D-Link DGS-2208 8-Port 10/100/1000 Desktop Switch

This switch has been running full time in my home for 10 months with no issues. On my mixed (100/gigabit) network, I notice no slowdown on my gigabit connections, even when both 100 and gigabit connections are active. Connected to it are: Synology DiskStation 209 (gigabit), Dell Precision Workstation (gb), An older Dell Dimension (10/100), An older Macbook (10/100), iMac (gb), Macbook Pro (gb), and a 5-port 10/100 switch, which in turn connects to a networked Blu-ray player, an Airport Express (with AirTunes connected to a sound system), and an Xbox 360. Time Machine backups run flawlessly and reasonably quickly (4-5 times as fast as on my n-class WiFi network). We frequently use AirTunes to stream music, and experience no gaps or dropouts- which were a major issue on the WiFi network, and we have no problems streaming video from the Synology server to our Xbox- even when my kids are both video-chatting at the same time. I don't expect enterprise-class gigabit service from this unmanaged switch, but at around 1/8 the price of a 10-port Cisco managed switch, this does the trick in our home, and works fine right out of the box, with no configuration required.

I've used other gigabit switches in the past, and most have worked well, but typically run hot. I had a Linksys/Cisco that had a cooling fan, and even though it wasn't a loud fan, it made just enough noise to bug me. I replaced that with a Trendnet that had a metal housing and no fan, and that one served me well for several years. But again, it ran warm, so when I read about this D-Link DGS-2208 with its lower power consumption and energy saving features I decided to give it a try. I'm happy I did. This switch has excellent performance, and runs very cool and quiet. At the time I purchased it the 8-port was actually cheaper then the 5 port, so that was a sweet deal as well. I have a bunch of gigabit capable computers running various versions of Linux & Windows along with a PS3 all hooked up through this, and this in turn is connected to my D-Link router (which has 2 more older 10/100 computers on it), and everything communicates without a hitch. I couldn't be happier with my purchase. This switch has excellent performance, and doesn't dump a lot of extra heat into my computer room. In fact, it doesn't even get warm to the touch.

When I decided to purchase this product, I wasn't really considering the power saving features; I was simply searching for an 8-port gigabit switch that would work well with my network. All I had to do to get this switch (I keep almost typing 'router' but it's not) up and running was to plug it in and connect ethernet cables. It detected my network configuration and after rebooting computers that had been previously on 100mbit, everything was up and running at gigabit speed. Since then, I haven't touched it. I haven't had to. It just works. Some other comments have raised questions or issues with operating in a mixed network (some computers at fast ethernet and others at gigabit speed). I'm operating a mixed network and haven't had any issue whatsoever with this switch. It detects the maximum link speed available, configures the connection to that speed, and indicates the link speed with one of two different light colors. The only mediocre aspect of this switch is the light panel on the front. The various light colors are similar to one another and in close proximity, it's hard to tell which lights are which colors and which are even on without standing directly in line with the panel. Still, I haven't had to even look at it since the initial configuration, so it's a very small issue. Overall, I'm extremely satisfied with this switch. It's proven itself to be fast, reliable, and intuitive.

This is one of the few present-day unmanaged gigE switches which appears to do speed and duplex negotiation properly. It negotiates speed/duplex successfully with the following vendor's PHYs: Broadcom, Intel, Marvell Yukon/Yukon II, and nVidia (nForce 4). Verified using both Windows XP drivers and FreeBSD drivers. If you don't know what a PHY is, just consider it a NIC, otherwise use Wikipedia to discern the difference. Pros: * Significantly faster than Netgear and Hawking Technologies' unmanaged gigE switches * ARP caching is reliable (no "leftover" MACs; no need to power-cycle switch if changing devices on a specific port) * Dual-coloured LEDs to depict of speed and network I/O * No dedicated uplink port; you can use any of the 8 ports for uplink * Incredibly lightweight * Wide (physically), allowing for better spacing of RJ45 jacks * Remains cool (slightly warm near front of unit) * Very low-power AC adapter * AC adapter is space-friendly (not a "wall wart") Cons: * Network I/O LEDs don't update/flash as often as I'd hoped (other vendor's products do the same thing these days, though) * Slow initialisation when powered on. Switch appears to go through a sequence of tests, one per port, then resets all ports. Entire boot time is about 6-7 full seconds, which is fairly long for an unmanaged switch. Would I recommend this product? Definitely -- especially over Netgear unmanaged switches, which suffer from numerous compatibility problems with mixed-vendor PHYs, and also emit quite a bit of heat (especially the small/square blue models). I'll take an extra moment to point out that the speed gain from this switch is quite significant compared to my (personal favourite) Hawking Technologies switches, and Netgear switches. I'm not sure why this is, but possibly layer 2/ARP routing inside of this switch is done much more efficiently than competitors' products. I didn't give it five (5) stars because I haven't been able to test it with all vendor PHYs; 3Com, Attansic, Linksys, Netgear, Realtek, and SMC are others which I haven't tested. If you're wanting something that fits your desk, and you don't need the extra 3 ports, consider getting the 5-port model instead.

