NETGEAR 8-Port Gigabit Ethernet Plus Switch (GS308E) - Desktop or Wall Mount, Home Network Hub, Office Ethernet Splitter, Silent Operation, Black

Works

Awesome product. It allowed the two ethernet ports on my Synology NAS to be connected. Now copying large video files takes seconds!

I have always had two networks in my house, one directly on the ISP router LAN, one off an inner router than treats the outer as a WAN. The ISP controls the firmware in the outer router and I dont trust them. But a situation arose where I needed both networks in other rooms, and I had only one network cable fished through to those rooms. So, I went to smart switches and VLANs. I bought three of these, one 8 port and two 5 port. The setup process was not smooth. I was trying to use the static IP setup method. With the first 5 port switch, it worked as advertised. With the second 5 port switch the IP address of the switch kept coming up 0.0.0.0, even after a reset and a power cycle. The 8 port switch did the same. Then I figured I guess I should let those last two obtain an IP from my inner network router and configure them that way. That worked, except on the 8 port I had to initially use the web interface because the program interface is turned off by default! The program and the web interface both are not the most user-friendly systems I have used. They are very similar in design. There is a fairly strict order in which you have to do things or it yells at you. Once initially configured, I had issues because I had assigned a static IP that was on VLAN 2 as opposed to VLAN 1. I couldnt see the management interfaces switches other than the one to which my laptop was connected even though I was on the same VLAN. Reading up on a NETGEAR forum, it turns out an undocumented feature of the switch, at least per a conversation on a forum I found, is that it expects the management interface to be on VLAN 1. But, I managed to get it all up and running, and it works well once configured. As other reviewers have stated, these switches are fine as long as you are on something like a home network where you are hiding behind a NAT router and a firewall. Thats because the static IP of the management interface is presented on every VLAN. For example VLAN 1 in my case is 192.168.a.x and VLAN 2 is 192.168.b.x. The a network is the inner, and the b is the outer, meaning a LAN can connect to the b LAN that is the WAN to a, but not vice versa. Even so, using a management IP of 192.168.a.X when on the b VLAN, I have proven that I can access that interface by using a fictitious b address on the outer a network. The switches, being fanless, get a little warm but certainly not hot to any level of concern about longevity. I gave them three stars because of the setup issues, the undocumented feature, and the security issues. But, they still do what I need them to do. If you want ease of setup or better security, I advise looking elsewhere.

It was quite a challenge finding a 2.5 Gb switch. This switch is great. Easy set up and worked right out of the box. I can push 2.5 Gb to anywhere in the house. Highly recommend.

So easy to set up and use. Just plugged in the cables and it works.

What can I say - it does its job and is super quick/simple to setup and use. I say setup, but since its unmanaged, setup really only refers to installation in a location and hooking up ethernet cables. I have two of these units in my system to help wire up various rooms/items in the house. One is located immediately beside the main router, with the 2nd unit being located in the living room to hardwire the main entertainment items to remove the need to rely on wireless connection. Would, and have, purchase again! Ive recommended this unit to several people as well.

I have many switches I use for NVR Video surveillance, and high end hone network testing, local backups and large file transfers. I got this as a backup but wound up using for redundancy to my network! It is managed but I use it out of the box as unmanaged and works great! Im not a huge netgear fan for routers, however their switches are first class for large scale home / small business use.. I needed tech support on a different switch that was out of warrantee but running behind this one which was covered, I was surprised at how really helpful their support was to not just help me with my one issue but providing a very quick solution for me that made sense as they really knew their stuff, just took them understanding exactly what my goal was and im very grateful they really helped me out, but this switch for the money is rock solid and would buy more, and would recommend to a friend, customer, anybody who needs an unmanaged switch or a managed one with limited options but some customization if needed, though always works right out of the box after all kinds of routers, ip addresses subnet changes, it immediately adapts and kicks right into new settings like a breeze!! Great product!

We bought this for our Starlink Satelite but it didnt solve the Star Link router problems. (not the fault of the switch)

The accompanying directions were not helpful. The connections were not marked for lan input. Just attached the input at random and the connected devices also at random and everything worked. No software or setup was needed. Not sure why there was an instruction folio.

Good basic switch.