With the help of the Gigabit Switch, optimum networking of the wired devices can be ensured. Up to one Gigabit per second are supported as speeds per port and thus the rapid transmission speeds are permitted. Depending on the number of devices to be networked, there are switches with 4 to 48 ports and even more. Often the models are designed as compact table-top units and then they can be placed anywhere. There are also some Gigabit Switch devices that are built into a server cabinet. The professional devices can also be configured flexibly and the creation of different virtual networks is also permitted. Today there is already a large selection of switches and everyone can choose a suitable model.

Buy a suitable Gigabit Switch

If you are looking for a suitable Gigabit switch, there are a few things to consider. Of course, it is always important to buy good quality. Many prospective customers prefer to buy well-known brands. Even if well-known manufacturers are often somewhat more expensive, then usually also appropriate experience and quality are offered. In the past, hubs were used to establish the network connections, but today the Gigabit Switches are used for most of the tasks. The Gigabit Switch has the advantage that it is intelligent. The models can thus recognize to which end device the output leads and the data is then directed to the appropriate point. If a hub is used, the data is simply sent to all outputs and the data traffic becomes inefficient. Network devices, printers, servers and PCs can be connected via the Gigabit Switch. The devices can function in networks and thus by home networking and even those used in offices. For home use a small switch is often enough and it is already relatively cheap to buy and it is provided for the network, which probably works.

What do I have to consider when buying the Gigabit Switch?

Basically the Gigabit Switch can be purchased in many different sizes. The switches can have between 2 and 50 ports and this depends on what is needed for the application. It is important for the purchase that each place can be used for expansion. The Gigabit Switch should always leave some ports free, because these are often needed at a later time. In the large companies, the switches are used with the uplink speed, which is up to 100 Gigabit. Small models are often found for use at home, and here there is Fast Ethernet with 100 Mbit. The Gigabit Switch then automatically detects the speed. It can also detect whether it is a product where the power supply is controlled via PoE, a surveillance camera, an IP phone or another device. Also important for the purchase is always the backplane capacity. It should be at least as high as the common throughput of all ports. The Gigabit Switch is usually capable of transmitting up to 1.6 million packets per second. It is important to note that the small packages can of course be processed much more easily than the larger ones. From the manufacturer’s data it is relatively difficult to identify which models can cope with the large packages.

Access the servers with Gigabit speed

A Gigabit switch always plays a very important role when from the PC to the server with Gigabit speed should be resorted to. The intelligent models are best suited for these applications. In addition to the high speed, the Gigabit Switch also offers many other advantages. This often includes the dynamic IP address, the integrated web configuration interface, the possibility of remote administration via SNMP and packets can be routed through the recipient address to the appropriate port. Reset buttons can also be a practical feature. With the help of one button the restart is triggered and with the other button the factory settings can be set for the Gigabit Switch. Some models are also equipped with ports that can be used for fiber optic connections as SFP ports. Usually the small models get by without their own fans and thus the operation is noiseless. If there is a fan on the larger Gigabit switch, the running noise can often be perceived as disturbing. With Cut Through technology, high data throughput is usually achieved, and this is already available today even for mid-range devices. It is often recommended that the Gigabit Switch is used as a high-quality device with the technology. The devices should be Error Free so that the faulty packets are not transferred.

The different models

Often the model name already recognizes the properties of the Gigabit Switch. If the name contains the designation 48G, this means, for example, that there are 48 host ports on the Gigabit Switch. If there is a P at the end of the name, then PoE is supported and the Ethernet cable can be used to supply power to a surveillance camera, for example. SFB recognizes that the Gigabit Switch is also designed for fiber optic connections. In the rack everyone can connect some switches via the SFB ports, if they are stackable. If large models are used for companies, the power consumption also plays an important role in the purchase. If network products have the IEEE standard 802.3az, they can save power and are energy-friendly. If devices are labelled with the power saving function, the Gigabit Switch often has the green label or Green Ethernet as a designation. The Gigabit Switch is an efficient and new way to build networks in a professional environment or at home. The devices can be equipped with different performance features or in different sizes. Many of the devices offer intelligent functions so that the network can also be designed efficiently. A Gigabit switch is the best solution for data packets as distribution stations. A number of ports can be selected to suit an application’s needs. But the best thing about the Gigabit Switch is always when you buy for the future. It is best to leave one or two ports free so that more devices can be added to the network in the future. Nobody wants to buy a new Gigabit Switch for it. It is highly recommended to buy high-quality devices, because they are characterized by high data throughput and high speed.

Important information about the Gigabit Switch

In a network, the switches are the central element. There are Gigabit devices for home networks, law firms, medical practices or for companies. Without the switch, wired networking of network devices, printers, servers and PCs is not possible. Important for a good GigabitSwitch is that the power consumption is as low as possible and that nevertheless the high data throughput is brought. The switch is an intelligent relative of the hub. For cost reasons, they were used only a few years ago, but today only switches are produced in principle. In this case intelligent means that the Gigabit Switch knows exactly which devices are connected to the port and packets are sent to the ports. The hub simply replicates packets to all ports, causing unnecessary network traffic. For the backplane, the maximum throughput is specified by the manufacturers as the product of the number of ports with GBit. The eight-port switch thus offers 16 GBit as backplane throughput. With a Gigabit Ethernet port, the switch can transmit about 1.6 million packets per second. The smaller the packages are, the lower the effort. The manufacturer’s value does not necessarily have to say anything about how a switch will cope with the larger package. The Cut-Throuth technology has proven itself with low latency times for a high data throughput and it has long since arrived in the medium price segment. A disadvantage, however, is that faulty packets can also be forwarded because a cyclic CRC check or redundancy check is only possible after receipt of the entire data packet. The high-quality models also offer Adaptive Switching mechanism called Error-Free-Cut-Through.