TL-SG608E Managed Network Switch, 8-port Ethernet Splitter, Gigabit High-speed, Plug & Play, Network Monitoring Through Web, Desktop/Wall Mount, QoS VLAN IGMP Snooping, Fanless Metal Design

This managed switch impressed me from the start. When it arrived I was most pleased with both the weight of the unit, with built in power supply, and the all metal casing. It just oozed quality. This review will be focussed on the POE aspect of the switch, it providing a maximum of a 150w via POE. Please see my photos. The array of lights that are on the front of the switch are useful, they can be disabled within the UI, but are wasted for myself as the switch will be managed remotely. You might need to install the Easy Smart Configuration Utility v1.3.19.0, available from TP-Link, to discover the switch on you LAN, see photo. Or, since it is set to use DHCP at the start, just look for it within your connected network devices. When accessing the UI I noted the hardware revision, 5.2, and I'm using the latest firmware. As mentioned I am using this unit principally for the POE function and have six 4k / HD CCTV IP cameras connected. The fan on the unit seems to run continuously, regardless of load. Sad really, as during light power loading it could have been much quieter if the fans use would have been load related in its use. It is not loud at all, but it is noticeable. There are options to ping your POE attached devices, if they do not respond then the port can be rebooted automatically. The cable length can be measured and extended up to 250m, but at a reduced throughput. Individual power usage across each port can be seen, and overall power usage across them all. Limiting power and setting priorities is possible. The UI is easy to navigate and use. The functions are well presented and easily accessible. I have looked at the VLAN options and they seem well enabled. I have contacted their customer service, TP-Link, with both live chat and email, they responded very quickly and were most helpful with my firmware query. Overall I would very much recommend this product, based on my own POE needs. Two minor quibbles.......The fan, as noted, is not loud but to have it working on load rather than constant would have been nice. Secondly, the cluster of Ethernet ports are very tightly compacted together. Not a major issue, but one where it can be tight to access and plug in your devices. Very happy with the switch and pleased with its functions and cost. Very much recommended. I hope this has been helpful.

TP-Link TL-SG1016PE: It is easy to see how TP-link has gained such a star reputation recently with its networking products. It is not just well made and reliable, it is also the correct estimation of functionality and price that people really want. You can just plug it in and go, and no configuration is needed, it jsut works well. I like the lights on the front showing operation, speed and PoE status of each port, or perhaps I just like flashing lights :) This is known as a smart switch. It is midway between an unmanaged switch and a managed switch. The half way is that it gives you a web interface allowing traffic monitoring, ip setting, LED control, config backup, firmware update, port speed/duplex, link and flow control. It also allows IGMP snooping, LAG groups, stats monitoring, port mirror, cable tests, loop; prevention, vlan control (MTU, Port based, 802.1Q VLAN and PVID), Qos bandwidth, basic and storm control and of course it is PoE. 8 of the 16 ports can be used for power over ethernet up to a total of 150w. A tip for those who are plugging it into a router (e.g. a sky router you have for your broadband). The TP-link switch defaults as 192.168.0.1, so this will conflict with pretty much all routers, and you wont be able to use the web interface. To make mine work, I changed the sky router to an IP address of 192.168.0.254 and set 1-253 as DHCP controlled. Now here is the last but important bit, you need to reserve the address 192.168.0.1 on the router (using address reservation) and make sure you know the mac address (can be found under the case). Once this has all been done and the router has rebooted a few times, you will now be able to see the web interface but only from any PC plugged into the switch directly, by typing 192.168.0.1. Note that you will not be able to see the web interface from any PC plugged into the router's ethernet sockets. Lastly, remember to turn on the MLD querier option in the router, to make sure the switch connections are seamless with the routers own connections. Of course, you dont need to bother with this paragraph if you cant be bothered seeing the web interface ;)

The TL-SG605E is a solid smart switch for small networks. Plug-and-play setup, with simple web interface for VLANs, QoS, and monitoring. Speeds are consistent, and it runs cool and quiet. Great value for home or small office use.

