Pros: One of NETGEAR's better switches. works extremely well and with decent port management. Perfect for the Home use or under a conference room table.

Cons: None so far.

Pros: The Netgear 16-port Gigabit “Click” Switch (GSS116E) is one of the newest Netgear products.
As usual, shipping time from newegg.com was expeditious and the switch arrived undamaged and well packed.
Once I opened the package I was greeted by a sleek looking device. At about 2.8 lb, the switch is made of solid metal and feels well-built.
Web base interface allows access and control of multiple "Smart" functions such as:
- Port control (disable individual ports, enable flow control, loop detection, disable LED lights for individual ports).
- Monitoring (port statistics, mirroring and cable testing function).
- Multicast.
- Link Aggregation (LAG) allows for "bundling" of 2 ports into one "linked" port and theoretically doubling the speed. This comes useful for NAS users, etc.
- Ability to set up VLANs.
- QoS (Rate limit and Broadcast Filtering).
The switch offers low power use (under 9 Watts).

Cons: I could not get "Prosafe Plus Configuration Utility" to work on any of my systems. The installation of the software on my Win 10 Pro machine went OK, although it required installation of PopCap and Adobe Air. Once installed, the configuration utility was able to detect the switch on the network but most functions were grayed out and were unavailable. Only available function was enable/disable DHCP mode. If DHCP mode is disabled, then you are also able to manually set Gateway address, Subnet and IP address.

Other Thoughts: Once I pulled the switch out of the box, I immediately liked it. It was solidly built. The power supply is built into the switch meaning the power plug will not occupy 2 slots on my power strip. The switch is long, thin in height and depth, allowing for easy placement and concealment anywhere.

After running some initial tests and setup, I relegated the switch to my family room where I hid it behind the tv stand. I attached the plastic mounting strip to the back of stand and then simply clicked in and locked the switch in. Instead of using screws, it’s also possible to use included Velcro strips. I then wired my XBOX 360, a Blu Ray player, a smart TV and Apple TV to it. I then watched Netflix and re-watched season 1 of "Grimm" on other "Prime" streaming service. The switch performed without a hitch with video streaming at HD resolutions. I never had any problems with the switch. I was a "set up and forget" experience. The switch performs remarkably well. Surprisingly, this switch does get a little warm in the middle of it, above port 8, but not at the ends.

This switch does not have built in hardware firewall. While this switch is capable of assigning internal IP addresses (DHCP) and would work with simple internet modems, I would not recommend using this switch without a hardware router or a hardware firewall. Even simple routers have hardware firewall offering at least some degree of protection from internet snoops.

This switch is perfect for home and small office user. The switch offers several useful "smart “networking functions that many users will appreciate. Other "managed switch" functions found in more advanced switches are not included. Most notably, the switch is missing POE (power over Ethernet) ports. IP cameras are becoming more prevalent in many home/small office settings and it would be nice to see 2 powered ports on this switch.

In the end, the performance of this switch will not disappoint. The switch offers solid Gigabit performance, low power use, easy setup and concealment not to mention limited Lifetime Warranty and Limited Lifetime Support backed by Netgear.

Pros: Need more LAN connection ports? Or an answer to your office or home/office needs, this switch is a fantastic choice.

A well designed durable case with mounting options, portability and even the option of the electrical plug being able to install in one of two ways for a nicer fit. Once in your hand and being setup you quickly realize that this is a switch for the long run. Either for the professional needs or simple home use the ProSafe Plus Utility has easy to use options and it does it all without and quality of signal loss. Compared to an unmanaged basic switch this has features such as QoS, VLAN, Monitoring, speed and on/off per LAN and even cable checking.

DHCP ability that makes this a ‘Plug and Play’ connect and startup, which means even a novice with the need for more connections can quickly use this. If you decide to use the IP for the control program instead of the ProSafe utility as listed in the book and the offered 192.168._.__ doesn’t work, you can get the IP address from the router or help from your ISP.

The 1-2-3-4 Click mounting design is flexible for the way you want to place or install this.

Cable management helps control the mess we normally get with multi connections.

LED lights easily turn on or off. Great for where you don’t want the distraction and there for a glimpse to see connectivity and active transmission.

