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Gigabit Switch Review: Ethernet Switches Recommendations

Ethernet switches, also known as network switches, serve as the brain of the whole network, especially for data center. On the market, there are various types of Ethernet switches which are designed for different requirements, such as port number, speed, managed or unmanaged. Faced with so many choices, you may get confused about which one is the best switch. In fact, not just you, there are a lot of people who don’t know how to make the choice. In the year 2017, Gigabit switch has been the hot topic at several big forums, and the question “Can you recommend a Gigabit switch for me?” frequently occurred. This article will focus on Gigabit switch review and recommend several Ethernet switches for you.

Gigabit Switch Review 1: D-Link DGS-1008G Gigabit Switch

D-Link DGS-1008G Gigabit switch has eight gigabit ports and boasts data transfer speeds of up to 2000 Mbps. It comes with QoS features, which automatically organize and prioritize important and time-sensitive data packets, ensuring efficient delivery. This feature helps enable smoother media streaming, VoIP calling and online gaming features. In addition, it utilizes D-Link’s Green Technology which allows the switch to reduce heat and use less energy. D-Link DGS-1008G Gigabit switch is a solid choice if you are looking for a fast, easy-to-use and reliable network switch.

Gigabit Switch Review 2: FS S5800-8TF12S Managed Switch

FS S5800-8TF12S switch is a 12 port smart managed switch. It is designed with twelve 10G SFP+ ports and eight 1000BASE-T/ SFP combo ports. The 1000BASE-T copper RJ45 ports support Gigabit speeds over Cat6 cable up to 100 meters, and the 1G SFP fiber ports can be connected to other devices via SFP transceivers over fiber optic cable. FS S5800-8TF12S 12 port smart managed switch is designed to support a demanding and dynamic environment of SMB networks. It is a good choice for 10G access Layer switch for hyper-converged infrastructure.

Gigabit Switch Review: FS-S5800-8TF12S 12-port smart managed switch

Gigabit Switch Review 3: UniFi US-24-500W PoE Switch

UniFi US-24-500W switch is a 24 port PoE switch which comes with 24 Gigabit RJ45 ports and 2 SFP ports. Its non-blocking throughput is up to 26 Gbps and the switching capacity is up to 52 Gbps. UniFi US-24-500W PoE switchh is a fully managed Gigabit switch which can deliver robust performance and intelligent switching for networks. Besides, it offers the forwarding capacity to simultaneously process traffic on all ports at line rate without any packet loss. It is really a cost-effective PoE switch at $399.00. For more details about Gigabit PoE switch review, you can read my previous article: 8 Port PoE Switch Recommendations.

Gigabit Switch Review 4: FS S5850-48T4Q 10GBASE-T Switch

FS S5850-48T4Q 10GBASE-T copper switch is a 1U managed L2/L3 Ethernet switch. It has forty-eight 10GBASE-T RJ45 ports and four 40G QSFP+ ports. And it can provide 1.28Tbps switching capacity. FS S5850-48T4Q switch is designed to meet next generation Metro, Data Center and Enterprise network requirements. For example, it can be used for Spine-Leaf network which is a popular architecture design for data center. For 1GBASE-T copper switch at lower cost, FS S5850-48T4Q switch is a great option to help you migrate to 10GbE network.

Conclusion

The above content Gigabit Ethernet switch review has recommend 8 port unmanaged Gigabit switch, 12 port 10G smart managed switch, 24 port PoE switch and 48 port 10GBASE-T copper switch. All of them are good choices when compared with the same type of Ethernet switches. I hope this article can help you choose the best switch when you feel confused.

Uplink Port Vs. Normal Port on Switch

When it comes to network switch, we usually ask about the port type on the switch and the number of port, such as twenty-four 10/100/1000 Mbps ports and four SFP+ ports. If you have used managed switch in your network deployment, you must have heard about uplink port or normal port. How much do you know about them? Is there any difference between them? This article will guide you to learn about uplink port vs. normal port on switch.

