What options are there for inexpensive layer 3 switches that can handle ~24 10/25Gbe SFP+/SFP28 ports?
I currently run the core of my network on an old Cisco 6506E. I've got 6 10Gig downlinks to various buildings, 5 1Gig downlinks to smaller buildings, and a 10Gig uplink to the rest of our campus. The 6506E has run great for over a decade, and I have spares for every part in it on-hand, so we can keep running on it for a while. (We rarely break 4-5Gigs on the uplink). We use OSPF for exchanging routing data with campus, but it's not many routes, as everything goes up our single uplink, the OSPF is most useful when campus wants to null-route a single IP due to security concerns. I expect pretty much any device we get can handle the small routing tables we'll get over OSPF or iBGP. We won't be consuming the full Internet table.
I'd like to have a plan in mind for 25Gig, in case we end up with a user or building who starts saturating our 10Gig uplink. That would also allow me to uplift individual buildings to 25G as needed. Ideally, I'd find a 24 port 1/10/25Gb switch with OSPF and BGP support for under $5k. That would be cheap enough that I could buy two or three, and either keep a cold spare, or setup some basic redundancy where we have redundant fiber.
What options are there at this level? At the super-low end, Microtik/Ubiquiti have 10/25Gig routers, but they have no switching hardware at all, so I'd have to add a 25Gig switch and then do a bunch of short 25Gig cables between them. Dell has the S5224F-ON, which looks like it's just what I'm looking for, but it's been a while since I used Dell networking gear. For those of you who have units from the Dell 52XX-ON series, are they reliable, and have they met your needs?
Are there similar switch-routers from other vendors at this price point that I should consider?
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