Lifetime Hardware Warranty with quick ship replacement and optional coverages is great. Netgears site states next day replacement for Business customers and Netgear has always proven to give great products and support. The manual is very informative and easy to use. It’s easy to see the value and the support 24/7 in North America. It’s worth reading and visiting the Manufacturer Product page, so much to offer with great specs.

Cons: None.
But.. the manual give and IP 192.168.0.239 I wish it explained better that using DHCP will be a different 192.168._.__. That information can seen thru the router program or calling your ISP. Only if not using the ProSafe Utility which has worked fine for me.Not a con.

Other Thoughts: I don’t usually get excited about things I review and put thru the trials, but I have to say it.. I love this product! If you have more connections than the router or have a professional need for a multi connection solution, this ProSAFE Gigabit Click Switch is the answer. For office, home/office, portable or any networking, multi connections solution this quality made switch offers a software control program that is easy to use and options not seen in a basic switch.

I have a home office with too many cables for my router. Running one cable from the router and I’m up and running, plug and play. The user guide is easy to understand and the Prosafe Plus Configuration Utility is easy to use. For the IT professional this is a smart switch(mid, not full managed) for networking at the office and for the average home user this is a better solution without quality of speed loss for all the connected network products. 2 PC’s, Laptop, NAS, Security Camera system, Network HDTV (cable connection), Printer and Cable Card tuner and occasional additional connections are what I had connected with a basic inexpensive 4 port switch is how I was arranged before this switch. Some in the router, the rest in the switch and still I needed more connections. I couldn’t be happier and so will you. It’s worth the investment to not only have a connection answer, but the ability to control Linked Speed, Flow Control, password protect entrance into the ProSAFE program, Mirror, DHCP or set IP, Firmware upgrades as they come along, VLAN, QoS, Lag MultiCast< monitoring and more. You can check cables for shorts you might not know of or other connectivity cable problems and turn off or slow down the kids room connectivity at bedtime.

My address to connect with 192.168._._ was different than the booklet, I looked my switches address in the router. Your ISP can help you if you need to learn yours using DHCP. Strapping to a table leg with the supplied straps is a nice mounting option. Netgear designed the mounting options very nicely and strapping the cables to the switch is a nice and clean looking. It’s easy to add or remove cable too. A very solid switch with options thru Netgear for coverage over the years so you know your investment will be an answer for a long time.

I didn’t jump and review, I like a few weeks of real-time use and trying different functions. Two of my PC’s even played games with no FPS change; it maintains a quality broadband signal. I have already recommended this to two businesses’ and a few home users. The shops are plugged into the router and a simple switch for all their connections and complain about lag. I’m sure this will improve the quality of their PC’s and keep in mind that Netgear also have an 8 port model with USB’s for charging or maintaining. A basic inexpensive switch just can’t compete with the value of this and what it ultimately offers. A definite recommend to anyone that needs more LAN connections.

Pros: This switch provides a wide variety of mounting options. The "click" in the model name refers to how the switch snaps into the provided bracket. This bracket can be attached to a wall or table with screws, or to a table leg or shelf post with velcro straps, also included.

There are two ways to attach the switch to the bracket. If you position the switch with the ethernet ports facing you, the bracket will snap to either the bottom panel or to the rear panel. However, the bracket is wider than the rear panel, so both sides of the bracket are visible in this orientation. It's more elegant to attach the bracket to the bottom panel of the switch, with the ports running parallel to the mounting surface.

The internal power supply means there is a normal sized power cord with no wall transformer. The power cord can be be attached to the switch in one of two orientations, either with the power cord in the same direction as the ethernet cables, or perpendicular to the ethernet cables (i.e. down if the switch is mounted vertically)

For those who have only worked with unmanaged switches, "smart" switches like this one occupy a middle ground between unmanaged and fully managed switches. A fully managed switch provides a command-line interface for scripting, and SNMP to allow central management of multiple switches. These "smart" switches typically provide a browser-based interface and a subset of the features of the fully managed switches, including QoS, VLANs, link aggregation, port mirroring, link status monitoring and basic cable testing.

