Port Mirroring in cheap gigE switches

[stevech]

Confused about specs on whether port mirroring is supported in newer "green" low power switches...

Older ones such as the $50 5-port gigE, explicitly say Port Mirroring is supported, though the management UI for that seems to require Adobe Air. (Yikes).

Newer 5 and 8 port, $75 or less, say "supports network monitoring" and VLAN and doesn't explicitly say Port Mirroring. Also, seems to say they no longer use Adobe Air but rather, perhaps? their own Windows software (no HTTP in the cheap switch).

For Netgear's products, mirroring may be only in the "ProSafe PLUS" products?

What's a good choice for a cheap switch with port mirroring that can be turned on/off as needed?

EDIT: I came across this list (don't know how dated it is .. Some new switches aren't on the web site so it may be old)...
http://www.miarec.com/knowledge/switches-port-mirroring#tp-link

 

[thiggins]

"Green" isn't an indication of managed switch features.

NETGEAR's ProSafe Plus line are a step down from their "smart" switches. But, yes, they do support mirroring. See NETGEAR GS105E Briefly Reviewed

 

[stevech]

Thanks. Will read.
(Re "green" - for sure... I just meant that the newer switches promoted "green", in that they power down unused ports, etc. I bought two "Gen-1" gigE consumer switches (D-Link and Linksys), both got really, really hot, both failed with power supply/capacitor problems in short order.

Newer lower power gigE switches I have now seem long lasting. I have two Fry's store brand (said to be D-Link), and Netgear.

Looking for one with port-mirroring so I can use Wireshark to eavesdrop on weird LAN devices I work with.

 

[stevech]

On Amazon, owners of the Netgear GS105E complained about a bad fault in 2010. I wonder if this is fixed:

The device has a serious design flaw as confirmed with NETGEAR tech support. They indicate a firmware patch will fix the problem. They've known about the problem for several months and still no patch. The problem is that when you ping any device on your LAN segment the GS105E will erroneously send a response. Thus you get two responses. One real the intended device and one from the GS105E. For my network management station it accepts the first response it receives and causes all kinds of confusion on the network. I cant tell who is alive and who is not.

 

[stevech]

Bought GS108E on eBay ($50).
Port mirroring works.

Happy camper.