Uplink Port Vs. Normal Port: Connect to Different Devices

The uplink port on switch is used to connect a device or smaller local network to a larger network, or connect to the next “higher” device in the topology. For example, edge switch connects “up” to distribution layer managed switch. Also in computer network, hub, unmanaged switch and router typically designate one Ethernet port as the uplink port. And it may be labeled WAN or Internet instead of uplink. This type of port simplify connects different types of Ethernet devices to each other, such as when linking a local home network to a modem and the Internet. While normal port on switch is used to connect end user PC or server and all. In most cases, uplink ports have more bandwidth as compared to normal ports as they aggregate traffic between different layers.

Uplink Port Vs. Normal Port: Connect to Different Cables

Each Ethernet interface has two transmit pins and two receive pins. To achieve the link connection, the transmit pins at one end of network cable have to be connected to the receive pins at the other end. An uplink port does not crossover the transmit and receive pins, but a regular port does. Therefore, when two network switches are connected together with a straight-through cable, then one end must be uplink port and one end must be normal port. If a crossover cable is used to connect them, then the ports at both ends must be the same kind of port. Here is a figure for you to have a better understanding of this.

uplink port vs. normal port

Uplink Port Vs. Normal Port: Additional Information about Shared Port and Dual-purposed Port

Some older network equipment specially configured a normal port next to the uplink port and linked the two together as a pair. Specifically, the hardware logic of these products supported connections to either the uplink port, or the normal shared port, but not both. Connecting devices to both ports of a shared port device stops the unit from functioning properly. Nowadays, many network equipment offer a dual-purpose port which can function either as an uplink or a normal port depending on the type of device connected to it.

Conclusion

In fact, uplink port can serve as normal port. Therefore, there are no big differences between them. The only difference is that uplink port is connected to higher layer network device to aggregate the bandwidth and must be connected to the normal port on another network device. I hope after reading this article, you can be clear on uplink port vs. normal port on switch.

8 Port PoE Switch Recommendations

As more and more network devices are deployed in networking, the cabling becomes complicated. PoE technology, which support power and data transmission over an Ethernet cable at the same time, can simplify the cabling. And recently, 8 port PoE switch is popular with many users. This article will recommend several 8 port PoE switches for you.

8 Port PoE Switch Recommendation 1—UniFi US-8-150W Switch

UniFi US-8-150W 8 port PoE switch is a managed switch which has 8 RJ45 ports and 2 SFP ports. The RJ45 ports support 10/100/1000 Ethernet connections and PoE/PoE+ functions; the hot-swappable SFP ports support 1 Gbps connections. Besides, there is a reset button on UniFi US-8-150W switch which serves two functions for the UniFi switch: restart and restore to factory default settings. For PoE/PoE+ function, by default, PoE settings for ports are set to auto-sensing PoE+. PoE will automatically be activated on the port when an 802.3af/at device is connected. The maximum power consumption of UniFi US-8-150W switch is 150W. The price is about $199.00.

8 Port PoE Switch Recommendation 2—D-Link DGS-1210-10P Switch

D-Link DGS-1210-10P 8 port PoE switch is one member of DGS-1210 series family which are the latest generation of switches to provide PoE/PoE+ capabilities, making deployment easier. Also, it support a complete lineup of L2 features, including IGMP snooping, port mirroring, Spanning Tree Protocol (STP), and Link Aggregation Control Protocol (LACP). The D-Link DGS-1210-10P switch has eight 10/100/1000 ports and two 100/1000 SFP ports. Its switching capacity is 20 Gbps and maximum power consumption is 81.9W. The price is about $133.91.

8 Port PoE Switch Recommendation 3—TP-Link TL-SG2210P Switch

TP-Link TL-SG2210P 8 port PoE switch is equipped with 8 gigabit RJ45 ports and 2 SFP slots. And all RJ45 ports support IEEE 802.3af-compliant PoE with total power supply of 53W to power any 802.3af compliant power device. The switch provides high performance, enterprise-level QoS, useful security strategies and rich layer 2 management features. The maximum power consumption of TP-Link TL-SG2210P switch is 63.4W. It is especially designed for the small and medium business networks that require efficient network management. The price is about $131.37.