I needed a small switch to extend one port from a TP-Link Wi-Fi extender to several devices; a 3D Printer, a laptop [used for gaming and not always plugged in here] and an existing switch that handles other devices. I bought this switch as I often use TP-Link products when setting up, adding to or upgrading network systems - something I have done as a hobbyist and semi-professionally for some years. Furthermore, I tell family, friends and some business contacts to use TP-Link as they are reliable and well priced. Sorry! I need to make a bit of a long post. It is relevant! I include some work around info for larger networks / experienced users. I will list some points about this switch; All in all, this is a very good, well priced and easy to use switch. Likes - Very sturdy metal boxing, very good speeds when properly set up, easy to use web based configuration tool, well priced and small footprint - less space used is good. The switch also works 'out of the box' on smaller networks [see below]. Dislikes - It is hard to dislike this switch, but I will say that the bigger, more complex your network, the more likely you are to need to do some configuration work [see below]. I have to praise TP-Link customer services. The first switch I initially bought was defective. This was confirmed by me doing some tests at the request of TP-Link customer services - all of which were very well documented / pointed out by TP-Link customer services and, for me, easy to follow. After a couple of days and a few e-mails, we concluded that the initial switch was defective. I was advised to get a replacement from the retailer as this would be quicker - the new switch arrived the next day. When I got the new replacement switch [via Amazon returns] it worked much better than the previous one. When I set up the switch between my router and one laptop, it worked 'out of the box' - this is excellent for smaller networks! My home network is a bit more complex though as it has router > power-line, Wi-Fi and standard network cabling [won't bore you with ratings etc]. My network has power-line adapters, two Wi-Fi extenders and a few switches. ** For smaller networks - you need read no further, as the switch will likely work for you 'out of the box'. ** This next part I include for those with larger networks and show two fairly easy work-rounds that got the switch working as needed, and excellently at that. I say fairly easy, but both are not for beginners [unless you want to learn as you go] and I recommend you at least have an entry level in networking to proceed or get help from someone with such experience. When set up from router > Wi-Fi extender [wireless] > this switch [wired] > laptop [wired] problems happened. I must stress that the replacement switch worked much better from the get-go than the returned one. The main issues were; Note: Wi-Fi extender > switch uses [physical] port one [1] of switch - this works best. Note: Remember to save changes as you go. 1; Possible conflict relating to DCHP on router and on switch with solution: - Go into router configuration and find the switch [connected devices] and make a note of its given IP address - this may be useful later - Disable DCHP in the switch and set a static IP address [can be one you took note of] for the switch to use - via the switch web based configuration tool. - In the router web based configuration tool [will vary per router] set the chosen static IP for the switch, so the switch always uses that IP address. - Turn off all network switches / extenders and router, then restart all network equipment - starting with router and progressing in order, allowing time as needed for each device to start up. This ensures router and switch do not conflict. [experienced users may disagree with this approach- but it works]. 2; Possible shut down of in use [physical] port by switch 'Loop Prevention Setting' with solution; Note: This was preventing some websites from loading and preventing any speed test sites from proper operation - they would get to a couple of percent marks, then 'hang'. Also, some games would 'hang' before this was altered. - In switch web based configuration tool, DISABLE 'Loop Prevention'. [I can hear some of the professionals screaming already]. I'm not even going to try to explain loop prevention and why it should or should not be used - web browsing is your friend [or fiend]. All I will say is that on my network, in the configuration needed there were problems as noted already, and it seemed like a loop was effectively closing a port [physical - to laptop] down then the port was re-opened some minutes later. By setting loop prevention to disabled, all the issues went away, and my network is working very well now. My education [and some work experiences] was largely in computing, but I did not specialise in networking. I include these steps only as an indication of how I got my network to perform as expected. Your results may vary. Change settings at your own risk. Get in a professional if needed.

Very good easy to set up

Small, smart looking, good quality and manages everything I am putting through it which is a lot. The speed coming through it is top notch with zero drop out

Top quality product. No issues what so ever.

Bought back in March this year after my previous Netgear switch failed suddenly after around 15 years of service. I have a very annoying habit of convincing myself against a purchase based on a minority of reviews highlighting negative points, so I did spend about a week going back and forth through my shortlist consisting of this, another TP-Link model, and a Netgear one while having a mess of smaller switches running my network temporarily. Eventually I settled on this one, the TL-SG1016PE - and glad I did. It has served me well since installing 10 months ago, and think it has pretty much 10 months uptime at this point - never had to restart it for any reason. The PoE+ capability is a plus... Luckily I never needed that extra power before with my previous switch, but since getting this one, a new PoE device I have required PoE+ power, and this switch can run it flawlessly. Currently, the switch is only powering 3 IP phones and an access point, plus the occasional extra device or two while I'm configuring or testing other devices. The 3 phones and AP are reported to total about 12w of power - meaning there is around 90% PoE budget left for remaining 4 PoE ports - so plenty of PoE budget for most homes or small offices across the 8 PoE ports for the usual devices (phones / APs / Cameras etc.). Rack mountable was a must for me, as my network ports all come into a patch panel in a small rack. The switch comes with included rack ears which screw to the switch and mount in the rack in the usual way, however without the rack ears, the switch is no wider than necessary for its ports and indicators - the extra width to fit in the rack is provided by extended ears. If I recall correctly, it came with little rubber feet to stick on the bottom if using in a desktop configuration. Setup is easy - essentially plug and play. You can power it up and connect your devices and be using it immediately, however while not a fully managed switch, it has a web based management interface for configuring basic options and viewing information about the switch. The interface is self explanatory and can configure all the essentials for a small network such as VLAN options, PoE options such as power limits, priorities etc and QoS. It also has loop prevention which while unlikely to be necessary on a small home network, is a useful feature for office networks where users may inadvertently cause a loop. One of the things I was looking in reviews for was feedback on the sound level. It is quite uncommon for a PoE switch with this many ports to be cooled passively, so it was more a question of how loud the fan is going to be on the model I chose. My last switch was far from the loudest I've ever used, but while tolerable it most certainly wasn't quiet, but I've used switches in the past that literally sound like a jumbo jet warming up in the corner of the room during normal operation. Fine for in a server room but not at home. I note some of the reviews on this model do make a point of mentioning the sound level and making this switch sound particularly loud - but as someone who has worked with many switches, this is easily the quietest one I have ever used with active cooling. It is whisper quiet - quieter than even my laptop, so while maybe not suitable for a bedroom if you like to sleep in absolute silence, it is perfectly acceptable in an office, computer room, sitting room etc. as any other noise in the room easily drowns out the noise of the switch in normal use. I have included a video taken early morning from right after installing it in my rack and powering it up. It really is whisper quiet, and you can very clearly hear the birds through the closed window over the minimal noise of the switch. Sitting here writing this review now with it in the rack behind me, I can only hear the fan of my PC, I cannot hear the switch at all - at least not to pick out as being the sound of the switch. I certainly wouldn't hesitate to purchase another one of these if I needed one and budget allowed - so if the specs of this switch meet your need and it is within your budget, then I would say go for it!