Tag: Netgear GS108PP Power Over Ethernet Gigabit switch

Articles – From the horse’s mouth

The NETGEAR GS108PP switch is able to run with different power supplies to offer different Power-Over-Ethernet power budgets

NETGEAR

NETGEAR LAUNCHES INDUSTRY’S FIRST UNMANAGED SWITCH WITH FLEXIBLE POWER OVER ETHERNET OPTIONS {Press Release)

Flexible PoE Switch with Power Upgrade Options {Blog Post}

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Previous Coverage

NETGEAR offers an affordable 8-port Gigabit unmanaged switch with Power Over Ethernet Plus on all ports

My Comments

I had previously written up about the NETGEAR GS108PP 8-port Gigabit Ethernet switch with Power Over Ethernet Plus available on all ports as an example of this company offering an Ethernet switch with desirable features at a price that would be seen to be reasonable for small-network applications. Here, it was about each of the eight ports being “powered” to the Power-Over-Ethernet-Plus (802.3at) standard rather than half of the ports, something that was happening with affordable “few port” Power-Over-Ethernet gear that was fit for small networks.

At the time of the previous article, MWAVE, an independent online computer-parts reseller, offered this device to the Australian market for AUD$169 tax inclusive before shipping, but now this price has dropped to AUD$155 tax inclusive.

It is part of a family of 8-port and 16-port Gigabit Ethernet switches with Power Over Ethernet Plus power-supply on all ports that NETGEAR has taken an interesting approach with the overall power budget that these devices could offer.

Here, they offer different power budgets for the GS108LP / GS108PP (8 port) and GS116LP / GS116PP (16 ports) by packaging different power supplies with the different units so these have a different power budget depending on what you buy. They also offer a range of power adaptors with the same voltage (54VDC) but with different current outputs that are available through the aftermarket.

NETGEAR has established this arrangement to allow a network installer to buy an Ethernet switch with a Power-Over-Ethernet power budget that is “right-sized” for the user’s current needs. Then if these need change, they can upgrade the power supply to answer these newer needs.

This could suit a reality with installations where you are running one or two Power-Over-Ethernet devices to see how you go with this new idea. It may include you upgrading an older device powered by its own “wall-wart” to a simplified Power-Over-Ethernet setup thanks to an active splitter box. Then you decide to add on more Power-Over-Ethernet devices or upgrade extant devices to those with better capabilities while giving them the same kind of treatment as a typical fridge or TV – “bumping” the older unit down to a secondary role in the installation.

Here, you simply switch out the not-so-powerful power supply with one that is more powerful when you are wanting to add more power to the installation rather than junking a perfectly-good Power-Over-Ethernet switch and replacing it with something more powerful. The NETGEAR Ethernet switch can exist in your network for a longer time, serving the higher power load, until newer needs come about such as to head towards a managed switch or something better. Typically this is a plug-and-play upgrade but you may have to flick a slider on the NETGEAR switch to allow it to work with the different power load.

Network installers who sell these switches can also find it useful to keep more of the power supplies as well as these switches so that they can “right-size” their installations through the installation’s life. It can also allow for the ability for them to retain the lower-output power supplies from an “upsized” installation to use on another lower-power-demand installation if the original power supply at that installation burnt out.

What I like about this approach that NETGEAR took with these unmanaged Power-Over-Ethernet switches is the idea of providing an upgrade path for people who own an existing unit but have different needs. It also avoids the need to throw away perfectly-working equipment just because you have a different power requirement.

As well, the NETGEAR GS108LP Power-Over-Ethernet switch could be offered at a two-figure price for people and businesses who want to get their feet wet with a Power-Over-Ethernet setup. This is especially if they are seeing the idea of using active splitters to power existing devices like access points or 5-port Ethernet switches “down the line” before going “full steam” with new devices.

From the horse’s mouth

NETGEAR GS108PP ProSafe Gigabit Unmanaged 8-port Switch with Power-Over-Ethernet Plus

NETGEAR

GS108PP 8-port Gigabit unmanaged switch with Power Over Ethernet Plus

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Special Offer

MWAVE deal on this switch for AUD$169

Related Coverage

Understanding Power Over Ethernet

My Comments

Power Over Ethenrt concept

Increasingly Power-Over-Ethernet technology is being offered as a product-differentiating feature for small-business and installer-grade Ethernet switches. This is where these switches are able to supply power to network devices using the same blue wire that connects them to the wired Ethernet network.

The feature is appealing towards Wi-Fi access points, VoIP desk telephones and IP-based videosurveillance cameras as a way to power them without having to locate a power outlet near these devices. It also provides a form of central power control for such devices such as assuring access to battery backup for a cluster of devices or to allow a managed Ethernet switch to provide programmatic power control from its user interface.

But a lot of them offer this technology to some, usually half, of the ports available on them. TrendNET previously offered to the American market an eight-port Gigabit unmanaged switch with Power-Over-Ethernet Plus on all ports for US$280 when it came out.

But NETGEAR are offering the GS108PP switch which is a similar device with Power-Over-Ethernet Plus on all eight Gigabit ports for AUD$219 recommended retail price. MWAVE, an independent online computer dealer serving the Australian market. has put downward pressure on the price of this device class offering this Netgear unit with a 123W total power budget for a street price of AUD$169. As well, this model can be mounted on a desktop or a wall thanks to keyhole slots on the side but also comes with a set of rack ears to permit installation in a standard equipment rack.

It has been something associated with NETGEAR where they have offered affordable network-infrastructure hardware fit for small networks. This was primarily in the form of highly-compact affordable five-port and eight-port Ethernet switches with the basic expectations of their era. Gradually as newer network standards came along, NETGEAR would eventually be the first to roll them in to these affordable five-port or eight-port devices. Let’s not forget that they offered managed Ethernet switches that implement Web-based management and “automatic-transmission” operation for quality-of-service management when it comes to voice or video traffic. There was even the Nighthawk S8000 Gaming and Multimedia Switch with the same abilities as one of these business-grade switches but in a housing that would please gamers or not look out of place in a home-entertainment centre.

The next step for NETGEAR to take with some of these technologies is to package and present them to appeal to home users and small businesses while making them affordable. It can also be about endorsing and supporting connectivity and management standards that permit simplified setup of Ethernet-based network infrastructure.