NETGEAR 8 Port Gigabit Network Switch (GS108) - Ethernet Switch - Ethernet Splitter - Plug-and-Play - Silent Operation - Desktop or Wall Mount

The GS108Ev3 is a Gigabit Web Managed Switch capable of connecting up to 8 devices together on your Home/Small Business Network. Upon the unboxing of the switch you are presented with the switch itself, a power adapter, a setup manual and a CD containing:ProSAFE Plus Configuration UtilityGS108Ev3 installation guideCustomer support informationQualityOverall the NETGEAR GS108Ev3 feels solid. I have seen various 8-24 port switches and this is one of the most robust I have seen. Compared to my TP-LINK TL-SG1008D which was bought for around the same price the switch feels to have been built to a higher standard.Although most peoples switches will sit in a cabinet or somewhere deep in there attic this is a nice touch.UsabilityThe NETGEAR GS108Ev3 contains the standard link lights which let you know if there is activity on the network. The best thing with this switch is the fact that it is web managed.What does managed mean?A managed switch allows you to have better control over your network and all the traffic moving through it, E.g If you have a smart TV which is only used for Netflix and other streaming services you can limit this to say 5mbps, this stops limits all bandwidth to this. This would be beneficial if you regularly game and don’t like ping spikes!Quality of Service (QoS)Quality of Service (QoS) allows you to allocate bandwidth to different portsE.g. If you have a smart TV which is only used for Netflix and other streaming services you can limit this to say 4mbps, this limits all bandwidth to 4mbps. This would be beneficial if you regularly games and don’t like ping spikes!By selecting QoS in NETGEARS ProSAFE Config Utility you can select different priorities in which to limit rate though these do not allocate a speed.The best way to allocate which speeds you need is to use the Rate Limit tab on the software under QoS this ensures you can limit each port to your liking.VLANVLANs allows you to split the switch into different LANs, e.g. ports 1-4 could be VLAN 01 and 5-7 could be VLAN 01 with your internet connection provided to all on the switch. PC’s with access to VLAN 01 would not be able to access VLAN 02 and vice versa. This wouldn’t normally be needed in a home network.The software also provides the utility to view data transferred received, perform firmware updates, reboot the device, factory reset and cable fault testing which is very interesting.Ping TimesMoving from my TP-Link 1200 Mbps powerline adapters I have noticed my ping drop from 45-50ms on League of Legends to 32-34ms39-45ms on Battlefield 1 to 25-30msMy connections is 33mb down 6mb up on a fibre to the cabinet line.ConclusionI have had the switch for about 3 months now and it has performed very well,No issues have risen and the switch hasn’t needed to be rebooted once.

This is a solid bit of kit - weighty and with square edges. It fits alongside other things - no funny angles for things to fall off. However that wasn't the reason that i bought it.I wanted to know what speed each port was running at. Some devices say they are gigabit (1000Mbps) but I wasn't sure I trusted them. Other devices claimed different speeds or had no speed marked. I also have cabling with a number of patches (a straight through cable from socket to socket instead of going through an ethernet switch) and i wanted to know if the cabling was running at full speed. And since gigabit uses all 4 pairs, it would tell me if there were any faults on the wiring which a standard tester wouldn't.This switch tells me that everything is hunky dory. The NAS is connected at full gigabit and the laptop at the other end of the house is connected at full gigabit, so the parts that need to run full speed, are doing so. The patched cabling is part of that circuit so that's fine. The rest, regardless of what it says, is running at 100Mbps. That's adequate for what I expected and within tolerance.Speed is visible from lights - left light for 100Mbps, right light for 10Mbps, both lights for 1000Mbps. Very simple, very straightforward, very easy. And the form factor of this metal framed box is that the cables plug in the same side as the lights so you don't have to try to match up cable and light. A great little device.

Speed: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Privacy: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Security: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Availability: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Pros:Lots of features to manage the networkSleek DesignQuietAccessed through web portalFairly newCons:Can be faulty in terms of getting it's own IP address and must use the NETGEAR Switch Discovery Tool (NSDT)SpecificationsThe NETGEAR Network Switch has 8 Port Gigabit Ethernet ports plus software with user friendly interface that offers basic managed capabilities to configure, secure, and monitor the network.It supports desktop or wall mount placement and is energy efficient design compliant with IEEE802.3az. In addition, it's silent operation is ideal for noise sensitive environments. The switch supports VLANs, QOS and more.ManagementSwitch Information:The Switch Information tab supplies all the information related to the network configurations implemented on the switch itself such as Switch Name, MAC Address, IP Address, Gateway address and more.Port Status:The Port Status reveals the status of each port. For example, Port 1, shows the port status being "Up" or "Down", if the speed is set to Auto or half duplex mode? Along with the Link Speed and Flow Control represented in metrics.Loop Detection:Loop detection can be enabled to detect potential loops within the network.MaintenanceThe Maintenance tab allows us to perform general tasks such as Change Password, Device Reboot, and Firmware Updates. In addition, we're able to save and restore configuration files which can be created manually.MonitoringThe Monitoring tab allows us to check each of the Port Statistics such as the Bytes being sent and received.Furthermore, we're able to enable Port Mirroring configuration to duplicate the traffic from one port to another. This is useful if we want to analyse the network traffic on a specific port.Also, there's a Cable Tester which allows us to test each port cable if the test results return "OK", "FAULT", or "No Cable".Lastly, there's a Multicast tab which allows us to enable IGMP Snooping Status, Validate IGMPv3 IP Header, and able to Block Unknown Multicast Address.VLANThere's a VLAN tab which allows us to enable Basic Port-Based VLAN Status. In addition, there's Basic 802.1Q VLAN Status which can be enabled too.QoSQoS when enabled allows us to set either "High", "Medium", "Normal" or "Low" Priority on each port. For example, if Port 1 has been set to "High Priority" then, QoS policy would prioritize traffic so that more important traffic can pass through first, in this case it's Port 1.Furthermore, we're able to set the Rate Limit and enable Broadcast Filtering.SummaryOverall, I believe the NETGEAR 8 Port Gigabit Ethernet Plus Network Switch is worth it. At the cost being around £30.00, and the amount of managed switch features we're able to enable, is perfect.The managed switch features allows a user to manage the network from a layer 2 perspective, which increases the security, and flow of traffic throughout the network.

Provide a simple 1Gb network switch for my old network.Does the job fundamentally.The software is adequate for a layer 2 switch - nothing great but do not expect more for the price.