NETGEAR GS608 8-Port Gigabit Desktop Switch
See it at Amazon.com for $44.95Average Customer Rating
(4.5 out of 5)
Amazon Customer Reviews
Most Helpful First | Newest First
(2 out of 5)Do not expect much - this is just basic switch
This product works ok as basic gigabit switch. It looks very nice for home office, does not get hot. However, I bought it not for nice looks, but looking for great functionality. Unfortunately, it turned out to be nothing but trouble.
GS608 is advertised to support jumbo frames (packets with size as big as 9KB - 6 times more than standard packet of 1.5KB). With properly configured network clients jumbo network can easily reach transfer speeds up to 80MB/sec and more. But with standard packets network can barely work up to 20MB/sec. So, this switch certainly does work faster than old 100MBit switch, but hardly 2 times as fast, when with jumbo frames it would be 8-10 times faster.
When I noticed that GS608 supports jumbo, it was huge factor for me to go ahead and purchase it. I wish I knew it was all marketing lie!
Upon receiving the product I was so excited so I disposed of packaging (I know - stupid me), only to find out day later that jumbo DOES NOT work (I am senior network engineer, and I do use jumbo at work with great success with more expensive switches). So I could not return or replace the product, and my multiple calls to Netgear support to resolve this were very frustrating and led nowhere - they just could not (or rather would not) understand what I am talking about.
So I am stuck now with basic gigabit switch, when similar model (not even pretending to support jumbo) could have been bought much cheaper from other vendor who does not do false advertising.
You decide for yourself.
(5 out of 5)GigE switch that is both FAST and QUIET
Like so many other small home office users, I have recently upgraded my network to 1000mpbs to help increase productivity. Unfortunately, I originally purchased a GigE 8 port switch from another mfg. that used a fan on their switch, a VERY noisy fan. After a month of listening to what sounded like an airplane engine, I tossed that unit and purchased this 8port Netgear GigE unit. It is SILENT. Basically a plug and play item due to its unmanaged nature, I have had good data thru put and no problem. It comes with a small clip on stand for vertical storage if desired. The unit is finished in an attractive gray and chrome exterior. It is also small enough to live on a desktop without sucking up valuable real estate.
So, if you are looking for a switch that will not be stored remotely in some closet, this is the one that will keep the peace in your office. A+ *****
(4 out of 5)Great little box, but a few nits
This is a great little router and is awesome for the price, but seems to have an issue where some NICs that initially connect at 1000 Mbps will drop to 100 Mbps for no reason. Plugging the NIC in question into any other port on the switch will allow the NIC to connect at 1000 Mbps, but plugging it back into its old port will cause it to reconnect at 100 Mbps. This behavior continues until you power cycle the switch, at which point the NIC connects at 1000 Mbps again.
Don't misunderstand, this isn't a big deal, just a bit of an annoyance - when you notice a port that's supposed to be green has gone yellow, it means it's time to power cycle the switch. I've had to do this, on average, about once every two months or so.
(5 out of 5)Good value for a gigabit switch
What this switch is:
* Perfect for a home network with gigabit capability and on a limited budget
* Plug and play; AutoUplink(tm) - up-linking works in any port
* Backwards compatible with lower speeds
* All ports gigabit capable
* Good performer given its price
(Having numbered port LEDs on the front panel is a nice touch, and the switch looks very good next to a mac mini, too):)
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And what it is not:
* Business class equipment with an Office Depot price point
* Something that will make non-gigabit equipment any faster. Every link in the chain must be gigabit capable to take advantage of faster throughput - from the NICs to the cable (cat5e or better). Don't curse the switch when standard cat5 cable doesn't play well with gigabit ethernet - make sure you have cat5e (e for enhanced) or better cabling
(2 out of 5)AVOID THIS MODEL!
Netgear tends to make a fairly decent product for the price, but the GS608v2 is flawed.
Random ports on the switch will infrequently negotiate 1000Mbit speed and will fall back to 100 after about 3 min without a link. Other ports work just fine at 1000Mbit, but you will have to experiement to find the ones that do work. On top of that, some network devices will not negotiate at all including two 100Mbit laptop network cards, one 3com and one xircom which are very solid, reliable devices in any other situation, but do not work with this switch.
Other users complain of overheating issues or freezing issues that require a power cycle, or even complete failure after about a month, but I have only had mine a few days so those problems havent come up yet.
Go with any other 8 port gigabit model. This one is not worth the hassle. I can only hope netgear will allow me to RMA this item for some other model.