Nortel Ethernet Routing Switch 8348GTX-PWR

Advantages: Performace at an excellent price
Disadvantages: 4 ports may not be enough

...No, no, not like your Switch card or Visa card... You're in the Networking section now :-) Although I'm sure if you're reading this you have SOME idea about networking, I will explain first the basic difference between a switch and a hub (Network experts please forgive the following paragraphs) >>> A hub will usually work at an elementary level, making a verbatim copy of all data it receives on each of its ports to all of its other ports. As you can imagine, for a 10 port hub, this means that 80% of all its output is completely redundant (reaches a destination that simply ignores it) >>> A switch is a LITTLE more intelligent. A switch will check the unique "MAC" address that the data is destined for, and assuming it has seen the machine that that MAC address belongs to connected to one of its ports, it will pass on received data... Read review

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Advantages: Easy to use, easy to install
Disadvantages: closeness of the ports.

...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... Read review

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

...about anything other than configuring the devices themselves. I would recommend this switch to anyone who has a few machines on their home or small office network, that way you can upgrade the speed critical machines on your network to gigabit speeds. I bought my two to allow me to use one with my media server and file server, and the other in my living room to connect the laptop, XBOX and so on... By having a gigabit switch, it allowed my machines with gigabit ethernet cards to network at full speed with each other, so that transferring video and large files between them was not constrained to hundred megabit speeds you find with most home and home office networks. I think the 5 port switch is pitched at the right price, and has the right number of ports for the average home user who will usually have one or two computers and a games... Read review

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