Hey everyone,
So, I was doing some last-minute Christmas shopping and thought I scored a deal on a Nintendo Switch for my nephew. Turns out, I didn’t read the description carefully enough, and I ended up with a NETGEAR 16-Port Gigabit Ethernet Managed Switch.
To be fair, it does look like a futuristic game console.
After some initial panic, I’ve decided to just keep it. Who knows? Maybe one day I’ll pivot into the hotel business and need to save on network infrastructure costs. Gotta think long-term, right?
Also, it’s unmanaged. The differences between a managed and unmanaged switch are massive, and it’s often reflected in the price.
This is the one you ordered, right now (List Price $109.99): https://www.amazon.com/NETGEAR-24-Port-Gigabit-Ethernet-Unmanaged/dp/B08QDVSWX4
This is the more current version of that with a higher model number (List Price $149.99): https://www.amazon.com/NETGEAR-Ethernet-Unmanaged-Protection-JGS524NA/dp/B0002CWPW2
This is a managed version of the same (List Price $299.99): https://www.amazon.com/NETGEAR-24-Port-Gigabit-Ethernet-Switch/dp/B0D954PJBM
A NETGEAR 24-port managed switch has literally twice the list price as an unmanaged switch, $150 vs. $300.
Also, I would not give my left nut for an unmanaged switch.
What about a 200 port hub, would you give your left nut for one of those?
Imagine how awesome that network traffic would be, you might even manage to ignite the cat5!