tx350z wrote

My apologies if this is not the correct forum for suggesting new features for the Easy Smart line of switches and the Configuration Utility.

In general, TP-Link support is the right address for sending feature requests to. FRs will get lost in the forum most time.

But some comments to avoid disappointment if FRs are being refused by them:

1) On the 802.1q page, the 802.1q page, allow enabling 802.1q AND creating VLANs with port assignments BEFORE initially saving. Again, this will allow easily using something other than VLID 1 as the admin VLAN.

That's why there are separate Apply buttons and a single Save Config button. On any managed switch you first have to create a VLAN before you can assign ports and the corresponding PVID to a port. First create a VLAN, then select it. Check the boxes for the port to be members, Apply. Then go to port config menu, enter the PVID to change and check the boxes on the port to be assigned those PVIDs and Apply. Next, save config.

Worth mentioning: before doing all this, upgrade the switch's firmware to the latest 2018 version so you can remove ports from the Default_VLAN (there is no admin VLAN on Easy Smart Switches, btw).

4) A version of the Easy Smart Configuration Utility for Linux and Mac. It's written in Java - you have to intentionally work hard to make it Windows only.

Not needed IMHO. Web UI works fine, but Java is a total mess, full of bugs and even exploits. I refuse to install Java on UNIX-/Linux-based systems.

Without the above features, set-up of my switches and access points requires one Windows PC to run the Easy Smart Configuration Utility and one Linux machine to run the EAP Controller Software.

No, you could configure the switch on Linux, too. Use the web UI. We once did fight hard to convince TP-Link R&D to bring a web UI even to TL-SG108/5E switches, hardware version 1 just had this Config Utility which required you to use Windoze. Yes, there are people out there who don't have a Windows systems nor even a PC.

tx350z wrote

When initially enabling 802.1q, the switch restarts immediately upon clicking Apply + Yes. At that point you have to login again. If the PC running the config utility is not talking on VLID 1, the switch will not appear in the Discovered Switches list. The same is true if accessing the web UI. The PC (or Linux WS) must be talking on VLID 1 until the additional VLANs can be added to the switch. That is what I mean by "admin VLAN".

I've never used the Config Utility (Microsoft-free zone since 30 years here), but in the web UI this is definitely not so.

If you initially enable 802.1Q VLANs and press Apply + Yes, the switch just displays the message "Operation succeeded" and does not restart or reboot nor do I have to login again:






Also, if creating a new VLAN, let's say VLAN 2 with member port 2, switch on default IP 192.168.0.1, laptop using static IP 192.168.0.7 connected to this port2 going to be changed, I do not need to talk to VID 1 and still can connect to the switch using port 2 (this is because of port 2 is still member of VLAN 1 and still has PVID 1):






Now I set port 2 to PVID 2, still connected with laptop on port 2:






Ethernet frames now becoming tagged with VID 2 still reach the switch's IP over port 2 and receive its answers.

Next, I remove port 2 from Default_VLAN:






I'm still connected to the switch, now over VLAN 2. Since the switch has no mgmt VLAN setting, it responds to its mgmt IP in any VLAN (that's special for Easy Smart Switches only). But still no restart of the switch, no login into the web UI, no change in IP setup of the laptop required. This is as easy as filling in a simple form on the web.

I am running the latest firmware on all the switches and there is no way to remove ports from Default_VLAN, at least not through the config utility. The config utility is preferable since I have to train folks who have little knowledge of networking to admin the switches and AP's.

Your choice. But expect problems with leaking frames from other VLANs if all ports are always members of the Default_VLAN in addition to membership in another VLAN.

Anyway, latest firmware for TL-SG108E HW V2 and V3 is TL-SG108Ev3_en_1.0.0_[20171214-rel70905], published first time on January, 26th.
No idea wether the Config Utility needs to be fixed, too, or wether it just forwards the switch's web UI and doesn't need to be fixed at all.

This is indeed right - if you have more switches interconnected to each other, order of changing VLANs is important to not lock out yourself. My core switch in the machine room is a T1600G, office switch is a TL-SG2008, son's switch a TL-SG105E and home area supplied by a TL-SG108PE feeding an EAP225 indoor, EAP110-Outdoor, two CPE510 and a WBS210 for directional links to remote locations, the four outdoor devices connected to and PoE'ed by an Ubiquiti EdgePoint-R6. Also much fun, except if I lock me out from one of the devices by accident, especially those mounted on the antenna pole. :)