How to Choose a Gigabit Network Switch?

Gigabit network switch is the most commonly used equipment in data centers. Before choosing the best network switch for the current or future network, people can type “Ethernet switch” into the online shopping site or search engine, they may find a ton of listings for switches of all kinds and price levels. It’s not an easy job to find one. Then how to choose a Gigabit network switch in order to avoid buying the wrong device or overspending needlessly?



Figure: Gigabit network switch is widely used.

Types of Gigabit Network Switch
Gigabit Ethernet switch can be divided into unmanaged, managed and PoE categories.

Unmanaged switches use the plug-and-play design that means they only allow Ethernet devices to communicate with one another. They are shipped with fixed configuration and don’t allow any changes to this configuration. This type of network switch is normally found in home networks or small business.

Managed switches offer all the features of unmanaged switches and are capable of configuring, managing and monitoring one’s LAN. Users have greater control over how data travels over the network and decide which one has access to it.

PoE switches support electrical power and data transmission over one network cable, which will greatly simplify the cabling process. Using a PoE switch, people don’t need to worry about power outlet when deploying network devices.

Features of Gigabit Network Switch
With a network switch, users can have different networked devices on their desks as well as bandwidth-intensive applications that require high rates of data transmission and no tolerance for congestion. These switches are the basics of modern wired network. They can not only provide the connections to PCs and other devices in a wide variety of fields, but also support the cloud storage of servers. With new trends like SDN and the IoT transforming the industry, people have to get the features that they need from the switches, so that they would know which switch is the one that they need.

How to Choose a Gigabit Network Switch?
Here are the most important facts you should consider when choosing a Gigabit network switch.

Choose the role of the switch. If you are just looking for a device to extend your wired network at home, one unmanaged switch is suitable. And an 8 port Ethernet switch or 12 port switch is enough for home network. If you want to find a switch for a large network, you may buy one or more managed switches acting as core switches. 24 port and 48 port PoE managed switches are the right choice.
Choose the forwarding rate of the switch. Gigabit switches have different processing rate. Processing and forwarding data rates are very important. The processing rate becomes lower, the forwarding rate will be slower. This may make the switch unable to accommodate full wire-speed communication across all the ports. So people should figure out what forwarding rate they need before buying a Gigabit switch.
Conclusion
From the above, we know how to choose a Gigabit network switch. If you have decided to buy a network switch, welcome to visit FS.COM. FS has a good selection of 10Gb switch, 40G or even 100G switch and PoE switch for home and office users.

What Is PoE and Power Over Ethernet Switch?

Network switches with PoE technology are widely used in business, school districts and healthcare facilities for the big benefits of their IP surveillance networks. So what is PoE, what is power over Ethernet switch, could you explain?

What is PoE?
PoE is short for power over Ethernet, which is a technology that can pass electrical power through an Ethernet cable alongside data. For example, if a digital camera is PoE-enabled, it only requires a network connection since it would receive the electrical power from the power over Ethernet cable. PoE technology actually makes hooking up network devices more convenient in any context. By doing so, the number of cables that must be configured for network installation will be greatly minimized. Therefore, PoE technology makes networking setup much simpler and less expensive.

Power over Ethernet usually starts with a Gigabit PoE switch or power over Ethernet injector, which pumps out the electrical power over the Ethernet ports and passes it to the device end via Ethernet cables. So what is power over Ethernet switch?

What Is PoE Switch?
A power over Ethernet switch is a normal rack-mounted network switch with integrated power over Ethernet functionality. It can automatically recognize the PoE devices like IP surveillance camera or wireless access point that connected to the switch, and pass power to the device accordingly. Network switches deliver power based on some standards. According to IEEE 802.3af, the delivering power can be up to 15.4 Watts on a switch port, while IEEE 802.3at rules that the one port can deliver power up to 30 Watts. To find the switch that is right for you, all you need to do is choose a switch according to your power needs.

