NETGEAR 8-Port Gigabit Ethernet Smart Managed Plus Switch (GS908E) - Desktop Housing with Integrated Cable Management, 2 x USB Charging Ports, and Fanless Design for Quiet Operation

Most modem/routers come with 4 ethernet ports which can be a bit limiting if you have a NAS as well as a couple of computers, TVs, printers, etc. There also not always that efficient. Just because they are gigabit ports doesn't mean they run at that speed all the time. Switches work by selecting the best route between two devices and not impacting on other devices that are also connected. The efficiency of this process is very important. Netgear is a well-known manufacturer in this field. Not the cheapest and not always the best either but I have confidence that they know what they are doing. I ordered the 'Smart Managed (Plus) + Cable MGMNT' model as this fitted my needs the best. I had it installed and working within 10 minutes of unpacking. It was a direct replacement for an older unmanaged 4-port switch. The switch has a built-in web browser for settings (see photos), which is quite straight forward to use. I really like the way you can rename each of the ports, making it easy to know what is connected to which port. You can easily setup priorities enabling important devices such as a NAS to get priority over other devices when usage is high. The design of the unit is quite nice. From the front you see just a single blue LED power light. Even this can be turned off if not required. At the rear of the unit is a long line of RJ45 ports hidden under a flap. There are slots for keeping each cable in place and the flap can be close fully. This keep things nice and tidy. There are also two USB power sockets at the back along with a reset button and power socket. There is a power saving mode which will shut down power to ports when not in use. I found power consumption to be very low at 0.5W idle and 3W when in heavy use. The unit and the power supply never get more than like warm. Use of the USB sockets may change this but I haven't tried it. Overall, it does everything I wanted and I'm very pleased with it.

My first impression was that it didn't look like a Netgear product - they have a certain look to them, this was quite nice. then I got one and it feels all kinds of plastic. The app is a breeze to use and the web interface does its job. My biggest gripe is that the plastic around the sockets is too limiting which makes inserting and removing cables a real pita - even the usb one! Talking of which woudn't it have been great if the usb port could have been network discoverable, but no, it's just a charger socket. I know, I want a lot for my £25 - £310 depending on what time of year it is!

This switch is connected by ethernet to one of the ethernet ports on the back of my ISP's Internet Router. I then connect all the computers in the house to this switch and instantly everyone has fast and stable internet on dedicated ethernet cables. Only 1 problem stops this switch from getting 5 stars - the cable management at the back has slots to pinch the cables (see product photo). Buyer beware - the slots on the amazon photos are much wider than the actual product that arrived. The slots on my switch are really small (3mm wide halfway down the slot, 2mm at the bottom) and there's no way I'm pushing my expensive 6mm wide Cat7 cables into such a pinch. They'd be crushed and ruined. I doubt you'd dare pinch anything but a bell telephone cable in them. This renders the cable management side of it TOTALLY useless. There's a non-cable managed version, but I want this great little design. NETGEAR! Surely you checked decent cables in these slots?! Your plastic tooling is designed for way too smaller cables. I also checked my standard Cat6 cables (around 5mm width) and I wouldn't push them into a 3mm slot either!

Most switches have the network cables go into the front and power into the back. This is the only one I found where they all go in the back, resulting in a much neater solution under my av rack. I can even turn the indicator light off so no flickering signal lights to distract me. No annoying fan either!

So I had 2 requirements when buying these switches: 1st - For it to be managed as I have separate vlans for my LAN, smart devices, DMZ etc. This switch is so easy to manage and work with I had to buy a 2nd so I could replace it with my overpriced Meraki switch. 2nd - My wife hated the Meraki switch with all the cables on display at the front of it in the lounge. These little switches look fantastic and the power and network cables sit nicely in the back (panel closes to hide them and there are notches to lock the cables in so it's not a tangled mess) and the status light is at the front so I know if it's working correctly or if one of the ports is having errors (the light turns orange if this is the case). I've used many different devices over the years both consumer and enterprise and these are by far the best looking and best priced for what you get!

Easy to set up. Works very well. Good for homes where you need to turn off all those blinking LED’s over-night!

High quality product. Looks good. Works well - rear ethernet ports and power cable helpful - and USB power point added bonus

Tested out the management side of it and it works fine, with the new firmware it adds even more security though would love ability to upload certificate for HTTPS access to it. The holes in the back will not fit most network cables as they are known to be small, when contacting amazon they said don't order this again if you return. And netgear said go to amazon.. A dremmel is coming in handy.

habe inzwischen mein gesamtes Haus mit Netgear-Netzwerkkomponenten ausgestattet. Dieses erfüllt im "sichtbaren" Bereich voll meine Erwartungen.

Ich war schon mit dem Vorgängermodel sehr zufrieden. Hätte von mir 5 Sterne bekommen wenn ein Schuko Stecker dran wäre, leider war hier ein englischer Stecker dran. Muss mir zusätzlich einen Adapter kaufen.