Of these, QoS is arguably the most important, allowing you to prioritize VOIP or interactive video over lower priority traffic like file transfers. This switch supports a basic port-based priority, where you can elevate the priority of some ports over others, or 802.1p-based priority, where the priority level is specified within the packet itself.

I appreciated that Netgear enabled the DHCP client out of the box. Usually a new network device arrives with a static IP address which means I have to connect it to a standalone computer on the same subnet just to enable DHCP. In this case I only had to look at the DHCP server log to find the assigned address and point my web browser at that address.

If my reading of the warranty is correct, this switch has a lifetime warranty with next business day replacement included. Wow.

I experienced no problems over 7 days using this for all my home network traffic, including 3 days of continuous ping with no packets lost.

Cons: For the purposes of this review I attempted to use the supplied "ProSafe Plus Utility" to manage the switch. The software always insisted "No switch exists in the local area network!" even when my computer was plugged directly into the switch. This is no big deal to me, as I would rather use the browser interface anyway.

At this price point I would like to see PoE (power over ethernet) as an option.

The documentation is not as good as I've seen in competing products, consisting mainly of step-by-step instructions for using the ProSafe Plus Utility or the browser interface, without much detail regarding feature implementations. For example, it tells you how to enable or disable QoS, but it does not tell you how this switch implements priority for 802.1p-based QoS. Comapre this to the documentation for the TP-Link TL-SG108E, which specifies exactly how the 8 priority levels are mapped into 4 queues and then prioritized with weights 8:4:2:1.

Three really minor nits: 1) I would prefer if the LEDs for 10/100 and 1000 Mbps were different colors, so the network speed was obvious at a glance. 2) The instructions say if you wall-mount the bracket that you must screw into a stud, but the supplied screws are only 5/8" long. 3) As is often the case, it would be nice if the the software and documentation were edited for grammar, e.g. "The running of ProSafe Plus Utility should base on WinPcap and Adobe AIR."

Other Thoughts: Power consumption averaged 7.56W over 164 hours. The specification is 8.36W maximum.

At 80 degrees F ambient temperature, the metal case top is 96 degF over the power supply and 105 degF over the center of the ethernet ports.

The default password is "password", so even if you have no interest in the mangement features, you should at least figure out what IP address it grabbed from your DHCP server, point your browser at it, and change that password.

Pros: The NETGEAR ProSAFE 16 Port Gigabit switch (Model GSS116E) box includes; The Switch, a mounting bracket with 2 screws, a power cord, 2 Velcro straps which can be fastened into place with a screw, a resource CD, and an installation sheet. The switch is constructed nicely and features an all metal frame and a cable lock slot.
Out of the box you could just hook this switch up as a plain old switch, though I do suggest at least changing the default password for the management interface. If you want to get a more robust use out of the switch you can login to the web interface. The Web interface has a nice layout and as of this review the firmware that comes with the unit is the current firmware available from NETGEAR’s site. From the web interface you have the ability to name your switch, set the management IP, check port status and change individual port speeds and flow control, setup mirrored ports, setup a VLAN, QOS, and more. The interface gives you basic and advanced setup choices for most settings, letting you decide how detailed you want to be with the setup. You can also use the included ProSAFE Plus Configuration utility included on the cd (there appears to be an updated version of this software on NETGEAR’s site).
I experienced no noticeable file transfer speed differences when going through this switch vs our enterprise class Cisco switches.

Cons: Size maybe? See other thoughts. No major functional issues found so far.

Other Thoughts: I would recommend for a classroom or lab type environment where you need a lot of connections in a limited space and a need for a managed switch.
The unit measures 16” x 2 3/4” x 1 3/8” (WxDxH) looking from the connection face of the unit.
I’m on the fence as this being a Con necessarily but this switch is in a strange category. It’s pretty big for a 16 port switch mounted to a workstation, but based on its features it seems to be designed for more of a server room type environment.
If I experience any issues with this switch down the road I will post a new review.

Pros: This switch can be mounted just about anywhere, very simple installation! Has a rugged feel and weighs around 4lbs. GUI is not overly complicated with choices/options, and has some very useful features installed.

Plug and Play on my router setup with DHCP it was assigned an address immediately, and worked with numerous devices without my having to log-in to the settings GUI.

