My home network is fairly complex: an air-gapped gigabit network for the RAID server for my docking stations and desktops, another gigabit network to the same places with internet access, and a third (10/100) network to the printers. Yeah, it's overkill, but my junk box is probably bigger than yours, and it's a hobby, so ...

Last weekend I was at an electronics flea market and I came across a 24-port gigabit switch (Nortel 3510-24T). I told the guy it's nice but my setup needs different networks, etc. He said no problem - just set up separate VLANs. Then the penny dropped - of course! It's a managed switch!

So, thinking it might be a useful skill to acquire, I bought it (ten bucks), took it home and checked it out. It all seemed OK. Now to configure it.....

Internet searches revealed a number of websites, but they seem to be populated by guys who already know what they're talking about talking to other guys who already know what they're talking about. Just getting past the jargon took a bit of time.

So ... can anyone suggest any resources (a book like "Managed Switches for Dummies" would be nice ) or tutorial websites, etc.? I'm a pretty fast learner, but I need a place to start.

TIA