I have been a network engineer for almost 20 years. I have consulted for the federal gov, state gov, and numerous Fortune 500 companies. So when it comes to knowledge of networking technologies, including switches, I am what's often to referred to as a 'subject matter expert'. With that said, I hope this review is helpful to others so they can make informed decisions based on verifiable information, not conjecture.
Netgear uses reliable pieces and parts in the construction of their hardware switches. If you take a close look at the power draw (raw consumption of electrical power), you'll notice Netgear switches use slightly more power than other small switches. This is actually important in switching data packets between ports. But by no means is this switch a power hog...it just utilizes enough power to QUICKLY switch packets between its ports.
Lower latency compared to other SOHO switches. The average home network has 1 or 2 switches as they introduce more devices that need connectivity. You could buy TP-link, Linksys, or other manufacturers, but Netgear has better performance because it has lower latency overall.
Metal is better than plastic. There's no rocket science behind this claim -- it's common knowledge that metal will hold up better than plastic. When given the choice, go with a metal chassis over plastic. The chassis on this Netgear is metal. Well done, Netgear.
Keep it simple. When it comes to plug and play, it doesn't get any easier. Plug this in to a power source, and plug your network cables into the ports. Simple enough, right?
Would I recommend this to others? Yes. In fact, I own 4 of these switches and I've purchased 2 for my parent's home use. I also have 1 of these in my emergency kit in my car in case I need a reliable switch while I'm working on IT related projects.
I highly recommend this switch and would buy it again.
Now that our entertainment center has 4 internet connected devices (TV, Blu-Ray, Satellite, XBox), it was a bit annoying to have them all connected via wireless, and it would barely work at times due to interference. I bought some TP-Link ethernet home plugs, connected this thing to that and all my devices, and haven't turned back since. I love knowing that I can just leave this thing in the back of my entertainment center and not have to worry about it. It's small, the metal case seems as good quality as the old Netgear switches I dealt with a few decades ago, it doesn't seem to run hot even enclosed in furniture, and is one of my better home upgrades due to losing the hassle of wireless. Now our other wireless devices aren't as crowded on the network and I don't get called to the living room with questions about why Netflix isn't working.
Trying to convert my home into a smart home means having multiple hubs being plugged into the router (Netgear Arlo, Philips Hue, Samsung Smartthing, etc) along with other devices needing to be plugged into the router. This means my router ran out of ports pretty quickly and I needed an ethernet switch.
Having had a good experience with an older Netgear switch in the past (FS108), I decided to get this one for the gigabit capability.
Setting up the switch was as easy as taking it out of the box, plugging the power supply into the wall, and then connecting the ethernet cable from the router to the switch. Took less than two minutes!
I now have additional ethernet ports to plug in my ever expanding smart home devices. No complaints!
This is for the gs110mx switch. Great switch. I have two computers with 10gig cards and other devices with gigabit nics. I also have a raspberry pi that operates lower. All communicate well on the switch. One caveat though. It appears that the 10gig ports are very fussy. I have 1 amazon basics cat 7 cable, and when that cable is used with the 10gig ports, connection is flawless. For testing, I used a cat5e cable, and a no name cat 6 (that I doubt is actually cat 6) cable in the 10 gig ports and while the devices negociate 10 gig speeds, the connection is very flakey. When those cables are used in the 1 gig ports on the switch, the connection negotiates at 1 gig, but is wonderful and stable. I highly recommend getting good cables for the the 10gig ports. You will want them anyway, but dont even bother with lesser cables in those two ports.
If you are looking to either upgrade an existing switch or purchase a new switch with gigabit speed I would highly recommend this product. Recently my internet speed jumped from 40Mbps to 120Mbps, I had been using a Netgear FS524 which has a max speed of 100Mbps. With my new switch I can take full advantage of my speed upgrade and my network traffic has seen an improvement as well.
My new Netgear Gigabit switch not only provides me with additional speed but the fan-less design is a significant improvement over the older fan based models because of the noise reduction. The changeover from my old switch to the new Gigabit switch was extremely simple and the new Gigabit switch also has a smaller footprint. This product is a slam dunk with a good design and performance which meets expectation, again I would highly recommend.
Pros:
- Status LEDs are easy to read
- Plug and play
- Fanless design is quiet
Cons:
- Non that I have found
Feature Product
- ETHERNET PORT CONFIGURATION: 8 Gigabit ports
- PLUG-AND-PLAY: Simple set up with no software to install or configuration needed
- VERSATILE MOUNTING OPTIONS: Supports desktop or wall mount placement
- SILENT OPERATION: The fanless design means zero added noise wherever its located, making it ideal for noise-sensitive environments
- PEACE OF MIND WARRANTY - Covered by an industry-leading 3-year limited hardware warranty
- ENERGY EFFICIENT: Designed to optimize power usage lowering its cost to operate. Most models are compliant with IEEE802.3az Energy Efficient Ethernet mode.
- BUILT TO LAST: Every NETGEAR Network switch is rigorously tested for reliability, quality, and performance.
Description
The NETGEAR GS308 Unmanaged Desktop Switch features 8-Port Gigabit Ethernet, sturdy metal fanless housing and more.
This is a great switch. I've purchased many, many Netgear switches for small businesses and homes over the years. Bought this switch to replace and 8 port and a 4 port...cleaner installation and wiring. Have never had a failure. I find the negative reviews here to be curious -- wonder if they're using cheap patch cables -- I don't scrimp when it comes to cables. Or plastic switch models. I only buy metal. These switches simply work. Period. And the LED displays tell you clearly the connection speed per port. Highly recommended.
This review is for the GS308 unit.
Nice, quality build. Performance as expected. Does what it's supposed to do...
That being said, why do manufacturers of these "Home" switches insist on just making smaller versions of rack-mount units? Having Ethernet cables coming out of the "front" of this unit makes for a messy-looking desktop. Yes, I knew this when I bought it, and that there are switches that look more "homey", but for the price and features, this was what I decided on. One of life's compromises, I guess. Now I just have to move my desk away from the wall so I can mount it out-of-sight. (Venting session over!)
I've owned this switch for about 2 years. It works flawlessly *except* for one gripe. When transferring lots of data for an extended period of time, the port that was handling that data basically stops working until you power cycle the switch. I found this out when copying my hard drive data over to my NAS. This resulted in ports dying every 30 minutes. Kind of a nuisance, but I tolerate it because huge data transfers are a rare occurrence for me. Be aware of this flaw.
I bought this to expand the hard-wired capabilities in my bedroom with all the internet ready devices needing to connect. This is my second Netgear switch primarily because the brand reputation. I own tons of Netgear devices, proudly. This is very sturdily built, no sharp edges, easy access ports and status lights. It is basically a plug and play device, no drivers to download or install. Just plug in and you're off to a more efficient wiring setup and productivity. I love the fact that it has a small footprint in not taking up too much desk space and that being made of metal it sits still. I've used others that would shift around and cause connectivity issues now and again. Not with this. This is reliable and working great. Love this.
I've gotten Netgear products for at least 15 years probably and I give them a solid B+/A- ... 90%
This time I got two of these and one was defective but the other works great.
Last time I got a cable modem that wouldn't work with any of the Netgear power adapters it came with (or that Netgear replaced)...it ended up needing a third-party power adapter with more amps.
When the products work, they work great; and Netgear has decent customer service.
I'll still buy again but I've had just as good luck (or better) with DLinks and Trendnets. I think I'm more nostalgic for Netgear.
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