TP-Link TL-SG1008 8 Port Gigabit Switch

If you're looking to upgrade your home or other small-to-medium network switch from fastEthernet to Gigabit like I was -- and you need a multiport switch -- look no further, your search is at an end! I was not familiar at all with TP-Link prior to getting this switch, but after trying it for a few weeks I was so thoroughly impressed with its performance and value, I also went with a TP-Link WiFi/Gigabit router (TL-WR1043ND) and 5-port Gigabit switch (TL-SG1008D) to complete my upgrade. This switch is literally as plug-n-play as it gets, simply connect your network segment Cat 5e/6 cables in your desired configuration, plug it in and it just switches packets all day and night, day in and day out. I had to really think hard to come up with some Cons for this unit -- ... MoreIf you're looking to upgrade your home or other small-to-medium network switch from fastEthernet to Gigabit like I was -- and you need a multiport switch -- look no further, your search is at an end! I was not familiar at all with TP-Link prior to getting this switch, but after trying it for a few weeks I was so thoroughly impressed with its performance and value, I also went with a TP-Link WiFi/Gigabit router (TL-WR1043ND) and 5-port Gigabit switch (TL-SG1008D) to complete my upgrade. This switch is literally as plug-n-play as it gets, simply connect your network segment Cat 5e/6 cables in your desired configuration, plug it in and it just switches packets all day and night, day in and day out. I had to really think hard to come up with some Cons for this unit -- as I always try to review as objectively as possible and no device is perfect -- but this one comes as close as anything I've reviewed here on Newegg. I don't give out a lot of 5-stars, but this one is deserved. I ran a few informal data transfer tests with some ~1-3GB media files, I was getting sustained transfers on the 10/100 net of ~9-10MB/sec. With this new switch (and the other new TP-Link gear, of course,) transfers were beginning at ~75-80MB/sec and settling down to the ~36-40MB/sec sustained range. Gigabit Ethernet has a ""theoretical"" upper-limit of 125MB/sec, but you have to take into consideration things like HDD transfer rates, NIC adapter lags, network congestion, etc. Based on what I've also read about other brands/types of small-network Gigabit switches, ~30-45MB/sec sustained is fairly typical, so I'm more than happy. Based on what I've experienced so far, I would have no qualms with installing this switch for a customer. You can pay more, but you can't get much more out of an umanaged switch than this unit will deliver.

NETWORK SETUP - Network setup/topology used during testing consisted of the following: (NOTE: All connected devices were capable of gigabit communication, except for the LCD TV; all cabling used was Category 5e; the switch has remained connected to a 550VA UPS since it was initially installed; all computers were running Windows 7; server OS was Windows Server 2008 R2 x64.) - TESTING CONDITION 1: two computers with integrated gigabit NICs connected directly to the switch; no other devices connected. - TESTING CONDITION 2: normal network operation on my SOHO network, consisting of 3 wired desktop computers and 1 server, 1 gigabit router, 1 802.11n access point, 1 LCD TV, and 1 BluRay player. A networked color laser printer was connected directly to the gigabit router. ... MoreNETWORK SETUP - Network setup/topology used during testing consisted of the following: (NOTE: All connected devices were capable of gigabit communication, except for the LCD TV; all cabling used was Category 5e; the switch has remained connected to a 550VA UPS since it was initially installed; all computers were running Windows 7; server OS was Windows Server 2008 R2 x64.) - TESTING CONDITION 1: two computers with integrated gigabit NICs connected directly to the switch; no other devices connected. - TESTING CONDITION 2: normal network operation on my SOHO network, consisting of 3 wired desktop computers and 1 server, 1 gigabit router, 1 802.11n access point, 1 LCD TV, and 1 BluRay player. A networked color laser printer was connected directly to the gigabit router. - TESTING CONDITION 3: two computers connected to TP-Link switch and patched to router; another 8-port gigabit desktop switch connected to router with all of the remaining aforementioned devices connected to this second switch. Variations in how devices were connected in this topology were made to ensure testing was as thorough as possible. TESTING RESULTS (NOTE: 802.3ab/Gigabit theoretical maximum is 125MB/s) - Synthetic tests were performed using traffic simulators such as LAN Speed Test, and copying between RAM drives on two systems. These revealed that during large transfers, the switch performed as advertised at full gigabit speeds, minus overhead costs of a few MB/s. On average, synthetic tests revealed between 100MB/s and 108MB/s, close to the 112MB/s ceiling on gigabit networks once you factor in overhead costs. - Real-world tests were performed by copying large files (single or group), and large groups of small files from one system to another. Results here showed what one could expect: average transfer rates of 87MB/s for large files; much lower for the groups of small files. - Performance of this switch was as advertised, minus acceptable network overhead of about 15MB/s, in all cases where endpoint devices could actually handle the data transfers (only some of the connected computers and the server were capable of reading/writing faster than 125MB/s). - As could be expected, adding another segment (see condition 3 above) seemed to affect the real-world file copy tests slightly to the negative (overall differences were negligible and somewhat inconsistent, likely due to the number of variables in this setup). ADDENDUM - It is interesting that the switch locked up during testing, requiring a power cycle. It is worth noting that if anything, this was likely due to the sheer volume of traffic on the network, and not the varying types of traffic, as this is an unmanaged Layer 2 device. RECOMMENDATION I would recommend this switch to anyone specifically needing an affordable 8-port gigabit switch that needs to be rack- or wall-mounted. For other applications, I would probably recommend a standard desktop switch.

It's very difficult to tell in such a short review how well a switch will perform. Time is usually the factor with switches, determining how long the average lifespan of the device is. I've had very few issues with the TP-LINK TL-SG1008, and in all cases it's surpassed previous switches I've used in my home, so in its current state it's a top notch switch. Many reviews here on Newegg also complain about the size of this switch. I've seen 4-port rack-mount switches come in chassis this large, so please do not be turned off by the size. Often manufacturers use the same chassis for multiple models of switches to cut costs, which also brings down the cost for the end user. There was also a complaint for this switch being only 220v at 50Hz. The switch I received was ... MoreIt's very difficult to tell in such a short review how well a switch will perform. Time is usually the factor with switches, determining how long the average lifespan of the device is. I've had very few issues with the TP-LINK TL-SG1008, and in all cases it's surpassed previous switches I've used in my home, so in its current state it's a top notch switch. Many reviews here on Newegg also complain about the size of this switch. I've seen 4-port rack-mount switches come in chassis this large, so please do not be turned off by the size. Often manufacturers use the same chassis for multiple models of switches to cut costs, which also brings down the cost for the end user. There was also a complaint for this switch being only 220v at 50Hz. The switch I received was rated for 100-240VAC at 50/60Hz, which means it is compatible with standard NEMA 5-20 receptacles found in North American homes. I had no issues with power requirements when running this switch on either NEMA 5-20 plugs or IEC60320-C14 PDU plugs. In an environment where latency is an issue, this may not be as elegant as much more expensive enterprise-level switches, but for homes looking to upgrade the network this is perfect. I've been using this switch as the backbone to my home network. I stream HDTV and perform system backups across this switch and I have yet to hit any snags, which is more than I can say for past switches.