Speaking of running gig long distances, does anyone on the list have
suggestions on a >8 port L2 switch with fiber ports based on personal
experience? Lots of 48 port gig switches have 2-4 fiber uplink ports, but
this means daisy-chains instead of hub/spoke. Looking for a central switch
for a star topography to home fiber runs that is cost effective and works.Considering:
DLink DXS-3326GSR
NetGear GSM7312
Foundry SX-FI12GM-4
Zyxel GS-4012FI realize not all these switches are IEEE 802.3ae, Clause 49 or IEEE 802.3aq
capable.
Cost effective would probably be the Dell 6024F. We have some of these
and they've worked well, but we're not making any use of their "advanced
features." Can be had cheaply on eBay these days. Has basic L3
capabilities (small forwarding table, OSPF), built in redundant power
supply, etc. If you're fine with a non-ae/aq switch, these are worth
considering.
16 SFP plus 8 shared SFP/copper make it a fairly flexible device.
You did say cost effective, right? 
... JG