Need a 8 port unmanaged gigabit switch

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grogthegreat

Weaksauce
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May 11, 2011
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Hi,
Can you believe I searched and couldn't find a relevant thread?

Well I'm looking to get some small 8 port gigabit switches for under-the-desk type of situations where there might not be enough wall jacks. No need to VLANs, LACP etc. Supporting jumbo frames would be a nice to have but the main needs are dependability, little noise, and not over priced.

I know that there are a ton of options out there so what have you found to be a great switch for the money?

Thanks in advance!
 
I have a few of those TrendNet gigabit switches, as well as the 100 meg versions.
 
I have an 8-port HP ProCurve at home, probably the 1410, and it has been fantastic. Totally recommended.
 
Thanks for all the replies!
I'm surprised that out of 7 replies there are only 3 recommendations with only 2 getting more than 1 approval. That really helps me narrow things down. I'm biased towards HP switch since most of my other switches are ProCurves and I really like the 48port 2910al layer 3 ProCurves that I have in the server room.
I see that both the Netgear and the HP have lifetime warranties and are fanless which is awesome. Using provantage for the HP, and newegg for the Netgear, they are within $3 of each other. Digging a bit deeper into the specs of the two to find a difference:
Throughput: 1.48 million packets per second on the Netgear
11.9 packets per second on the HP
Latency @ 1Gb: 4 micro seconds for the Netgear
<1.2 micro seconds for the HP
The Netgear is double the HP's weight which I consider a plus for the Netgear.

I tihnk I'm going to go with the HP. The performance numbers above are much better on the HP compared to the Netgear and I have had a great experience with all the HP switches running the network. Both switches are non-blocking so in reality I don't think I would see any performance difference between the two. I will be PXE booting over this switch so the better latency and forwarding rate might end up being important.

Thanks again for all the help!
 
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Another vote for the Netgear and I wouldn't hesitate at all for the HP, but I assume it costs more. The only benefit I can see with HP is better warranty support, as in they'll overnight you a replacement switch, Netgear you might have to ship it back and wait 2 weeks... anyone use the Netgear warranty?
 
Its an unmanaged switch, quite frankly they are both very similar.

There are a lot of sucky unmanaged switches out there that will not hit full gigabit speeds, but I have had a ton of the netgear metal box series and they always deliver (cant say the same for the plastic ones, or dlink, etc.). I have only had one go bad and netgear support was easy to work with. They sent a replacement and it only took a day or two to get.

You can often find the netgear on sale, which makes the price difference between it and the HP larger.
 
I would not recomend the Netgear GS108. I have owned two of them for a couple of years (can't remember exactly how long), but both of them have died twice. The first time 2 power capicators poped on each switch, so i had to resodder on new caps. This is a known problem, as a result, it was easy to find instructions on the web. The second time just happened over thanksgiving, as both power supplies died. The router would power up, and then shutoff in a few seconds. This is also a known problem.... From the Newegg reviews, the "lifetime" warrenty does not include the power supply. Frankly, I'm done with them and when i find an HP ProCurve on sale, i'll get it (plus i would like more ports)
 
Good choice going with HP, I can't say enough about my great experiences with the 1410.

I've learned to avoid Netgear like it's going to give me Herpes. The couple of 16port switches I can't get rid of yet cause me no end of nightmares.
For one, what kind of company has rackmount network gear powered by a wall wart?
 
The HP 1400 or 1410 would be best, bar none. Everything else is a compromise.

There IS a difference between gigabit switches if you truly need gigabit speed. It's not like the Fast Ethernet switches where any of them are sufficient. The differences in quality are amplified at that level.
 
Netgear GS108 All the way.

I have been installing these for 3 years, at least 2 a week, and I have never seen one fail.
 
I am still surprised by the fact that there are really only two main recommendations. I was expecting 10 responses with 10 different answers.
That said, I've order the HP 1410 and they should arrive any day now. I'll let you guys know how I like them. I already have two 2910al Procurves and one 1810 Procurve and I've been pretty happy with them so I see no reason to move away from HP at this point. It seems that both the Netgear and the HP are great switches and I expect either would just work if I bought it. Some of the performance differences I posted earlier are significant on paper but I don't know if I'd see a difference in actual use. That would be a good test but I won't have the time or a GS108 to do it.
 
^^^ Well that's because when people find a solid product they tend to use what they know works and not branch out if they don't have to. Nothing worse in the networking environment then beta testing gear few others have used. Plus you can't beat a solid product with a wide consumer base. The technical support will be on your side.


Valnar said:
The HP 1400 or 1410 would be best, bar none. Everything else is a compromise.

There IS a difference between gigabit switches if you truly need gigabit speed. It's not like the Fast Ethernet switches where any of them are sufficient. The differences in quality are amplified at that level.
Click to expand...


Completely agree. Often times the guts of the network equipment is inferior whether intentionally done or not. This is especially true when going for managed switches where you get what you pay for. Still boggles my mind that gigabit has been around for some time and it still requires thorough testing and research to achieve the best performance you can get. Then you have to remember a lot of these devices are many years old and hardly updated with new specs to process the traffic and all the features included. Just looking at consumer wireless routers that have been around for a good 6 years you will be hard pressed to find one that comes close to 1Gbps throughput just between two ports and you're paying up to $200 for that. Not only that but they actually do update their product lines once a year. Linksys seems to be artificially capping their recent consumer products with regards to GigLAN with their E-series for anyone who reads SmallNetBuilder. Pathetic if you ask me.
 
Most consumer switches use one of a couple different chipsets that are chosen based on a price point, not performance. Netgear might be one of the better implementations, but there is little difference between them.

HP builds their own silicon and it shows. The quality is much higher.
 
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