Looking for stable 8 port unmanaged switch

[RogerSC]

I have an eero, which has only 2 ethernet ports per node. Run out of those pretty quick *smile*. I started with a 5-port Netgear unmanaged switch, which is still working fine with no problems. But needed more ports by the gateway eero node. So the 5-port switch went to the upstairs TV where there's a bunch of associated hardware.

Got the 8-port Netgear switch (GS208) that seemed to be working fine at first. Then I noticed that occasionally I needed to reboot it (???) since it lost connectivity sometimes. The network switch is the last thing that I think of when things go wrong, so you can imagine how much time I've spent with it sandbagging me.

Looking for recommendations for a stable 8-port unmanaged network switch. Preferably with the ports on the back of the switch and lights on the front, but that's not critical. One that I won't have to worry about it getting wonky and rebooting would be a gift.

Thanks!

 

[coxhaus]

We just did this.

https://www.snbforums.com/threads/l...s-with-ports-on-the-back-for-a-desktop.55999/

 

[RogerSC]

Thanks, but I need a really dumb, unmanaged switch. No features, no poe, just a simple, unmanaged switch *smile*. Hoping for something reliable, though...

Do appreciate it.

 

[MichaelCG]

I have never needed to reboot any of my unmanaged switches.....ever.....I have used a wide variety of them over the years. All of them were under $40 from all kinds of vendors from Netgear, Monoprice, TP-Link, and a few others. Guessing you just got a bad one.

If you really do want just small and dumb, just go to your local MicroCenter, Fry's, or online to Amazon or Monoprice and pick up the $20 8-port special of the week.

 

[RogerSC]

Our network was down this morning in the same way that it has been recently. Power-cycled the network switch, and everything came up again. Pretty much verifies what I've been seeing, this variety of switches (Netgear GS208) is just plain flaky. Either that or a bad run of hardware...With the eero, I don't have a log or much monitoring capability, to find out what the router saw. Love the eeros, but this particular thing about them made it take me a while to figure out what was going on. A simple network switch is about the last place that one looks for problems, I was even replacing cables before I looked at the switch. Kind of like how you find something in the last place you look *smile*.

I have ordered a new TP-Link switch to see if I can't get something stable. Ports are in the front with the TP-Link *smile*, but you can't have everything.

By the way, we don't have a local anything here. The closest thing is Best Buy, and it's about a 40-minute round trip in good traffic, plus time in the store. In bad traffic, like on a Friday (today), it can take a couple of hours. So Amazon is the easiest path, and I'll be power-cycling the switch when necessary until tomorrow.

 

[L&LD]

Our network was down this morning in the same way that it has been recently. Power-cycled the network switch, and everything came up again. Pretty much verifies what I've been seeing, this variety of switches (Netgear GS208) is just plain flaky. Either that or a bad run of hardware...With the eero, I don't have a log or much monitoring capability, to find out what the router saw. Love the eeros, but this particular thing about them made it take me a while to figure out what was going on. A simple network switch is about the last place that one looks for problems, I was even replacing cables before I looked at the switch. Kind of like how you find something in the last place you look *smile*.

I have ordered a new TP-Link switch to see if I can't get something stable. Ports are in the front with the TP-Link *smile*, but you can't have everything.

Yes, this is not normal having to reboot a switch.

Do you have a quality UPS on your network infrastructure, including the switches? That may help or even solve this issue for you. Even if it doesn't, I still recommend this approach to help prevent damage and other random glitches from surges and/or brownouts.

 

[RogerSC]

Yes, this is not normal having to reboot a switch.

Do you have a quality UPS on your network infrastructure, including the switches? That may help or even solve this issue for you. Even if it doesn't, I still recommend this approach to help prevent damage and other random glitches from surges and/or brownouts.

Yes, all my network infra-structure components are on UPS. Have been doing this for years, and I agree, has saved me from problems from casual brown-outs and power outages. I also recommend this to others *smile*.

 

[L&LD]

A further suggestion before buying a new switch.

I would physically power down and remove all Ethernet, power and USB cables from all network equipment including the router and modem and from the wall sockets too. Leave as long as possible like this, but at least 10 minutes.

After this powered down and totally disconnected period,

• Plug in the modem/ONT, wait for at least 5 minutes for it to fully boot up.
• Connect the WAN Ethernet cable to the router from the modem/WAN.
  
• Plug in the router and wait for at least 5 minutes for it to boot up.
• Connect the Ethernet cables in use to the router and to any switches (only these, for now).
• Power up the switches and wait a couple of minutes (longer for 'smart' switches).
• Now, plug in the Ethernet cables for the rest of your wired devices between the switches and each wired client device and power them up too.

If this was an issue of static electricity, the voltage difference between different equipment or similar related issues, this should help.

 

[coxhaus]

I read this thread and reads like a TP-Link commercial. Especially since we just covered buying an 8 port switch in the tread under this one. Good luck in getting new software in a couple of years for your TP-Link.

 

[CaptainSTX]

Good luck in getting new software in a couple of years for your TP-Link.

If an unmanaged switch works out of the box what purpose does new software offer in the future? I don't believe that I even have the option to update the software on my TP-Link unmanaged switches as I believe the switch is flashed with firmware. Even if I could at $25 for an unmanaged eight port switch if after three years you have to change it out for the latest and greatest new switch so be it.

I agree that for a smart switch a software update might have some value but again at $35 if some revolutionary new feature becomes available it isn't that painful to replace equipment.

 

[RogerSC]

The TP-Link switch has been working fine as a dumb switch. If it continues to work this well for the next two years, I'll be happy. Don't expect it to be upgraded in the future. My home network has become stable and reliable, no problems. Returned the Netgear switch. Too bad, Netgear seems to be losing it in at least some areas.

 

[RogerSC]

I should explain how this ended up. The TP-Link switch did the same thing as the Netgear switch after a month or so. So I decided that it wasn't the switch that was causing the problem per-se *smile*. Assessed the clients that were connected to the switch, and disconnected a couple that could have been problematic. Put those clients on wifi, and they're doing fine, of course. Also replaced some older cables, and now things have been stable for some time. All of my cables are essentially new or "new enough" now. I'm not sure exactly what turned the trick, since I did all these things within a short period of time instead of doing one thing, waiting a month, and then doing the next.

Anyways, things seem pretty stable at the moment. I feel like I've taken care of the problem. Time will tell, but no failures so far. I'm curious about going back to the Netgear switch to see how it does now, but not that curious *smile*. May do that if the current configuration proves to be stable for a couple more months. Only about a month so far, but I'm starting to believe that things are fixed *smile*.

 

[DonTC]

I should explain how this ended up. The TP-Link switch did the same thing as the Netgear switch after a month or so. So I decided that it wasn't the switch that was causing the problem per-se *smile*. Assessed the clients that were connected to the switch, and disconnected a couple that could have been problematic. Put those clients on wifi, and they're doing fine, of course. Also replaced some older cables, and now things have been stable for some time. All of my cables are essentially new or "new enough" now. I'm not sure exactly what turned the trick, since I did all these things within a short period of time instead of doing one thing, waiting a month, and then doing the next.

Anyways, things seem pretty stable at the moment. I feel like I've taken care of the problem. Time will tell, but no failures so far. I'm curious about going back to the Netgear switch to see how it does now, but not that curious *smile*. May do that if the current configuration proves to be stable for a couple more months. Only about a month so far, but I'm starting to believe that things are fixed *smile*.

Thanks for the update. I would suggest cabling was the issue, but something may have changed in your environment that might require shielded cable for one or more runs. This might help:
https://www.truecable.com/blogs/cable-academy/shielded-vs-unshielded-cable