NETGEAR GS208 8 Port Gigabit Ethernet Network Switch, Hub, Internet splitter, Desktop, Plug and Play, White

First off, this is an awesome product, totally plug and play with absolutely no configuration required whatsoever. Simply plug in your cables and off you go - it automatically detects whichever port has the connection from the router and the which one is connected to your computer or other devices, you don't have to do anything. I use mine to connect an AV receiver, Smart TV, Sky HD box and HTPC to my home network. I simply plug in the various devices to this switch and then run cable between it and my main router. Everything connected and configured automatically as soon as it was plugged in. For a stress test I streamed HD content to the Sky box over the internet, over the Smart TV and over the HTPC. I also sent two Blu-Ray rips from my NAS to the HTPC, each one averaging roughly 25 mbps. All the streams worked perfectly and the switch only got very slightly warm to the touch. A final good point - the power cable and the ethernet ports are on the SAME side of the device. Many switches have these on opposite sides with is a pain for cable management. One ANNOYING point - The older version of this switch would adjust the colour of the LED lights on the front to indicate the speed of the connection over that port. That is, if you had a 100mbps device it would turn orange whilst a 1000mbps device would turn the indicator green. This is quite handy for quickly checking the network is operating as fast as it should. This particular switch seems to simply stay green, despite the speed of the connection. I've tested it with several confirmed 100mbps devices and a green light is all you get.

I already have a GS105, which I like very much, in another part of my house and needed a switch for my AV cabinet. The GS105 has been flawless in operation for the 7 years I have had it for so Negear was an obvious first candidate for another swtich. This review is for the GS208, which is an off-white coloured compact unmanaged gigabit network switch. The device has both the electrical and network (RJ45) connections on the back (unlike the GS308) and a set of lights on the front - 9 in total, all green, with one representing power and the rest each of the ports. The lights flash reassuringly or annoyingly depending on how you look at it. I think white lights would have looked better. The AC adaptor is compact enough and has a switch on the wire to turn off power (first time I have seen this). The AC adaptor itself protudes downwards but doesn't need much clearance. The device is made of plastic (unlike the GS308 which is metal) and doesn't have any rubber feet or mounting holes - this doesn't bother me as I have no need to mount it anywhere. The device is attractive, remains cool and silent in operation, whilst neat and tidy because all the connections are at the back. I have the device currently connecting a few devices (Sonos, PS3, Sky+ HD) and connecting upstream to a homeplug. I plan to add a wifi access point, AV Receiver and possibly a HTPC - I think under the TV or on a desk you'll be hard pushed to use more than 8 ports.

This switch seems more 'reliable' than the Netgear GS605NA 5 Port unit it replaced. I had problems with the GS605 which only became apparent following its retirement on acquisition of the GS208. I suspect following many hours of use the GS605 would lock up and reset on disconnect of the upstream connection (I would power off the XAV5421 it was plugged into. I needed more connections so acquired the GS208 as a replacement. The GS208 is in use around 8 hours a day with at least 6 devices plugged into it. It seems to run cool which gives it a feeling of being well engineered. The connection indicator lights on the front don't blink in an annoyingly over bright fashion. The device just sits there doing a great job, serenely reliable, unnoticed, but loved. The extra memory and features in these units do allow for noticeably higher performance than than the GS605NA 5 Port Gigabit Ethernet Switch it replaced. I have moved terabytes of data through it without a hint of a problem. A good performance upgrade and not expensive.

This a review of the GS208 8-way gigabit ethernet switch. This review does not apply to any of the other models which this listing sees fit to lump together. This is my first time buying an ethernet switch, and so far it seems to work great. My only problem is that with so many cables dragging on it the thing won't stay put. So the obvious thing was to bolt it onto the wall, which is when you discover that it has no wall mounting holes. Happily there's a very good solution: use a spudger to pop the gray base off, and you'll find two hollow pillars in the base which are perfect drill guides to drill out two holes. Then reduce the height of the pillars slightly with a counter sink , don't overdo it, 1mm off is about right. Use the holes to mount the base on the wall (use wallplugs), cover screwheads with tape to prevent a short, and then the main body of the switch clicks right on. Very neat, and very strong! Now I just need a way to tidy up the cables themselves...

