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

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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!)... Read review

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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 environments... Read review

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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

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Advantages: Simple, dual speed, small size
Disadvantages: Only 5 ports (?)

...Not much to say about this really. I bought this for a pound (!) on Ebay to connect to my router giving me 4 more ethernet ports to connect stuff to my network. That's all it does, gives you more connection; there's no firewall, DCHP, nothing, but then that's all in my router. Its 5 autosensing ports (Ethernet 10Base-T/100Base-TX - RJ-45)automatically detect the speed of the attached device to maximize network performance - with a data transfer rate of up to 100 Mbps. It really was a "plug-and-play" installation with no configuration needed, it connected straight into my network - I didn't even ned to read the manual ! The auto-sensing feature means that you can plug the "in" cable into any socket - another 3Com switch I have has a specific "in" port. It's nice and small (Weight 0.6 kg, Height 4.2 cm, depth 13.5 cm, Width 22.8 cm... Read review

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

...Well there isn't much to say about this switch. I've bought 4 of these and they are all working fine. This is basically the big brother of the FS108 switch. The FS108 is 100mb Full duplex switch (full duplex meaning it can send and receive data at the same time), which theoretically gives 200mb throughput (send/receive combined). The GS108 is a 1000mb full duplex switch, which theoretically gives 2000mb throughput (send/receive combined). Under real wolrd conditions, you can copy a 650mb file with a 100mb switch in under 5-6 minutes. With a 1000mb (gig) switch , you should be able to do it in under 2 minutes (hardware permitting). On average, you will more than likely get over double the transfer rate than a 100mb switch, and obviously it's a hell of a lot faster than a 100mb hub. With copying the files am assuming you are using... Read review

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Advantages: Monitor, Cap Bandwidth, Security and Fairly easy setup
Disadvantages: None i have come across

...Really good switch this is Easy to setup in the hyper terminal with the serial cable, must make sure you have a machine with a serial port as quite afew machines dont have them any more. I was able to cap server machines to 100mbits or 10mbits switch was excellent because i was able to cap the bandwidth. With the Giga Connection it was excellent to share the speed via all the ports either at 10mb or 100mb. Easy to configure in the web admin area lots of features including security and firewall. You can monitor the bawidth in and out very easyily There are many different prices for this kit and a big difference in price with different supplyers and retailers. I got mine from ebuyer which was at the time cheeper than anywhere else 5 out of 5 stars because this did everything i needed it to... Read review

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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 put... Read review

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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. + A link light... Read review

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Advantages: Quick and easy to set up
Disadvantages: Video may get interference

...I've had this KVM switch for a number of years now, since my previous one only had two ports. I found this one fairly cheap somewhere. You're supplied with all the VGA and PS2 cables for each of the 4 connections. You can then plug these cables into your computers. The button on the top allows for quick switching. But as well as using the button for switching between computers, you are also able to use keyboard shortcuts. These are pretty common in KVM switches, and belkin manage to do it the same way as everyone else. Great for people that are already used to using a KVM switch. The KVM switch has a useful beep, which can be helpful to understand when a command was received by the switch. The switch also has a port for plugging in power. This helps improve the quality of the picture as there is more power behind it. Most of the time... Read review

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