Advantages: Cheap, Easy to configure
Disadvantages: SFP GBIC ports are shared with copper ports, loud fan.

...I haven't found a cheaper 16 port Gigabit Ethernet switch than this Netgear. This 19" rack or desk mountable switch has 16 copper ports and two SFP GBIC ports. The GBIC ports are shared with copper ports 15 & 16 - so you get to use either or, not both, which is a bit of a shame - but they do say it is a 16 port switch after all... They have at least given you the option of adding either short or long range fibre capability to the switch. The switch will work out of the box as if it were unmanaged, but then you'd be missing the point... The switch is manageable via its built in web server, which provides an easy to use interface to all the common functions you would expect - 802.11Q VLAN tagging, Quality of Service, Jumbo frame support, 802.3ad link aggregation. You can upgrade the firmware using the web interface too, keeping... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Easy installation, small, sturdy, quiet, auto uplink
Disadvantages: Runs quite hot

...This is a 10/100/1000Mbps switch with 5 auto-sensing ports Visual Description A compact unit measuring 16cm x 10cm x 3cm (approx) Housed in a very sturdy blue metal casing with venting slots on the side and back Looks very professional 5 Front mounted UTP sockets Rear mounted PSU socket (12 Volt, 1.2 Amp, Centre Positive) and Earth tag LED indicators to display 10Mb, 100Mb, 1000Mb connection, Activity, Full Duplex, Collisions and Power Installation The GS105 switch comes supplied with manuals, 12 Volt (1.2Amp) PSU, ethernet cable, and the unit itself. Installation is very simple and requires no configuration as this is an un-managed switch. Simply connect your existing CAT5 cables from your PC to the switch, it will detect the connection speed and cable type. No need to worry about using cross-over cables or straight through cables... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

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

...We currently run an 80 user network in our office. While the main traffic of our network is handled by 6, 24 port rack mounted switches, my little IT office has 7 PCs in it with not enough ports on the wall to connect them up. this poses a problem. To connect to our network, you need a network connection on the Wall. There are 4 connections in our office and 7 machines. Obviously 7 into 4 does not go so a solution was needed. The answer? A small desktop based switch that would allow us to connect up to 16 computers to one Network connection on the wall. The Product? Well we use Netgear equipment in our office because you know with Netgear, you are buying quality at an affordable price. So we opted for the FS116 Desktop Switch. The size of it? Well its about an inch high and about a foot long. It is about 6 inches from fron to back... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Just plug it in and watch it fly !!!!
Disadvantages: The power supply is a bit large to plug into floor box

...The Netgear DS104 Hubb is a dual speed 4 poort (10/100) autosensing unit with 1 port available for uplink to another 10/100 network device. (Hubb or Switch) I have recently used this device to provide further ports in an area of the office that has a shortage or ports and a sudden influx on PC's. No user has so far advised of any significant slowness of the LAN which was my main concern as effectively we are sharing a 100mbps link amongst 3 machines. Again for the price we paid £46.00 + VAT this unit is proving excellent value for money. (To add 4 3 further ports to the network we were looking at a cost of £100+)... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

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... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

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 about... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Wireless and Wired connections, easy to install
Disadvantages: Blue ring of light can be annoying, but can also be turned off!

...I have recently exchanged my Belkin router for the Netgear WPN824 as I was experiencing regular disconnections with my Belkin and found their customer support was not very good. I opted for the Netgear after various recommendations from friends and reading the reviews on ciao. The Netgear has a nice sleek, modern looking design and has a ring of Blue LEDs on the top that flash/rotate when connected wirelessly. Personally, I find these be a little annoying at night because they are quite bright but they can easily be turned off via a switch on the back. It also comes with stands so it can be put in an upright position. It has some nice green flashing lights on the front to show when each computer is connected to it and wether it has internet connection (as most routers do). This model has a wireless connection speed of 108mbps which... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

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

...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... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

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 a network cable... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Reliable, functional and cheap, easy to use
Disadvantages: None

...now "auto uplink" capable. The switch itself is a very clever bit of equipment. It operates its own internally sensing for all of the 24 ports and works out the loads and connections speeds on a per port basis. This means it is not something you as the user needs to worry about and makes managing the system much easier. In fact you could not want for an easier set up. There is no software to install. There are no drivers to install. You simply add the switch to your network by plugging it into the server. Simple. If you do get stuck, Netgear are only too eager to help. We have had issues in the past with other hardware and they resolved these for us. This was for hardware that had drivers so even this is not likely to affect you. Stability? Fantastic. I have no packet collisions which basically means no data flying around getting lost... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful