Customer Reviews

NETGEAR FS608 8-Port Fast Ethernet Switch

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

As others say, the device is small and easy on the eyes. I express caution with regard to critical purposes such as servers and IP telephony; we have experienced some weird problems with this. We have three (Netgear FS608 v2) in two locations; two connected to a 24 port Dell switch and the third I think connects to a Cisco 3524. They may intermittently refuse to forward frames from just one source to just one destination while allowing frames from that same source to other destination, weird stuff like that. Reset takes a power cycle OR just unplug the uplink cable and reconnect. It's a real nuisance if it means you have to drive to work on a weekend or an IP telephone call goes "blip" into la-la land. I'm sure they have a limitation on the size of the MAC address cache but I have not so far researched it. <b>Beware using little switches on big networks!</b> (That sounds like a grade b movie title!)

I purchased 3 of these to replace some TRENDnets that weren't compatible with my network. These worked perfectly and they're even quite nice looking! I used these on an old 10BaseT network, so they're plenty fast - I would think that even for a 100BaseT network these would be hard to beat for function and affordability. The only thing I don't like is the mail-in rebate part - I hate mail-in rebates and try to avoid them whenever possible. Companies use them to take advantage of their customers - they're a free source of money for them and they know only about half of deserving customers will go through the rigmarole to send everything in and wait forever for their money. While that spoils the purchase process, it doesn't change the fact that these are great switches.

I really can't say much more than the product works as advertised. I needed more ports and plugged this switch into a wireless router that I already had. I didn't have to do anything but plug in the power and plug in an ethernet cable. It couldn't have been any easier.

I've had it for a month. It does what it should. No problems easy to set up. What I like is the tiny size compare to the previous generation of switches.

I was not really a fan of the Netgear, however after the last purchase I may become one.
I had an older Linksys 8-port router that worked great for a few years, however after the last storm it stopped working.
So I replaced it with a new D-Link router which died just a couple of weeks later.
So back to the store, and I got a Netgear Wireless router with a 4-port built in switch (WGR 614) and this 8 port switch, the FS-608 to expand the ports to accommodate all my wired rooms, network printer, backup drive etc
The switch itself works great and was very easy to install
In fact I would not call it truly installing it as you just plug the cables in any order, and it just works
The fact that it looks exactly the same like the router just makes it so much better
So far as speed, I am doing quite a bit of e-mailing of large files, printing, run multimedia music and videos, and do backup of large files, all over the network, kids are playing video games on line, and I notice no slow down or any kind of problems with it.
Also I asked my children (one teenage one in her 20-s) to come and listen to it, and no one can hear any noise
To those who are complaining about problems on cascading the switches, in office environment, may I make a note:
When I bought this switch, there were about 20 other kind of switches at prices between $15 to over $200. At one end were no name cheap plastic boxes so light that seemed empty, and at the other end were steel boxes made for rack connection for office applications.
I am pretty sure there is got to be a difference between them and a good reason that our company uses rack type switches and routers, and I would too if I could afford them. So if your company is so cheap that they use home office equipment to run a business, then I guess you will have to live with it, and go weekends to reset the switch/routers.
But for my house looks like this combination of 8 port switch and 4 port router with wireless, works great.

The FS608 I received from Amazon was not the older larger model pictured (to my great relief, since I am tight on space). The new model looks almost the same but now it's only 16 cm wide x 9 cm deep--as though they put it in a shrinking machine. It doesn't weigh 3 kg, either!

It did not include the stand described in the earliest review from 2002.

What can I say, this is one stylish switch! Looks sweet. I purchased it for LAN parties at my house and I have to say that I am not the least bit disappointed. The unit itself is very handsome and very well built. Truly plug and play with newer OS's like Windows 2000 and Windows XP...no software setup required whatsoever. When I use it, I usually have 4 computers hooked up to it (there are a total of 8 ports, so 8 computers for LAN only, 7 for LAN + Net) and then one of the ports acts as the uplink/downlink to my SMC Barricade via a 100 ft. CAT 5e cable and then the SMC Barricade connects to my RCA Cable modem. Again, nothing to set at all! Very easy to use. No problems when gaming for hours on end :) The box also includes a VERY nice standing bracket which actually works! Wow, first time I've gotten a standing bracket that actually HOLDS the hardware in a vertical position stably. This switch is highly recommended for those of you who want a stylish, easy to use, well built, well designed, and truly plug and play switch.

Hub has been functionally great for a couple of years now. However now that I work near it (new office set up) I've noticed it emits a high pitched sound as traffic passes through it. It's becoming obnoxious enough that I think I'll just replace it with a gigabit switch (something I've been wanting to do anyway). I've read similar reports of a high frequency noise in other reviews too, but maybe Netgear has fixed this issue in more recent builds.

This replaced my 4-port Netgear Hub. Fast, great looking; it now matches my silver computer. My only problem is that now the cables are in the back, and the weight of them tends to pull the switch backwards and nearly off the desk. No big deal though.

This thing worked fine for about nine months and then died. It doesn't like humidity. I keep my switch and router in my basement. Like many basements, it's a bit damp, though I have a dehumidifier running all the time. It's not that damp in there, but the switch just died on me.

I'd question the power supply or some other factor but my router and DSL modem have never had any problems at all and this is the second Netgear switch I've owned that has gone kaput; my best guess is dampness.