HANSUN Here are some considerations for you to choose the best Gigabit home switch.
Port Number
Network switches come with varying numbers of ports. The more ports the Gigabit switch has, the more devices you can connect to the network. When choosing a switch, you need to consider whether the interfaces are enough to support the future upgrade. It’s better to have a switch that has more interfaces than the actual need. For home use, a 5-port Gigabit switch or 8-port Gigabit switch is a wise choice.
Real Forwarding rate
To satisfy different demands, the Gigabit switches support up to 15Mpps, 95Mpps, and 130Mpps forwarding rate. So, users can choose one based on the required forwarding speed. However, not all the network switches can reach the forwarding rate as they have claimed. Maybe you can get a Gigabit switch with a performance test.
PoE or Not
There are various network switch types. For Gigabit switches, there are managed and unmanaged types. They also have PoE and non-PoE types. For home users who need an IP camera system, it’s a better choice to buy a managed Gigabit Ethernet switch with PoE function.
Managed or Unmanaged
There are two common types of Gigabit switches, managed and unmanaged. Which one is more suitable for home networks?
Unmanaged switches perform the simple function without any prior setup or configuration. This type of switch is typically used in smaller networks where the users don’t want to spend too much time and money. So, you can find the majority of these switches are used in home networks as people simply want to connect their devices with a simple plug-and-play way. Unmanaged switches are also a cost-efficient way for homes to get more Ethernet ports to connect the devices.
Managed switches have many advanced functions, such as VLAN, CLI, SNMP, etc. They can manage and monitor your networks. Of course, that also makes them more expensive, and you will need professionals to configure and maintain the switch. But in fact, home network doesn’t require these “fancy features”, because normally there are not much connection and network traffic to handle, and for most families, time and budget are limited.
Fanless or Not
A fanless Gigabit switch can offer a silent operating environment with a sound level of 0 dB, which is welcome in both homes and offices. If you care much about the noises caused by networking devices like switches, make sure to choose a fanless one.