GUI can be accessed through any browser to select additional options to manage and customize the switch for your network. Once logged in there are 4 main tabs to select from. Ports can be configured for speed and flow control if need be. Statistics can be viewed for every device connected, shows both bytes up and down.

Built in cable tester option, which will be very useful for troubleshooting and finding specific cable lengths for each connection.

There is also a reset on the back side of the switch in case you ever lock yourself out, or wish to restore to the factory default settings.

Pro Safe Plus Utility is not really needed as GUI can be accessed through any browser as long as you know its assigned IP Address! When installing this Utility, it will also install WinPcap and Adobe Air, so if you prefer to keep your operating system clean, just access the GUI with your browser!

This switch does have a MAC address so it could also be configured with an address through your router. This way you will always be able to access it with a simple bookmark.

Arrived with first release firmware V1.0.0.0 installed.

Cons: None that I could find!

Other Thoughts: As mentioned earlier this switch can be used in its basic form to expand your network connections, and if you want to have more control the options built in are not overly complicated.

Most will find this switch very useful one way or another!

Pros: This is a very well thought out switch. The features compliment the switch wonderfully. I am a huge fan of the mounting mechanism. It makes cable management so much easier. Which is always a huge challenge.

It's a switch so performance wise I just judge it by difference in speed vs directly connected to router. There is no difference. It's just as fast.

They also include some great features like the ability to turn the lights on or off. I personally leave them off because it's in a living room in the basement with the router and the wall of network ports going to all the rooms.

It's also priced rather good for a 16 port gigabit switch with such a great feature set.

Cons: There really are none that I can come up with.

I think the only complaint that someone could come up with would be that it's a little long but that is because of the built in power supply. It more than makes up for not having the wall wart though.

Other Thoughts: This is the perfect switch for someone who wired their house or works in a small business environment.

Another added bonus is that the power supply is built in, it has a single 2 prong plug. I think that is a crucial design feature that they decided to do. I can't stand that most switches have the typical wall wart plug that takes up 2-3 plugs or at the very least makes cable management more difficult.

Pros: Netgear networking products have always provided quality and reliability in home office and small office environments at affordable prices.

This ProSAFE GS116E is no exception, as it ventures closer to pro/enterprise grade quality in terms of build quality, design, performance and functionality.

+Performance- No problems here, my home environment is quite robust with 2 desktop workstations, 3 htpc/extenders, 2 consoles, 1 NAS, 1 general purpose server, 1 networked AVR, and half a dozen wireless devices.

I was able to transfer from workstation to workstation (110MB/s), NAS to NUC (45MB/s limit of NAS), while streaming to my iPhone 6 Plus (2MB/s) without any problems.

+Great build quality and design. The unit feels extremely heavy duty, all ports have a solid build and click for each cable. The unit itself is metal and it is thin and sleek which is its greatest forte. You can put this in any AV cabinet, under a conference table, in a LAN closet, in a training room or classroom, wherever you need more connections and need high speed performance.

+No wall wart, AC adapter/plug. The unit has an internal power supply and uses just an inline cable to power it.

+Quick release design allows you to screw in the mounts and quickly lock in and release the switch.

+Kensington locking mechanism to allow you to secure it in public areas.

Cons: Nothing really to take points off for:

-Link Lights are a bit different. For those expecting standard left side = connectivity and right side = activity, its slightly different on this unit. Left side = Gigabit, Right side
= 10/100M. Flashing = activity.

-Unit is heavy. Again, this is a sign of quality and positive for most, but if you are an AV tech, travelling salesman/instructor, auditor, or anyone else who takes your office/conferences on the road, be ready to take another 8-10lbs. with you. No bulky power cable and small size is certainly a plus, but this thing is not light at all, like a small 8 port switch. Netgear sells an 8-port version that is plastic that is certainly going to be lighter weight.

-Uses more power than my Trendnet 8-port. I measured 1W Idle and 4W load for the Trendnet, this unit pulls 4W Idle and 8W load with 6 devices connected.

Other Thoughts: This device makes a lot of sense for business, IT, and classroom environments that need multiple fast, reliable connections.

While it won't be suitable for most enterprise environments, it would certainly work in a pinch and would also be great in a LAN closet to provide additional drops or as a quick replacement in case of switch failure.

