NETGEAR 8 Port Gigabit Ethernet Managed Network Switch
NETGEAR 8 Port Gigabit Ethernet Managed Network Switch (GS308E) – Desktop or Wall Mount, Home Network Hub, Office Ethernet Splitter, Silent Operatio
Easy, Plug-and-Play Setup
Simply plug in your devices. No configuration or software required.
Energy Efficient Design Energy efficient
technology provides power savings for your home.
Trust the Networking Leader
NETGEAR is the brand of choice when it comes to home networking solutions.
 |  |  |  | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| # Gigabit Ethernet Ports | 5 x 1G | 5 x 1G | 8 x 1G | 8 x 1G |
| # PoE Ports | —- | —- | —- | —- |
| Management Type | Unmanaged | Plus | Unmanaged | Plus |
| Advanced Network Features | —- | Securely separate networks (VLAN), Prioritize bandwidth (QoS) | —- | Securely separate networks (VLAN), Prioritize bandwidth (QoS) |
| Fanless Housing | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Mounting Options | Desktop or Wall | Desktop or Wall | Desktop or Wall | Desktop or Wall |
| Weight: | 760 g |
| Dimensions: | 33 x 20 x 4 cm; 760 Grams |
| Brand: | NETGEAR |
| Model: | GS308E-100UKS |
| Batteries Included: | No |
| Manufacture: | Netgear |
| Dimensions: | 33 x 20 x 4 cm; 760 Grams |
After upgrading to full fibre my router was maxed out and I needed additional connectivity. Also, this managed switch provides more control via a web browser interface and it was as easy as plug and play!
I bought this to replace an old one in my office which was limited to 100mbps.
It was really easy to install and I now have 1gbps ethernet which is working great!
Great in combination with another unit or the 8 port version for segmenting a network with VLANs, or simply as a switch with rate limiting (so the wife’s video call, with work, still works when the kids and playing online games).
Super easy to install, and the app is very good too.
Currently im using it to connect my home server to the router and so far i havent see any dips in performance. File trasnferes as well as internet speeds remain incredibly fast and stable just as they would as being connected directly to the router. The only tiny bad thing about this switch that i have noticed is that my ping has increased by 1 – 2 ms which is to be expected but it has no effect on day to day use.
ice and easy to set up and understand. This is my first manages switch since having an unmanaged one for a few devices but it seems to work really well
I originally bought this device in order to help me sort out a problem on my network, and it did, I had an RJ45 cat 5 cable that died. Plus I am now able to add extra internet devices to my network, beyond the 4 that my router is limited to. Apart from that, the Netgear 5 Port Ethernet Switch (GS305E) is extremely easy to use, it is plug and play all the way. However, if you want extra facilities you will have to download and install the Netgear ProSAFE Plus Utility. All in all, this device lives up to it’s promised abilities.
What can be said about a switch as a replacement for a couple of 10 year old daisy chained routers when they just work. The only thing of note is the PSU brick (supplied) runs cold.
Delivery was next day and the switches are plug and play. Netgear do have configuration software but this was not required my my application.
I was looking to do some network diagnostics and this “managed” GS105E has a great facility to mirror ports, so you can get it to copy the traffic going through Port 1 over to port 2, and then plug a laptop running Wireshark into port 2 to see what’s happening to and from port 1.
In a business environment you might use a network “tap” for this but for the home user, spending an extra 5 to get the “E” version of the GS105 / 108 gives you a similar (and excellent) facility.
Netgear switches stand the test of time too. As far as I can determine the main difference between the GS105/108 and 305/308 is the warranty. I’ve never had a Netgear switch fail in my home environment and some have been running continuously for over 10 years.
Recommended
I bought 2 of these, one worked great out of the box, however one for some reason had problems letting me log in to the Web interface. It would load and let me enter a password, bit it would actually let me log in. Couple of resets later and everything worked fine, strange, could just have been me haha.
If all you need are extra LAN ports then the GS308E is terrific. Just plug it into your existing LAN and everything works. If you want to manage the switch (set up vlans etc) you have two options. The App or a simple web interface. For me the Web interface is easiest. The switch will take a local IP address from whatever gives those out on your network and you have to find that address (Angry IP Scanner is the simplest choice for finding that). The switch will be one of the devices which support port 80 (the webserver). Browse to that address, change the default password and off you go. If you don’t know what vlans are you probably shouldn’t be managing the switch, but even if you muck it up, theres a simple reset button. I cannot fault this switch and for the price, it’s a steal. If you need to provide connectivity between vlans then your upstream router needs to be able to do that. (This is after all a Layer 2 switch only). If you need a Netgear product to provide local inter vlan routing (Layer 3), then you need at least a 716 (which is more complicated to set up because it can do a whole lot more.
I’m looking forward to finding a firewall aimed at the home market for people with fibre to the home with a price which recognizes it is for the home !!
Setting up is straightforward enough, and if you wanted you could just connect this to your network and do nothing else with it. But if you’re going to do that, I’d strongly recommend you go for a cheaper unmanaged one as you’re basically paying for things you’re not using with this. As I like to keep a close eye on my network setup and plan to extend to using the VLAN functions at some point (mainly to segregate my home automation system), this was pretty much the best solution.
They’re great switches, but they aren’t the easiest to work with. One of the issues I’ve noted is that they don’t grab IP addresses from DHCP quickly enough, so they tend to go with their default IP address, which is 192.168.0.239. I don’t use a subnet which this address falls into, so it’s not a big issue, but if your network does then you may well find you’ve got an address conflict. Not ideal. And if you buy more than one, you could end up with issues. Again, I believe the unmanaged switches don’t have this issue as there’s no need for them to have an IP address, so if you’re not planning on doing anything to these then look for something else.
There is an inbuilt web interface which is used to change the various settings, from the password (hint: change this straight away!), to per-port VLAN, QoS, mirroring and a multitude of other options. The interface looks like it was designed in the mid 1990s, but it’s pretty clean and agile, so it’s not a chore to work with and once set up, you’re probably never going to look at it again. On the downside, it does miss out on some of the enhanced features of its bigger brothers (the ones with 16 or more ports), but a 5 port edge switch is hardly going to be the backbone of a complex network purely because there’s not enough ports, so this shouldn’t be a problem.
The switch is made of metal and is very sturdy. It’s finished in a deep grey colour and looks very understated and unobtrusive, with the sole exception of the oversize Netgear logo on the top. It is fanless, so it is silent in operation and it generates very little heat, being barely warmer than room temperature. It throws network packets around with aplomb and despite being three hops from the router, there’s virtually no slowing down of the data rate.
The only problem I have with this switch is that I should probably have got the 8 port one instead, as I’ve filled this one already. But aside from my own lack of foresight, this was a very worthwhile purchase.