Hello,
i’m planning to change my network a bit and i’m thinking of using POE switch. previous idea was to use router and switch but then i came to the specification of CRS328-24P-4S+RM that this switch / router or whatever it is can run also routerOS
question is: if i don’t really want all switch features what i loose if i run this device with routerOS and vice versa
is this device more switch than router or more router than switch?
Thanks
Much more switch, than router.
However all (or most) of the switch functionality is available in ROS as well, only the configuration methods are different.
i don’t need much form routing perspective but OSPF, NAT + maybe simple FW rules (i’m behind another mikrotik that is doing FW) + several subnets on different vlans
from switch perspective i need several POE interfaces + maybe STP to be sure that there will not be L2 loop + something more when i start to play with it.
with mentioned switch is it better to use routerOS / switchOS or everything is based on actual usage?
Based on what you described, you need to run RouterOS, as SwOS is only for L2 functions.
And once again, being a rather powerful switch, however it will be a rather weak router - for example don’t expect gigabit speeds when routing between different VLANs.
thanks for your knowledge
i want to use NAT and several subnets just for home automation (i don’t trust them that much 
) so regular traffic will be just in one subnet - based on your info i should reach port maximum.
i’ll see if i will use combination of separate router and switch or buy this almost L3 switch
I think you can buy the switch without any doubts: if it’s router power won’t be sufficient, you can always buy something like RB750Gr3 later for purely routing purposes.
Considering the prices for both devices… Well, you can buy RB750Gr3 on the change from buying the switch 
i have RB493G and RB433G so i have routers but i was curious what that device can handle and what restrictions it has in both modes.
I’m on same boat with OP, and thank you for your suggestion. I guess I’ll settle with CSS326 model instead of CRS, then buy a dedicated router. I wish CSS326 support PoE as I’d like it power few APs.
By the way, is there anybody know how noisy is CRS328 if it has to support <40W over the ethernet? I found no review on internet.
I refresh this old thread to ask: using a double boot machine (swOS-routerOS) when using it as a simple L2 switch, are there real pros or cons in running each OS ?
Choosing i.e. to run RouterOS with a future L3 managing in mind or to use minor scripting/supervision inside a switch is switching-performaces-wise advisable ?
Choice of SwOS vs. ROS on a switch device is more or less matter of personal preference regarding admin interface and supervision. Device performance should be the same if configured prooerly (in ROS due to its versatility it’s only too easy to screw up something).