TP-Link 8 Port Fast Ethernet 10/100Mbps PoE Switch | 4 PoE Ports @57W | Desktop | Plug & Play | Sturdy Metal w/ Shielded Ports | Fanless | Limited Lifetime Protection | Unmanaged (TL-SF1008P)

Pros: The TP-LINK TL-SF1008P is an 8-port 10/100Mbps switch with 4 PoE ports and 4 normal ports. The hardware part of this switch is the unique part to notice compared to normal lightweight plastic cased switches. The case is a sturdy metal, grey in color. It has ventilation holes on the side for additional cooling. It supports up to 15.4 W for each PoE port, but is limited to 53 W total, so one could not max out each port. The sizeable external brick style DC power adapter has a thick high-current style wall plug and it outputs 48V at 1.25 A. This inspires some confidence that it could deliver enough power that is near an old style incandescent light bulb. This is enough to power some, but not all PoE devices like wireless access points, switch, cameras, and/or phones. It complies with typical IEE802.x standards, duplex, and has a 1K entry MAC address table. LED indicators on the front panel inform about the status of the connections and also one for POE max. The latter I was unable to test, but if it is red it is above 46W and flashing red it is above 53W. There is some overload power protection and port priority built in. In use, transfer rates were up to 11.1 MB/s, which is reasonably close to the maximum (100 Mbps, 12.5 MB/s). These transfer rates are nowhere near a gigabit switch, but that is not the purpose of this good pricepoint PoE switch, which is more suited to IP cameras, IP phones, etc. where maximum transfer speed is not required. It has been highly reliable in my usage so far over a couple weeks.

Cons: The limit of 15 W is below that required for some wireless access points of other companies, which specify +16 W. Be sure to check the requirement for your particular PoE device. There are no built in mounting holes, just rubber feet, therefore wall mounting is a bit more of challenge.

Overall Review: Others switches should use this style of metal case, but include mounting holes.

Pros: One of the things I like about this unit is that the power cord to power adapter uses a standard computer power cable so it is easy to replace if your dog chews it up. Comes well packaged and with basic documentation but it really doesn’t need any since it is a simple straight forward plug and go unit, no software needed to control it. It is a simple basic switch on 4 ports and a PoE for 4 ports. If using this for connection to internet then you have to use one of the ports for going to the router so only would have 7 useable ports for devices, if using it for an intranet and just want to connect units in house then can use all 8 ports. It comes with basic rubber pads for placement on bottom of unit to prevent scratching of surfaces. It is a small unit that is just barely big enough to house all the components unlike some units that are too big for what they are. Provides power for a basic access point that requires power over Ethernet to a sufficient power to run just about anything on the market up to 4 access points or other items can be powered this way. Right now I have it connected to Router/Modem and then to my primary computer testing internet speeds I get the same speed results with the unit installed as I do without it, but now I can connect 6 more units than before without any difficulties.

Cons: does not come with an Ethernet cable to connect to router or other sources

Overall Review: after about 2 hours of operation did not notice any unusual temperature form either the switch or the power adapter

Pros: As far as Ethernet switches go, I don't have a lot of experience. In fact this is my first switch I've owned personally, but not the first I've had experience with. The First thing I noticed when setting this up was how simple it was. A power cable is all thats needed. Then just plug in any ethernet cables you might need. No software or settings or buttons. The metal casing has a feeling of quality, and the lights on the front are a nice convenience towards whats on and whats working. I own a computer fixing business called Blue Phoenix, and I was able to use this coupled with my KVM switch in order to work on plenty of computers all at once. Switching between computers was as simple as adding another cable or switching ports.

Cons: Like I said above, I don't have extensive knowledge on how these switches are meant to work, so I don't have any voltage complaints like I've seen in other reviews. I've hooked up plenty of computers and other devices to the product and haven't hit any issues, though I just may not be using the product as it was meant to be advertised.

Overall Review: Anyways, It's a great high quality product that is worth the buy. And for the price, It's 100% worth it. I've seen many others that were much worse.

Pros: This switch has nice desktop form factor with a metal case. Very solid 100M switch. The latency observed between UPnP clients and servers are reduced Compaired to the cheaper switches. This switch works fine with the four Samsung SNO-6084RN each at 12VDC/ POE outdoor security cameras all running through the POE ports. I have the cameras at verious points around my house with up to 50'of Cat5e down to 10'. Works flawless and have seen no drops.I'll admin I have only ran this setup for a week so far and as far as I can tell it appers to be a real solid switch. Front LEd's are very clear and easy to read.I havnt noticed any heat alot of heat and setup was so easy take it out of the box and plug the power and cables. As other people said this comes with a power brick and standard computer plug. I like this setup better and it dosn't block other outlets. Also keeping the switch cooler. Speeds were listed by reviewer Charles so I wont repeat

Cons: The drawback though is that while each port can supply up to 15.4 Watts of power (consistent with 802.3af PoE Standards), the total cannot exced 53 watts. So...if you have 4 devices at 15 watts each, this will not work for you.