Its perfect for board rooms, conference rooms, A/V closets and backends given all the devices now that can go into teleconferencing. It would also be great for a training center, where just 2 of these could quickly scale up to around 30 seats.

It also makes sense for business travelers who may be setting up trainings at client sites or pitching products. Its small enough to be portable and robust and reliable enough to provide lots of connectivity options in a pinch.

I will probably not use it at home since it is overkill for my home office needs, but I may donate it to the techs at work, as it would be perfect for their build room/test bench where they could image 15 machines at once over PXE with just a single one of these high performance switches!

Pros: + This is a “managed” switch; which partially explains the price differential vs. cheaper 16-port gigabit switches. By default it ships with DHCP enabled, meaning it will be automatically assigned an IP address by the router/modem. If unable to find the assigned IP address, the end user may use the included CD to simplify the installation. The default password for the switch is: password

+ Rock solid all metal build, exceptionally heavy (in a good way) for this type of device.

+ Multiple mounting options with the backplate including horizontal/vertical flat surfaces via included screws, and poles/table legs via the included straps. The switch can be quickly disconnected from the backplate via the release tab on the end.

+ The power cord can be attached with it coming out the side or towards the front of the switch. Also, the power supply is located within the switch, so there is no unsightly wall wart or power brick. The voltage range is the universal 100-240V.

+ With the exception of the power LED, the Port Activity LEDs can be completely turned off, or set to show “Link Speed + Activity” or “Link Speed Only”.

+ Various management options such as VLAN, QoS, LAG, MultiCast and Port Trunking. Also included is an automatic denial-of-service DoS prevention.

+ Lifetime warranty with next day replacement shall there be any issues with the switch.

Cons: - The 8-port version of this switch (GSS108E-100NAS) includes 2 USB charging ports (3 amp combined maximum). 2-4 USB ports should have been included with the 16-port version of the switch. Also, no POE ports are included in either the 8-port or the 16-port switches.

- The top of the switch (area above the ports) gets fairly warm to the touch. The internal heatsink gets very hot, even when there is no load and no devices plugged in. Not quite a ‘green’ switch in the regard of wasted energy/heat.

- There is no way to rackmount this switch; something that could have easily been implemented due to the overall size.

- Mostly plastic mounting backplate which is nowhere near the build quality of the switch itself.

- Considering the multitude of possible uses, there is no built-in power surge protection.

Other Thoughts: In short, who is this switch for? With flexible mounting options, it’s for users who want to add instant support for multiple wired devices in the same room; whether in an office or at home. The overall compact size means it will be unobtrusive and can be hidden with relative ease. Also, for users that don’t have a need for a rackmount system, but want to intergrade a quality managed switch into the equipment closet, this should fit the bill.

Pros: - Small compact form-factor.
- Included click mounting system is easy and fast.
- Included cable ties help with cable management
- Internal power supply (no extra brick)
- Web & software(included) based configuration utility with many features and diagnostic tools.
- Lifetime guarantee on parts & labor makes it unbeatable value, with next day replacement.
- Plug and play setup if you don't want to tweak all available options.

Cons: -None encountered so far, will update if any problems encountered.

If I had to nitpick a few 6' Cat 6 cables would be nice but not needed as I have a collection already.

Other Thoughts: I was first impressed by the form factor and ease of use and quick setup this switch provides while also having a highly configurable management system.
It integrates the PSU and a clever mounting system to make mounting and managing the cables much easier than with conventional home/office networking hardware, it can easily be hidden under a desk instead of having to have rack-moutned networking sitting in the back of someones office.

The included software easily detected and configured the switch, as well as the web based utility performed flawlessly. There have not been any firmware updates as of yet with this product but it is all easily managed through the web-based utility.

I was getting the expected 100-120MB/sec max transfer speeds using Cat6 Gigabit cable, and was impressed with the little amount of heat generated even with the internal PSU in the unit it remains relatively cool to the touch compared to most network hardware, this is probably a testament to the full metal enclosure to help disperse the heat generated.

All said and done if your in the market for a Gigabit prosumer grade network switch I would highly recommend this unit for its performance and great warranty alone. Highly impressed so far!