About me:Im thinking about writing an opinion on condoms as I struggle to get ones big enough to fit......nuf...
Member since:02.08.2000
Reviews:849
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Review rated by 18 Ciao members on average: very helpful
Netgear are well known for their networking equipment and it is for this reason I want to tell you about a great piece of kit. The 24 port switch. 24 ports of networking capability.... But what does that all mean???
Ok, let me tell you about what a network is. Even the internet is just one big network. it is simply just a collection of computers that are connected together and can communicate. Simple!
But, how do you connect them together? Its not like they shake hands and have a chat is it?
Well in a way, that is what they are doing but using some extra hardware to do this.
To put a computer on a network, it needs a Network interface card or NIC. This plugs into your computer's motherboard. Its basically similar to installing a graphics card or sound card. You then need to connect the computer via the NIC card to a network cable. It look like a length of flex with a phone socket at either end. One plugs into your NIC card and the other, youve guessed it!, into the Switch. The switch is where all the people on the network in a home or office plug into to communicate. In smaller applications, people use hubs instead of Switches. The 24 Port switch from Netgear has 24 ports on it. This will allow up to 24 people to plug into the switch and communicate.
Its like one big meeting point so we can all hook up to the server from one point as the switch then connects to the server that we all use.
Plugging into the Switch is easy enough. Just push the connector into the port until you hear a click. To unclip it, lift the retaining clip and pull it out. Simple.
The great thing about the netgear switches is that they are built to sit on either a desktop as pictured, or, they are supplied with brackets for mounting in a 19 inchserver rack. Getting the switch into the rack with the supplied fitments could be fun though. It comes with 4 mounting screws but no nuts to mount them to! Putting the fiddly cage nuts in is a pain if you have ever tried it but not as hard as trying to install a switch in a rack without the nuts!
Configuring the switch is very simple and takes no effort from you. All the relevant instructions are very detailed and it is very self explanitory. However, a little bit of assembly is required. The Switch is Rack mounted which means it can sit in one of those big banks of machinery in your computer room. To rack mount it, you need to attach the rack attachment fasteners which are supplied. These need a Phillips screwdriver for assembly. Then it is just a matter of bolt it into the Rack!
The size of the switch is very small for its capacity. The 24 ports are very compact and this is a bit of a double edged sword. True, you can get a lot of computers hooked up to it while using a very small item but it can also be too fiddly. When there are 24 network cables hanging around and clipped in, it is exremely hard to unclip one individual cable on a packed switch.
The indicator lights above each port tell you when the port is live and being used. This is handy for when you need to pull out "dead" cables. It siginifies if there is any network traffic coming out of the port. The guide lights on the left hand side also make a great "quick glance" reference. The autocinfigure button is available and used to allow a mixture of network speeds, cable types,etc to be connected up. A godsend in a mixed network environment. Perhaps its great feature is its dual network speed capability. Most modern networks demanding high speed run at 100Mbps (megaytes per second) while older and less demanding networks can cope quite happily at a tenth of this at 10Mbps. Each individual port can set its own speed so you can mix network settings and operations all on one switch without having to worry! Slower and quicker connections can all work happily.
You can get these from any good PC office retailer or online at DABS.
A great switch with great functionality. One to buy if you want to buy a switch.
Andy, I 'm not sure if this is just about your op or not but I just can't rate it - the buttons are missing!! If others are having the same problem (I don't know 'cos I can't see the other comments either!) then you could be missing out big time :o) Kirsty
09.06.2003 19:21
Andy, I 'm not sure if this is just about your op or not but I just can't rate it - the buttons are missing!! If others are having the same problem (I don't know 'cos I can't see the other comments either!) then you could be missing out big time :o) Kirsty
06.06.2003 23:37
Strangley there is no button on the page to rate this.... otherwise it would've been a VH, I'm logged in, do we have a technical glitch? Kes:)
06.06.2003 16:51
I have tried to rate this opinion twice now, but for some reason there is no option to rate it on the page??!! I'll try again later.