Hot switch!

Advantages: very compact
Disadvantages: runs hot

...and i mean that litterally! Out of all the switches i have - I have to say that the Netgear stuff runs hot! I have to put a PII heatsink on it! - even though it has vent slots around it - it does got hot during the summer, and just nice and warm during the winter. It has link lights for all ports, and FDX lights for all ports too. ACtivity lights/collision you name it it has it. It has lots of lights for everything - so you know exactly whats being used on you entire network. It also has a 'auto HDX/FDX' switch at the back which I find very useful. There are cheaper switches, though they won't be made out of metal - like the netgear stuff - it'll be made out of cheap plastic. customer support is good - PSU died on me - but they did manage to ship a replacement within a couple of weeks from the US. Phil 00-9-24...

PhilSp 24.09.2000 · Read review
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Review of NETGEAR ProSafe FS108 10/100 Desktop Switch - switch - 8 ports

Solid switch at affordable price

Advantages: small, metallic, dissipates heat quickly, auto mdi-x
Disadvantages: gets hot during summer

...Well, there isn't much to say about this switch... except that when i bought them, they were well over £200! (about 3 years ago) As for transfer rates, with a 100mb full duplex switch, you should be able to copy a 650mb file in under 5-6 minutes. Full duplex meaning it can send and receive data simultaneously, theoretically boosting the speed to 200mb. Of course this is all theoretical, and samba over ethernet is only 50-60% efficient. If you transfer a file with FTP you should be able to saturate the net connection easily and transfer files even quicker than over samba. Older models have a manual MDI-X (on one port only) thou recent models now have auto MDI-X on all ports, so you can use crossover or straight cables and it won't matter :) The older models ran at a high ampage (not that good) of around 3A, 5v. They now sensibly...

waga 25.11.2004 · Read review
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Review of NETGEAR ProSafe FS108 10/100 Desktop Switch - switch - 8 ports

It's Cheap, Easy and can handle 8 Males at a time

Advantages: Fast, Reliable switching, Wall mountable, Solid piece of kit
Disadvantages: None!

......Male RJ45 cables that is. Netgear have a good reputation when it comes to network products, and the long running production of FS108 switches is testament to that. I have used several 8-port switches and this is my favourite. Fast It supports 100 Megabits per second per port per direction. So you can be uploading 100 Megabits a second AND download 100 Megabits a second, making a total of 200 Megabits per port. For the technophobic among us there are 8 bits in a byte, so 100 Megabits is 12.5 Megabytes. A fast broadband internet connect will most likely be 0.5 Megabits a second, which is 0.06 Megabytes a second... so this switch can shift a lot of data quickly. Informative Some switches have just one light per port to keep you informed. The FS108 has no less than FOUR lights per port! That's 24 lights plus 1 power...

phucco 04.09.2004 · Read review
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Review of NETGEAR ProSafe FS108 10/100 Desktop Switch - switch - 8 ports

Switch it !

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

...to that one port only. To add to this, Switches can support "Full-Duplex" networking, which means sending and receiving data at the same time, effectively doubling your network speed under the right conditions. >>> So what? So, that's immensely more efficient, and particularly in a high-traffic environment (even online games played no a LAN qualify here) it can have a perceptible positive impact on performance. >>> What's the FS-105 then? This is how you get this wonderful technology into your home! This £69 beauty is half the cost of its competition, will auto-detect 10 and 100Mb/s connections and has 5 ports, one of which can be used as an uplink. Even a good hub will cost £50, and for the larger office, the FS-108 (8 port) version can be bought for only £88 (if you can find one in stock anywhere!)...

one47 09.07.2001 · Read review
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Review of NETGEAR ProSafe FS105 10/100 Desktop Switch - switch - 5 ports

Affordable 10/100 Switching

Advantages: So Easy installation, Simple and effective design
Disadvantages: None of which I know

...GENERAL OVERVIEW This 3COM OfficeConnect switch is considered my best. It has simple yet effective design and so easy to use and configure: just plug the cables and it is on. It is very useful for home networks and small business networks, as it can connect up to 5 computers with the 10/100 Mbits per second speed. FEATURES Five autosensing ports automatically detect the speed of the attached device to maximize network performance With plug-and-play installation and no configuration needed, the switch fits easily into your unmanaged network Full-duplex feature supports two-way data transfer, doubling the effective bandwidth of the network Compact, fanless design ensures quiet operation in small office spaces Connectors at rear help reduce cable clutter FCC Class B switch is approved for use in small office and home office...

mraouf101 21.11.2004 · Read review
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Review of 3Com OfficeConnect Switch 5 - switch - 5 ports

Ideal switch for the small business or developers

Advantages: Easy to set up, configure and use
Disadvantages: None

...ideal if you dont have racks to mount larger switches or the space to store them. It is also handy in our aspect as we can quickly provide multiple PCS in a room to be networked from one wall socket. It is also good to have as an emergency system should your larger switches fail. It is fully portable and robust so can handle being moved around. The price? Well, its not much cheaper than a 24 port Rack mounted switch. About £110 for this model but they also provide an 8 port switch as well slightly cheaper. Overall? A great investment for us and something i can recommend to anyone considering a small network....

andycharger 06.05.2004 · Read review
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Review of NETGEAR ProSafe FS116 10/100 Desktop Switch - switch - 16 ports

Switch to Netgear

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

...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....

andycharger 02.06.2003 (04.06.2003) · Read review
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Review of Netgear 24port 10/100 Switch

Switch to Netgear

Advantages: Excellent quality. loads of features, easy to install
Disadvantages: None

...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....

andycharger 21.07.2003 · Read review
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Review of Netgear 24port 10/100 Switch

solid build and quiet switch = happy chappy

Advantages: small compact size, metallic body, passive cooling=no noise
Disadvantages: gets a bit hot during summer

...using Windows 98/2k/xp over samba, which unfortunately only 50-60% efficient. Transfering files over FTP is gonna be miles faster than samba (windows file and print sharing) They are all auto MDI-X on every port, so it doesn't really matter if you';re using a cross over cable or not, as the switch will sort it out The LEDS on the ports indicate 1000mb or 100mb and the status LEDS on the panel indicate 10mb connection and blinking = activity. It's silent, as it's all passivly cooled, unlike 3com switches/hubs, which is good when you have these in the bedroom! It's solidly built and i really can't fault it, and I feel it's worth the money as most other switches are all plasticy and cheap looking/feeling. 1gb transfer over samba takes around 3-4 minutes... which is fast - as you'd expect for gig ethernet.... and ftp transfers are...

waga 25.11.2004 · Read review
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Review of NETGEAR ProSafe GS108 8 Port Gigabit Desktop Switch - switch - 8 ports

Dlink Strikes Again

Advantages: 8 Port
Disadvantages: Static.

...Dlink DES 1008D Why a switch? Switches are the backbones of a network. They are the devices that at all the computers in the office have no choice but to use. They are a great tool in modern computer networks. The switch allows communication between computers, servers and network printers. What does a switch need to do? 1. Connect multiple computers 2. Be Fast 3. Be Reliable 4. Be user Friendly So will the DES 1008D model handle the pressure? 1. Connectivity The DES 1008D has a total of 8 ports witch means that you could have 8 computers connecting simultaneously, or you could have a variety or pcs, servers, printers, and other networks switches connecting to it. 8 ports will happily support a small office or home based network. 2. Speed So we have found out that it has 8 ports so what will...

me.net 14.04.2005 · Read review
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Review of D-Link DES 1008D - switch - 8 ports