8 Port PoE Switch Recommendation 4—Netgear GS110TP Switch

Netgear GS110TP 8 port PoE switch has eight 10/100/1000 Mbps copper ports and two Gigabit SFP ports. With PoE function on eight copper ports, Netgear GS110TP switch is capable of delivering up to 15.4W of power per port, up to a maximum total of 46W across all connected PoE devices. The maximum power consumption is 59.3W. in addition, the switch comes with a comprehensive set of features, such as L2 features, enhanced VLAN and QoS, access control lists (ACL), and so on. The price is about $169.99.

8 Port PoE Switch Recommendation 5—FS S1130-8T2F Switch

FS S1130-8T2F managed 8 port PoE+ switch has eight 10/100/1000Base-T RJ45 Ethernet ports, one console port, and two gigabit SFP slots. It is compliant with IEEE 802.3af/at and can supply power to PoE network equipment. The FS S1130-8T2F switch is fanless switch and it features superior performance in stability, environmental adaptability. The maximum power consumption is 130W. The price is about $159.00.

FS S1130-8T2F managed 8 port PoE switch

Which One to Choose?

From the above 8 port PoE switch recommendations, we can clearly see that all these five switch have similarities and differences. For example, all of them support PoE function, but UniFi US-8-150W, D-Link DGS-1210-10P and FS S1130-8T2F support both PoE and PoE+ standard; all of them have 8 RJ45 port and 2 SFP ports, but their maximum power consumption are different. Which one to choose really depends on your specific requirements. If you need to use PoE devices with larger power consumption, UniFi US-8-150W and FS S1130-8T2F switch are good options; if your budget is tight, you can choose D-Link DGS-1210-10P, TP-Link TL-SG2210P and FS S1130-8T2F switch according to the above 8 port PoE switch. From the comparison, we can conclude that FS S1130-8T2F switch is a cost-effective solution which can supply higher power at lower price. I hope this article—8 port PoE switch recommendations will help you choose a suitable 8 port PoE switch for your network deployment.

Smart Managed Switch Vs. Unmanaged Switch

Network switch, a box-shaped device, plays an important role in a network deployment. To achieve high network performance, a suitable switch is required. There are smart managed switch and unmanaged switch on the market. How much do you know about them? Smart managed switch vs. unmanaged switch, which one should you choose for your network deployment? Keep reading, and you will find the answer.

Smart Switch Vs. Managed Switch

If you look through the official website of several vendors, you may find that some offer smart switch, the others provide managed switch. Smart switch vs. managed switch, what’s the different between them? Smart switch has some features that managed switch has, but are more limited. Besides, smart switch is cheaper than managed switch. So, it’s a cost-effective alternative to managed switch. In fact, “smart switch” and “managed switch” are terms invented by vendors. And the exact meaning may vary from vendor to vendor. To some extent, smart switch and managed switch are virtually the same. In the following part, I combine them as smart managed switch for easy reading.

Smart Managed Switch Vs. Unmanaged Switch

As smart managed switch and unmanaged switch have different features, they are used in different applications.

Smarted Managed Switch

Smart managed switch offers features like QoS (Quality of Service), Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP), command line interface (CLI), Rapid Spanning Tree Protocol (RSTP), redundancy capability, VLANs, LACP and so on. The greatest advantage of smart managed switch is that you can change the configuration of the switch to satisfy your specific networking needs. Smart managed switch is especially suitable for enterprises that need to manage and troubleshoot their network remotely and securely, allowing network managers to monitor and control the traffic to achieve optimal network performance and reliability. The following figure shows FS S5800-8TF12S managed switch which provides high port density with 8-port 1GbE RJ45 and 8-port 1GbE SFP combo and 12-port 10GbE uplink in a compact 1RU form factor.

FS S5800-8TF12S managed switch

Unmanaged Switch

Unmanaged switch is basic plug-and-play switch with no remote configuration, management, or monitoring options. It allows Ethernet devices to communicate with one another (such as a PC or network printer) by providing a connection to the network and passing on information to where it needs to go. Therefore, unmanaged switch is usually used to extend the number of Ethernet ports. Unmanaged switch can be desktop or rack mounted. It is less expensive than smart managed switch and is suitable for home use, SOHO and small businesses.

