Fr Robert Ballecer, SJ I 've got some older computers and was considering turning into servers...

[G+_T Nohands]

Fr. Robert Ballecer, SJ I've got some older computers and was considering turning into servers but not having adequate network equipment I was wondering can I load them up with NICs (Network Interface Cards) and turn them into managed network switches? Also allowing 10gbase copper ethernet and sfp+ multi-mode fiber cards and enable link aggregation, POE, monitoring packets, QOS, cable analyzation and testing, and out of band management? All I can find is OS to turn a computer to a router but nothing on just managed switching do you know where I can get the OS/software to build a high end managed switch?

[G+_Travis Hershberger]

You'll want VyOS for that. http://vyos.net It's the only pure routing OS I've seen outside of things like Cisco's IOS. Lots of other things are available that give you routing on top of another OS (pfsense is FreeBSD, ClearOS is CentOS, etc.)

[G+_T Nohands]

I'm looking to build switches and not routers I'm wanting an OS that can recognize the network interface cards whether they're 4 gigabyte ports or 2 sfp+ ports and 2 10gbase copper ethernet ports and work with a business router I don't want to put routers behind routers and so on can that software do that?

[G+_Travis Hershberger]

T Nohands It's more like a layer 3 router than a switch. You'd have to tell it which ports should be on the same LAN. Think of a computer running VyOS like it's a Cisco router, that can easily do lots of 40gbit connections.

 

Switches aren't normally built using computer hardware like routers are. The added functionality for a cheaper price just doesn't exist for switches like it does for routers.

 

Ubiquiti, yes, more from them (they've really been disrupting lots of networking equipment segments): http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1267265-REG/ubiquiti_networks_es_16_xg_edgeswitch_16_10g.html