Network Switch Roundup

The first product is D-Link's DS-8+. This is the smallest 8-port switch we tested. At only about 6 ¾ inches wide by 3 7/8 inches deep and 1 inch high, it is almost exactly the same size as the Netgear 5-port product. The diminutive metal case holds an LED display which is very well laid-out. It also contains a very small, and very quiet, cooling fan on the left side, which keeps the DS-8+ from getting the least bit warm, even when left on 7x24. The ports are on the back of the switch, allowing the LED display to take up the entire front panel which, along with the brightness of the LEDs themselves, makes the switch's display very easy to read.

The tiny DS8+ gets high marks right away for being so small (8-port, 100tx switching that literally fits in a jacket pocket or a ladies' purse), and for having a street price of about $119.99.

Features

• Store and Forward switching scheme ensures data integrity
• Auto-polarity feature corrects reversed polarity on the transmit and receive twisted-pairs for each port
• 100% full wire speed data forwarding for 100Mbps Fast Ethernet (148,880 pps) and 10 Mbps Ethernet (14880 pps) on all ports
• 1.6 gigabit per second aggregate bandwidth supporting full-duplex Fast Ethernet connections on every port.
• Data filtering eliminates all bad packets (CRC Align errors, runts, fragments, etc.) at 100% wire speed for all ports
• 1K active MAC address entries with self-learning and table aging
• 1 MB memory with dynamic port buffering reduces lost packets
• Number of Ports: 8
• 10Mb or 100Mb NWAY auto-negotiation on all 8 ports
• All ports RJ-45
• 10Mb connections support Cat. 3, 4, 5 UTP or STP cabling
• 100Mb connections support Cat. 5 UTP or STP cabling
• IEEE 802.3 10Base-T Ethernet
• IEEE 802.3u 100Base-TX Class II Fast Ethernet repeater
• IEEE 802.3.1d
• Duplex: Half or Full per port
• Protocol: CSMA/CD
• Partitioning: Automatic for each port
• Uplink Port: MDI-II RJ-45 shared with port 1
• LED's Per Port: Link/Rx, auto-partition and port speed (10/100Mbps)
• LED's Per Device: Power, Collision (10/100Mbps)
• Operating Temperature: -10 degrees to 55 degrees C (14 degrees to 131 degrees F)
• Humidity: 5% to 95% non-condensing
• Classification: FCC Class A, CE Mark, VCCI Class A, CSA 950, UL 1950, C-Tick, TUV/GS