Which One to Choose?

From the above content, we can conclude that smart managed switch vs. unmanaged switch, the biggest difference between them is the configuration feature. As for which one to choose, it really depends on your need. If you just want to set up a home network or add more Ethernet ports, unmanaged switch is good enough. If you need configuration options like VLAN and QoS, you will have to use smart managed switch.

Are You Ready For 400G Ethernet?

The rapid development in telecom industry is driving massive demand for higher bandwidth and faster data rate, from 10G to 40G and 100G, will this keep going on? The answer is definitely “Yes”. Some time ago, migration from 10G to 40G or 25G to 100G has been a hot spot among data center managers. While recently, 400G solutions and 400G components are coming. Are you ready for 400G? This article will share some information about 400G Ethernet.

Overview of 400G

In the past couple of years, modules with four 25/28G lanes or wavelengths are the solutions for 100G Ethernet. However, they were expensive at the beginning. Until 2016, the optical components industry has responded to the demands with 100G solutions that already cost less per gigabit than equivalent 10G and 40G solutions, and new developments to further drive down cost and increase bandwidths. The next generation is 400G Ethernet. The IEEE has agreed on PSM4 with four parallel fibers for the 500 meters 400GBASE-DR4 specification that is part of the IEEE802.3bs standard being developed for approval by the end of 2017. The industry is already developing optical components for 400G Ethernet solutions. The following figure shows telecom and datacom adoption timelines.

Telecom and datacom adoption timelines

We can visually see that telecom/enterprise applications first adopted 100G technology in the form of CFP modules. Data centers generally did not adopt 100G interfaces until the technology matured and evolved towards denser, lower power interfaces, particularly in the form of QSFP28 modules. However, as the hyperscale data center market scales to keep pace with machine-to-machine communications needs, data center operators have become the first to demand transmission modules for data rates of 400G and beyond. Therefore, the 400G era is now upon us.

Modules for 400G

We know that the QSFP28 modules for 100G Ethernet and SFP28 modules for 25G Ethernet are now the dominant form factors. Though CFP, CFP2 and CFP4 modules remain important for some applications, they have been eclipsed by QSFP28 modules. To support higher bandwidth, what is the right module for 400G? The first CFP8 modules are already available. QSFP-DD is backward compatible with QSFP, and OSFP may deliver better performance, especially as networks move to 800G interfaces.

CFP8 module: CFP8 module is the newest form factor under development by members of the CFP multisource agreement (MSA). It is approximately the size of CFP2 module. As for bandwidth density, it respectively supports eight times and four times the bandwidth density of CFP and CFP2 module. The interface of CFP8 module has been generally specified to allow for 16 x 25 Gb/s and 8 x 50 Gb/s mode.

100G CFP to 400G CFP8

QSFP-DD module: QSFP-DD refers to Quad Small Form Factor Pluggable Double Density. It uses eight 25G lanes via NRZ modulation or eight 50G lanes via PAM4 modulation, which can support optical link of 200 Gbps or 400 Gbps aggregate. In addition, QSFP-DD module can enable up to 14.4 Tbps aggregate bandwidth in a single switch slot. As it is backwards compatible with QSFP modules, QSFP-DD provides flexibility for end users and system designers.

QSFP-DD vs QSFP

OSFP module: OSFP (Octal Small Form Factor Pluggable) with eight high speed electrical lanes is able to support 400G (8x50G). It is slightly wider and deeper than the QSFP but it still supports 36 OSFP ports per 1U front panel, enabling 14.4 Tbps per 1U. The OSFP is able to meet the projected thermal requirements for 800 Gbps optics when those systems and optics become available in the future.

OSFP module

Conclusion

Judging from the current trends, 400G will become the mainstream in the near future. But there are still some challenges for it to overcome, such as high capacity density, low power consumption, ever lower cost per bit, and reliable large-scale manufacturing capabilities. You never know what surprise the network will bring to you, let’s wait and see the 400G’s time.