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General discussion

In search of a switch that meets the following requirnments.

Sep 13, 2008 12:26PM PDT

Hi All,
I'd be grateful for a recommendation for a switch that meets the following conditions.

* 8 Ports minimum (preferably 8 ports but, additional ports are OK)
* Unmanaged (if 8 ports) Managed (if more than 8 ports)
* No Fan
* Cannot be Netgear. (why not Netgear? b/c F-Netgear, that's why)
* 10/100/1000 Gigabit speed
* Preferably front loading ports (not a requirement just a preference)
* 100% Guaranteed that it works in mixed-mode. Meaning, two computers with gigabit nic cards can communicate with each other at gigabit speeds while a third computer with 100 mbps nic card is also connected and active on the switch.

What does it actually mean when a manufacturer advertises "works in mixed mode"? Does that simply mean the switch still "works"?... yet all connected devices are as slow as the slowest nic card (100 mbps)? OR does that mean two computers with gigabit nic cards can communicate with each other at gigabit speeds while a third computer with 100 mbps nic card is also connected to the switch?

The new Linksys switches I found have fans.
I was looking at the DGS-2208 however, I heard conflicting reports with regards to mixed mode.
Then I started looking at Asus's GigaX 1105.. but I'm not really sure about ASUS switches.

Thank you in advance for your help,
-J

Discussion is locked

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So why not 3com or Cisco?
Sep 13, 2008 12:27PM PDT

It sounds like you want to move away from consumer gear.

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consumer or commercial... doesn't matter to me.
Sep 13, 2008 1:04PM PDT

consumer gear or commercial gear, it doesn't matter to me so long as it meets the requirements. Can you make a specific recommendation?
Do you know if connection downgrade is common amongst all switches?

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Sorry no.
Sep 14, 2008 2:52AM PDT

Here's why. It's a big world and you may be in Canada or Australia. What's here may not be there. You can hit the 3com or other sites to find the right gear. 3com and the other have great manuals on their products and the "switched" hubs they offer do let two machines do as you note just fine. I see no reason to find them but wanted to share that the commercial gear is likely to be the solution.
Bob