Allied Telesis AT RH509BE - hub - 8 ports

Advantages: Cheap, small
Disadvantages: Runs very hot

...An 8 port hub is an 8 port hub, right? There's nothing that can really seperate one from another, right? Not true. This hub, in addition to seven standard RJ45 ports and one switchable from standard to an uplink port, boasts two different power supply options, a co-ax connector for interfacing to coax networks, and activity indicators on each port. And it's impressively small, no wider than 8 RJ45 sockets edge to edge and only 3 inch deep. However, the hub does run worryingly warm, so much so that we had to increase the ventalation in our server cupboard. It's a cheap and cheerful hub. perfectly adequate for most networks, though I would not want to rely on it for anything vital.... Read review

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Advantages: Enough connectivity for a small office
Disadvantages: Pricy

...computers but intend to expand, buying a 8 or 12 port hub might seem the better choice. Remember, each computer needs its own port so this would allow you to connect either 8 or 12 computers. The hub I am going to review is one we have used here in the office. It is a 12 port Hub but we actually have 2 of them. Each port is not overloaded and runs about 8 users in each quite happily. We never have a problem with network traffic from the hub as its superior performance is more than capable of handling our daily routines. I would suggest this is a great hub for people that intend to set up between 4 and 12 computers for either office environments or game play. It also runs on RJ-45 technology. This means it takes the phone connector type leads from your network card. This is great if you have a modern computer that supports this type... Read review

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Advantages: quality of build
Disadvantages: runs hot

...and i mean that litterally! Out of all the hubs have - I have to say that the Netgear stuff runs hot! I have to put a couple of 486 heatsinks on it! - it doesn't have vent slots like the FS108 - shame as it does got hot during the summer, and just nice and warm during the winter. It has link lights for all ports (10/100) and the best of all, individual utilisation bar graphs for 10/100 and collision. There are cheaper hubs, though they won't be made out of metal - like the netgear stuff - it'll be made out of cheap plastic. Phil 00-9-24... Read review

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