Overall Review: The lower power isn't a problem for me, and as for the price it is a very reasonable. Also the mounting is no problem for me. But I sits on the table nice and the weight keeps it steady with everything plugged in.

Pros: - the price is a steal for a switch with 4 PoE ports... as long as you don't need management, you could buy 2 of these and replace a $500 Cisco PoE switch and stack them up as you needed more phones or cameras - built very tough with heavy gauge steel enclosure, you definitely don't have to worry about it being damaged in under other equipment etc... it is surprisingly heavy.. like a brick... you could defend yourself from a mugging with it - has 4 PoE ports to run cameras or IP telephones - uses the Realtek 8309G 9 port 10/100 switch controller which has a ton of horsepower and 1.6Gbps throughput - is VERY small... think a couple of decks of cards next to each other - comes with a 60 watt 48V power brick to run up to 4 15watt devices... the external brick makes the only probable failiure point in this switch easily replaceable... so that's nice - plenty of ventilation holes for all that power passing through it

Cons: - the power supply isn't internal.... I actually prefer internal supplies to keep al lthe cabling mess down somewhat and to use standard PC power cords... since this thing is PoE it's more likely a small business thing and in my mind that means internal, less messy power... however I do give up easy replacement of power supply wanting it that way - no brackets to rack, wall or under desk mount it making it very hard to secure in an office environment

Overall Review: I've used TP-Link products several times and they are top notch.... very very well constructed, tanks really... they use standard, proven companents that run all ports at max speed without difficulty... and fit and finish is top flight also. I loaded all 4 PoE ports with IP phones and it ran fine. I also loaded it up with 8 devices and ran loopback at 96Mb on all ports simultaneously sop this product performs in top flight fashion. The main use for PoE switches like these are either: IP Telephones that support them like Cisco, 8x8 / Packet 8, etc. when used in this mode they are very handy because you have one ethernet cable going to a desk that runs the phone, it's power and then a port off the back of the phone to a desktop machine. or PoE security cams... these are great for small businesses and homes. This switch is very inexpensive but very well made.... you can stack a bunch of them up and save a great deal of money over buying big brand switches and run small to medium sized offices very simply. Very nice product.

Pros: Upon receiving this package, the very first thing I noticed was the weight. When it comes to electronic devices, the heavier it is actually relates to a better, more durable product that is built to last. I was able to setup this unit in my attic above the garage, with 3 PoE cameras connected with about 25 ft of cabling each. I have cameras mounted in the front and rear of the house, 2 are Foscam, 1 is Linksys. All 3 cameras were simple plug and play installation through this switch, and were easily accessible on the network. 2 of the feeds are HD (720p) and one is 640x480, all 3 of which came in without any artifacts or loss of detail, so the 100BaseT is plenty for at least 3 feeds of varying quality/HD. The added benefit of 8 total ports allowed me to also run some network cables through interior walls to add new network drops. With a PC and an Xbox 360 also sharing the switch, it performed very well with only minor signal loss.

Cons: As stated above, after loading several devices (a total of 5 devices) using heavy constant traffic, the device did start to stutter in camera feed. My overall home network is a gigabit network, so I only saw decreased performance on this switch because of the 100Mbps limit. Streaming video to the PC and Xbox while running 3 live feed cameras was just a little to much for it to handle, but my intentions were never to use this switch for actual internet streaming so it is still a valiant performer.

Overall Review: For just $40 with 4 POE ports with a total of 150W power, this is quite the bargain and is a very solid product. I've come to notice that TP-Link is an excellent choice for networking products and this device continues that trend.

Pros: The switch comes with an array of features that a consumer would expect: auto negotiation, flow control, full 100 Mbps duplex bandwidth, and 4 PoE ports with power monitoring at the 802.af standard. It's intended to be a desktop switch, so no hardware is provided for mounting aside from rubber foot pads. But as desktop switches go, this is a great item -- the fanless all metal design means it is heavy enough to stay in place and run quiet. The device was capable of running 4 max 5W cameras without issue. The throughput was sufficient there were no transmission issues with HD cameras. All in all, I'm rather impressed with this product. It does what it should, and does it well.

Cons: It's only 100Mbps and not 1000Mbps -- which seems like a pretty common and simple feature these days. However, for most business applications, it isn't likely to be needed -- thus, this is no real loss. Still, we like options for as much throughput as possible -- especially where hi-def camera feeds are concerned.

Overall Review: This configuration was run continuously for 3 months and there were no issues with the switch during this period.

Pros: I work in a contract call center, we use a lot of PoE IP phones which has given me a lot of opportunity to test this switch. Currently it sits on my desk at work, powering my phone and providing network connectivity to a number of test servers I run. I also use it to test the IP phones we use which has been a huge plus. There have been no power issues and no drops on connectivity over the last several months of testing. The all metal design is appreciated and having PoE readily available in a small package on my desk beats having to pull out an injector or hookup a noisy 24 port switch.

Cons: My only con is that this only runs fast ethernet. Would have been nice to have gigabit connectivity.

Overall Review: If you want a stable PoE switch for your office, this would be the one to get.