switches

I have been replacing my ethernet hubs with switches (because the throughput on a switch is much better than on a hub). After extensive review, I decided to get one D-Link 5-port switch and one Netgear 5-port switch, both auto-sensing for 10/100 rate. The truth is, they both work great! They both perform well, and were equally easy to hookup (no software to deal with). I will add one thing, and that is that the D-Link box was a much nicer design than the Netgear. First of all, it is much smaller (the picture of the D-Link here is deceiving). Secondly, the Netgear has the LED lights and the ethernet ports on the same side. For my setup, I prefer the ports on the back and the lights on the front. I think the Netgear switch was fashioned more for a rack. Style aside, a big thumbs up for both of these switches!

With the growing number of PCs and Laptops in my house I decided it was time to install a network. I need a cheap solution that what easy to install and required NO maintanence. The Netgear 5 port switch was the perfect buy for my solution. It sits quitely in the roof of my house with the server and has not failed me yet! It is incased in a hard steel shell making it very strong and reliable. If you're looking into setting up a home network I recommend you buy this switch as you cant go wrong!

I agree with the other reviewers, in that this is a very solid built and reliable product. I've been using mine for six months now and have not had to touch it. It performs very well, as I've ran multiple file transfers simultaneously among four computers and it was amazingly faster than when using an older 10/100 hub.

The one complaint that I have about Netgear switches and routers is that many of them have the ports on the front of the unit instead of the back. If you're installing this in some out-of-the-way place like your attic or basement, or if you're installing in a computer rack where you want everything facing front, this is a non-issue. If you want to put this on your desktop it is a major inconvenience, because the cables coming into the switch will either be strung across the front of your desk, or will snake over and behind the unit. In either case, you have cables on your desktop and it's quite unsightly.

All things considered I'm still happy with the Netgear switch, but if I had it to do over again I would have probably bought one that worked better in my home office.