What is the difference between a managed and unmanaged switch?

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Unmanaged Switches

In scenarios where the network traffic is light, all that is required is a way for the data to pass from one device to another. In this case there is no need for prioritizing the packets, as all the traffic will flow unorderedly. An unmanaged switch will fill this need without issues. A switch is not a hub. Hubs were a predecessor to switches and provide a similar but less-capable function.

An unmanaged switch allows Ethernet devices to communicate with one another automatically using auto-negotiation to determine parameters such as the data rate and whether to use half-duplex or full-duplex mode.

Managed Switches

As the number of devices increases, the ability to ensure that the time-sensitive packets are prioritized becomes increasingly difficult as more concurrent streams of data hit the network. Another issue that may need to be dealt with is which devices have access to what portion of the network. An example of this might be where the accounting department needs to be seperate off from the rest of the network for security purposes or where the production floor should be blocked from having Internet access. In both those cases a managed switch can fulfill that need. Managed switches provide the ability to monitor each device on the network as well as limit the amount of bandwidth any device can use.

Managed switches have more capability than unmanaged switches but also require a skilled administrator or engineer to make the most of them. A managed switch allows us to have better control of our network and all the traffic moving through it.
A managed switch lets us adjust each port on the switch to any setting we desire, allowing us to monitor and configure our network in many different ways. It also provides greater control over how data travels over the network and who has access to it. Managed switches generally offer SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol), which allows us to monitor the status of connections and gives us statistics like traffic throughput, network errors and port status.

Features available on managed switches may vary between manufacturers and models, but often include Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) support, ability to implement quality of service (QoS), support for virtual LANs (VLANs), bandwidth rate limiting and port mirroring. These switches usually have a remotely accessible console (command line or Web interface) to allow administrators to make changes or adjustments without being in the same physical location.

Managed switches are also quite a bit more expensive. Setting them up may take a little longer as compared to unmanaged switches, which are generally plug and play.