The switch is easy to use and setup with good performance. There's not much more to add than that really... it does what I expect it to do and looks decent in the process. My main reason for picking this over the other 2 8-port gig switches was the color coded link lights. I have a mixed speed network with some devices running at 10/100 and most running at 1GB, and I find it useful to have some indication that they are running as expected. One last thought: I have had no issues with the switch reverting to ALL 10/100 just because 1 device is running at that speed as some other reviewers have suggested. Presumably this was some kind of firmware issue which has been resolved in recently released models... I didn't have to download any new firmware to fix this. EDIT 12/26/08: I just bought my second one of these units. The first one from this original review is still running strong and I haven't had any issues at all with it; so when I needed additional ports another one of these was a no-brainer. The price is always among the cheapest around for a gig switch (and when on offer with a good rebate it is about as cheap as you'll ever see a good 10/100 MB switch for) Excellent price by comparison, great performance, and no problems at all with one that's been used day-in and day-out for over a year now. What more could you want from an unmanaged gig switch?

Our first product review for Its Geek Time is this nifty gigabit network switch brought to you by D-Link. For years D-link has taken a back seat to bigger companies like Linksys and Netgear for home network equipment. In recent years D-Link has increased their product quality and can contend with the big guys on an equal footing. This switch is a product that proves that. The first thing to note about this switch is it is a gigabit switch with 8 ports for less than $50. A comparable Netgear or Linksys switch will cost you much more money. The other important thing about its speed is you can connect 10/100 devices to it and not lose gigabit connectivity to gigabit enabled devices that are also connected to it. On older gigabit switches, the switch would throttle down to the slowest device connected to it. Another new feature on this switch is its power saving feature. Ports that are not in use are turned off so the device uses less power over all. This turns into cost benefits from less electricity usage, less heat generated by the product, and a longer life span due to less wear and tear. In an age where electricity prices are at an all-time high, anything that saves power is a welcome addition to many homes and offices. In conclusion, this switch is recommended for any home network or small office network that is on a budget and wants gigabit functionality. This piece of networking technology gets a must have 10 on the d10 of networking from It's Geektime.

This switch is, simply put, great. It took longer to unwrap, open, and get the parts out the box than it did to get all my network cables plugged in and movies streaming. I have 5 rooms with ports, so this 8-port switch is just enough to have 5 rooms/wireless router/media center/1 left to spare for another room connection in the basement. I've had this switch running for roughly 2 months now and have had zero problems. No performance issues, no lagging when multiple people are actively using the internet for movies or mmo's. If you're looking for an easy home networking solution to connect your house together, this won't let you down. Update: Nearly 2 years later - This switch is still going like a champ, and I've had zero problems with it. Update: I forgot to knock on wood after last update. It has died. RIP Switch. I'm lowering it to 3 stars simply for the longevity of the device. I have a router that is well over 4 years old and still going *knock on wood*. The router and this switch have shared the same space, so it's not like one electronic device was treated poorly.

I've had two of these switches in continual use for more years than I can remember. A few days ago, one of them apparently failed. I knew they'd been discontinued by D-Link, so I was pleased to be able to find an exact replacement. The new D-Link model (DGS-1008G) is cheaper, but has a curved upper surface, and so is not stackable like this one. Other companies offer switches with Ethernet jacks in the front, which is an arrangement more suitable for rack-mount installations than most home-user configurations. To my surprise, however, it turned out that my switch hadn't failed, only its power adapter. The power light would come on, but the switch would not proceed to run its initial diagnostic. (When the diagnostic runs, all link lights come on green, then they are cycled in order, then they all come on orange, then go off, and the switch is ready for use.) I'm now happily using the switch I thought had failed with the power adapter from the replacement I recently received. I'm keeping the replacement switch in reserve for future expansion, and have ordered a separate power adapter for it. So if you think your DGS-2208 has failed, and you're seeing the symptoms I described above, it might just be fixed by replacing the AF1205-B power adapter. You can find one of those here: Original D-Link AF1205-B AF1205B AC / DC power adapter

Works well. More happy about the fact that they finally figured out that for home use, put the connections on the back, lights on the front.

Work very well