Is your local network in dire need of an upgrade yet you can’t afford those expensive SFP-based switches? Well, QNAP has you covered with QSW-2104-2T-R2, an affordable high-speed solution perfect for home use. Remove your network bottlenecks by upgrading to the 10GbE LAN required in today’s connected world, without breaking the bank.
QSW-2104-2T-R2 carries two 10Gb/s plus four 2.5Gb/s ports, with a total switching capacity of up to 60Gb/s. You can use all six available ports at full speed at the same time. This should ensure every bandwidth-demanding device is well fed, be it a NAS, Wi-Fi 7 extender, or UHD TV. Better yet, it’s all in a fan-less Plug & Play design that you can leave on a table or hook up to a wall.
This six-port switch has all you need for a small network: speed, ease of use, and compatibility with existing infrastructure. You can use existing CAT 5e and CAT 6 cables to achieve 2.5Gb/s and 10Gb/s connections, saving time and cost. More so if you live in a rented place where you can’t modify the cabling. It is also compliant with the NBASE-T standard, which allows its speed to range from the maximum 10Gb/s down to 100Mb/s, maintaining compatibility with old devices.
Note, however, that due to its price, this is an unmanaged network switch. This means that it doesn’t offer any configuration options, monitoring, or advanced features. It simply forwards data packets between devices based on MAC addresses. Fortunately, this also means it’s low maintenance, which is perfect for home or small office use.
That said, aside from detecting the optimal transmission speed based on the connected device, it supports 12KB Jumbo Frame and IEEE 802.3x flow control. The former allows larger data packets transmission which reduces CPU overhead and improves network efficiency – ideal for high-resolution video, whereas the latter reduces packet loss by temporarily pausing data transmission when the buffers are full.
QNAP QSW-2104-2T-R2 10G is listed for preorder on B&H for $119, backed by a two-year warranty. You can also add a warranty extension that brings your coverage up to five years if you want extra peace of mind and don’t mind paying the premium. A worthy option for those thinking about upgrading their local network to take full advantage of the growing fibre internet speeds.
