Buffalo LSW GT-4W - switch - 4 ports

Advantages: Very fast, high capacity.
Disadvantages: Pricey, may be outlived by long-life Blu-ray discs.

...As our latest project comes to a close and we face losing any unused capital we again raise the idea of network storage with the boss. It's something we have mentioned repeatedly and suddenly find ourselves with an offer of whatever we can get for £1000. Taking our initiative from the US government we decide why buy one device when we could buy two of these? Thus we have one for our network project and finally a decent sized device for our own backups. I have to say I'm quite impressed so far. The unit is surprisingly compact and although it may look like a midi-sized PC case in the picture it is actually a lot smaller measuring a little over 6 inches high and only 4 inches wide. The back of the case has 2 USB sockets (one to connect to a PC, the other to network a printer). There's also a standard auto-sensing LAN port (10... Read review

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Advantages: Advantages: Cheap, all in one solution
Disadvantages: No manual overide or audio support

...stops autoscanning and lets you use the currently selected PC. The Belkin claims support for scrolling mice but I did find sometimes one PC would start up without recognising this facility if it wasn't the currently selected one when booting up and in extreme cases, wouldn't recognise the keyboard and mouse at all. Previous KVM's I've used send the PC fake 'There's a keyboard and mouse here' messages when not selected and it seems this unit does not, which is a pity. Conclusion The Belkin 2 port KVM is a well built unit that works nicely and provides a great way to save desk space and the cost of a second monitor, keyboard and mouse. The long leads are useful and despite the niggles with scrolling mice and the lack of manual switch. I'd say this unit is worth considering at this price if you can live with those shortcomings... Read review

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Advantages: Cheap, reliable, simple to use
Disadvantages: None.

...I liked this switch so much, I bought two of them. Netgear have a reputation for cheap and reliable networking equipment, and this 5 port unmanaged switch is no exception. When I bought my two, they were retailing online for approx £35 each - but these days you should be able to get one for approx £25 (inc VAT.) The switch is more or less the size of my hand (yes, I have big hands). With 5 ports on the back - all are auto-sensing, as is the gigabit standard, so you don't have to worry about crossover cables if you're daisy-chaining switches... The only other port on the back is for power, which is the usual "wall-wart" plug in transformer you get with most home networking equipment. Given the switch is unmanaged, you can just plug desktop computers, laptops, XBOXes, network printers straight into the switch, and not worry... Read review

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