NOTE: This is a review of the GS 208 with white plastic housing, Ethernet ports at the BACK, LEDs at the FRONT. The GS 3XX series are also on this page and have grey metal housings, Ethernet ports at the FRONT along with the LEDs. A very easy, great value gigabit upgrade for a home network, or to connect AV boxes etc. No configuration, no `correct' broadband port, no setup. I just plugged my networked devices into any of the 8 ports and they communicated instantly. That includes desktops, laptop, a hardware firewall and a broadband modem beyond it. Each PC immediately `found' each other AND the broadband through the firewall with no IP address changes required. Obviously the switch is much faster than any broadband, so the network speed really shows for streaming and file transfers within your own network. Across a 30m long Cat 5e cable I got 350-400 Mbps and that was with an old PC at one end. With a new hard drive installed speeds rose to ~ 500Mbps. The switch is very compact and neat, all the Ethernet sockets and power socket at the rear with green power and connection LEDs along the front. The LEDs flicker to show data transfer but they DON'T indicate the speed of each connection (100/1000 Mbps) by a colour change, so you may need to check your other hardware and cables to make sure you're getting gigabit speed where you should. I found a network surge protector that was dropping a connection to 100 Mbps level, but I had to look at the PC to find this. And check you don't still have any old Cat 5 (pre - 5e) cables in your network or you won't get high speeds. The unit only gets slightly warm when busy, it says 3.64W is the maximum power and it meets the IEEE standard for energy efficiency. This cool running means there's no need for vent slots which is good if you want to put it in the sort of dusty places routers and switches often end up in - but it's small and neat enough to stay out on the desk or among your AV boxes. UPDATE: Jan 2016: Almost two years later, still working perfectly.

Purchased to upgrade network in house and to expand my newly purchased Sky Q Hub (which has gigabit ports, but instead of 4 ports now has only two). I order two of these and they arrived in minimal packing from Netgear. They come will just a small power adapter and the switch- no Ethernet cables, so just consider that when ordering. Connected one switch to the rear of the sky hub and the other switch in my sons' room in the loft. Transfer speeds greatly improved over Ethernet compare to the previous 100m switches that were used. My son has an xbox one, xbox 360,smart tv and game pc connected to his switch and there have been no issues. The switch connected via the Sky Q hub has a QNAP nas , sky 2tb box,HP officejet , smart tv and my laptop connected via Ethernet and the switch plods away without issue- I can transfer large files from my laptop to the NAS without issue and considerable quicker than before. I have used Netgear equipment for years and they are the right balance of performance and pricing for me- construction is all plastic on this model (GS208), but not really an issue as it is really "connect and forget". One point is that this model (GS208) is NOT wall mountable- the reviews are often aggregated with various other models/variants . All in all, a cheap and functional upgrade to any home network. Highly recommended.

I like Netgear's metal-bodied products. They have always been very reliable and well-built. I decided to try this one instead as (at the time of purchase) it was priced at just under half of what the equivalent metal version was going for. The switch is nice and compact (smaller than expected), runs quietly and is, as expected, a significant and easy upgrade to any 10/100Mbps network. The plastic-bodied version has a design that is more suited to home environments (e.g. to sit on a desk top) since the activity lights are on the front and the power cable is on the rear, with the RJ-45 ports. My only complaint is that the sides of the switch are tapered, meaning it is not well-suited to being stood on its side - unlike many other similar switches. It will stand (with a full set of cables connected, at least) but it leans over slightly. The aesthetic appeal gained from the taper is minor, and not worth this small sacrifice in my opinion. Never mind.

This was my first switch bought for a simple cabled home network. After lots of research, I decided this was the one to get. I have no regrets. I like that all the ports including power are at the rear of the device helping to keep cables tidy. The lights on the front flash quite brightly (in green only) to show activity. My switch currently supports 5 devices, all of which perform as expected through the switch. My only small niggle is that more cables attached to the device causes it to get pulled out of position and easily float around on a desktop or shelf. Some light fixing may be needed to hold it in place if that's important to you. The unit comes with a power adaptor. The switch has remained cool for me when driven quite hard. All in all, a great buy and if I remember correctly, 30 days free support not that you'll need it as setup and operation is so simple. Highly reccomended