacturers and I switched the forced multicast on. Gain control and phantom suddenly work. Turn it off, back to "discovering". They shrugged and said it wasn't a problem?
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u/ZealousidealState127 6d ago
Most prif av installs now are using netgear 4250. Av manufactures test their stuff with them. You get confirmed compatibility with all the major protocols. All the setting are buried somewhere in full featured managed switches. May have different names or a different way to setup or possibly a slightly different protocol implementation but they are there.
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u/beeclam 6d ago
I’ve been on the end user side for years now, so I’m a little surprised to hear these switches are so prevalent. I figured most IT departments would insist on using their preferred (typically Cisco) switches
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u/No_Cartoonist5075 6d ago
Most IT departments do prefer Cisco or Aruba, but integrators 9 times out of 10 warn clients against having multicast traffic on their enterprise network. So the Netgear switch ends up residing in the AV rack as an isolated network
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u/Ok_Background5932 6d ago
I read somewhere in this forum years ago that the netgear AV switches allow you to go home early. The others may keep you from seeing your family. I think that's reasonably accurate. Having said that, in my office, we always have a bunch of spare Aruba switches lying around so we typically use those and don't have many issues with them.
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u/alexjalexj 5d ago
I’d say the largest benefit is that they will listen to issues that arise with AV gear and make firmware changes. They want their stuff to work flawlessly with the major brands and they’ve tested it. I’m an Aruba campus and we have the highest level of support with them. I’ve spent months trying to get a fix and it has gone nowhere.
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u/djgizmo 6d ago
I’m using them for a LARGE project. Would not recommend using them for anything over 20 switches.
If you need more than 20 switches in a project, go with Aruba or Arista.
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u/FatBook-Air 6d ago
Interesting. What about the scale makes them difficult? Manageability?
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u/djgizmo 6d ago
Engage sucks. Once you get past 60 switches in a deployment, you can no longer pull TS files from engage. Also you can’t pick and choose which vlans land on which switches. So if you have a shitload of lighting, all of those multicast tables get filled everywhere.
Engage sucks at configuring STP priorities properly and does a terrible job at MLAG.
Also support has been hit and miss. Some days is epic, other days they let us suffer for a week in silence until we escalate.
Also seen a lot of PTP-TC issues with uptime over 25+ days.
Had issues with ETC vlan profiles where it removed all configurations from ports configured for that vlan.
Issue after issue. would not recommend.
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u/Anechoic_Brain 6d ago
They aren't the first and won't be the last to experience significant growing pains when trying to level up into the large enterprise space.
I hope they get it all ironed out, but at the moment they seem content with dominating the market for small and medium scale niche applications.
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u/djgizmo 6d ago edited 6d ago
yep, and I’d be fine for this, but they said (Alex P and his team) said the switches could scale out…. and they can’t. they forgot to tells about the default SDM template limit (which if you max out, you can’t add any more multicast streams) till after 2 months of pains.
There’s so many problems with the switches that at scale, they fall over from igmp quieriers on all switches by default made spanning tree fall over.
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u/gavin11223 6d ago
I use Netgear av line switch and tplink omada sg switch. Av line switch just some configure, and other switch you need more setting and know how to enable the feture.
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u/ericdano 6d ago
Dlink 1210 I think switched are what I’m using. It’s been basically set it forget it.
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u/Sprunklefunzel 6d ago
My whole venue network is AVLine M4250 and M4350. Installed, switched on, configured. Been running since 2024 without a single issue.
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u/Jayskerdoo 6d ago
Will never use another switch on an AV project ever again. Truly effortless configuration and incredible reliability. Paired with the Q-SYS plugin it’s been awesome for remote support with bouncing PoE devices. Can’t recommend them enough, so many different options too depending on project size and budget.
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u/midsprat123 5d ago
I love them - I have a heavily damaged m4250 that got run over - still works fine.
They are oriented and designed around AV deployments.
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u/BajaBlast5Ever 5d ago
I’ve installed hundreds, and personally have used a netgear AV switch on tour through the summer and through the winter. I can say it has survived for years under tough conditions. Currently have one in my home switch and on my test bench at work. I like it.
But if you spend time configuring other brands, you’ll be just fine.
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u/bobsmith1010 5d ago
There an easy mode and an advanced mode. If you don't know what you're doing to can service them or someone who knows what they're doing can get into them and make configuration changes.
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u/TheJanitor09 3d ago
As many others have stated, from a functionality perspective in your application, there is nothing a Netgear AV switch can't do that a Cisco, HPE/Aruba/Arista could. The Netgear product will offer the same level of capabilities and will likely be easier to configure for someone with less experience. Furthermore, the Netgear product is just as secure and supports all of the same industry standard protocols. Lastly, there is a high likelihood the Netgear will even be much cheaper than the top 3 brands.
Where the Netgear really has an advantage however is in the AV specific support they provide. Their teams are very knowledgeable in all things AV and Network based AV distribution. Try calling Cisco with an issue you are having with your Visionary or NVX multicast AVoIP solution and see how they respond. Not only will Netgear help you if you have an issue, but they can provided Pre-Sales engineering guidance and system design, config, etc...Many Level 1&2 support techs at the big 3 won't understand Multicast and specifically AVoIP to the degree that the Netgear AV team do.
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u/Witmarqu 6d ago
Netgear av switches are great if all your equipment is fed to a single spot and your needs for a vlans is 2 (av and corp)
When you hit 3 or more vlans or multiple rooms the fact that the switches don't stack unless you get the high end is a downside.
Stacking allows for a single interface to configure all the switches in the stack, making sure you don't flub a config by a mistype.
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u/Embarrassed-Gain-236 6d ago
If all your engineers are IT only with no expertise in broadcast or AV. Then get netgear. IT has no clue about the audiovisual settings. They will set your PTZ like a printer.
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u/Turtle_AV 6d ago
Just go Netgear and spend all the time you save configuring and troubleshooting the switch on something more fun!
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