In addition, there are managed and unmanaged options of PoE switches on the market. Unmanaged PoE switch is a plug-and-play device, which only provides power and signaling to Ethernet endpoints. On the other hand, managed PoE switch supports many advanced features, including VLANs, SNMP so as to manage and monitor the network. Considering the rapid growth of today’s technology and the future’s upgrade, I think it’s wise to choose a managed PoE switch.

Using Power Over Ethernet Switch to Upgrade Your Network
When connecting to the networking devices, PoE switches are a more cost-effective choice. As the figure below shows, users are able to connect the IP phones, wireless access points and IP cameras directly to the PoE switch. There is no need for additional wiring, power sources. Thus, in this case, it can save time and money for additional wiring, which will result in a relatively lower cost.



The following table lists some switches produced by FS.COM that I want to recommend to you. They are available in 8, 24 and 48 ports. Look at the product detail, and select one for your need.


S1250-8T2F and S1600-24T4F are 1G switches, which are suitable for home and small business application. S1600-48T4S is a 10Gb switch, which is designed for medium business networks.

Conclusion
Power over Ethernet switch is a great choice when you want to set up a cloud phone system or wire a security camera cluster since it can save your time and money and adds flexibility to your IP network. Want to find a good network switch, please visit FS.COM, both copper switch and fiber optic switch could be found here.

What Is a KVM Switch and How Does It Work?

Today, data centers and companies have to deal with the space limitation of lots of computers. They need a method to control the increasing numbers of computers and other networking devices efficiently. KVM switches are invented to combat this issue that is taking up valuable space and time. So what is a KVM switch and how does it work?


Figure: KVM switch is widely used in our life.

What Is a KVM Switch?
What is KVM? KVM stands for keyboard, video and mouse. And as for what is a KVM switch, it’s technically “keyboard, video and mouse switch”. KVM switch is a hardware device that allows users to control different computers through one set of keyboard, video monitor and mouse. This is the KVM over IP solution, which is very useful if the server settings are located off-site and you don’t want to drive over there each time when you need to make changes. The switches will be assigned an IP address and accessed from any place in the world with the right username and password.

In addition, we should note that, although KVM switch and Gigabit Ethernet switch both can control multiple computers or servers, they are different devices. KVM switch is usually considered as a hardware device, which is popular when people have upgraded their computer systems or add new computers but don’t want to invest in a second keyboard, display and mouse. While Ethernet switch is regarded as a central hub. Commonly, it’s connected to each computer or network device in an Ethernet. Therefore, they are two different devices with different functions.

How Does KVM Switch Work?
We have a good understanding of the question what is a KVM switch. It can control more than two or greater numbers of computers(over 500). Users can use Cat5 cables or the specific KVM cable kits to connect the computers to the KVM switch. Then, connect the keyboard, display and mouse console to the KVM switch. If the switch is equipped with the console, this step could be skipped. Now users can use a button, on-screen display controls or hot keys on the keyboard to switch from one computer to another.

Which Type of KVM Switch Do I Need?
Designed for various end-user needs, there is a considerable choice of KVM switches on the market. Before buying, you should consider:

How many computers do I need to control?
What type of KVM switch do I require?
Do I need an on-screen display?
Use the table below to help you make a suitable decision.


All these KVM switches are made by FS.COM, which can be accessed from any computer on the LAN, WAN or Internet. With easy installation and use, they’re the optimal solutions for controlling up to 8 or 16 computers or servers.

Conclusion
What is a KVM switch? It’s an ideal tool for saving time and energy when lots of computers or servers are involved. To find out more about our KVM switches with high performance, as well as other networking options like 10Gb Ethernet switch, patch panels, please visit FS.COM.

Selecting the Best Gigabit Switch for Home Network

As the Internet has become more and more prevalent, today almost all homes have built a home network via a network switch. Network switches keep multiple devices like computers, tablets connected, enabling the networked devices to talk to each other and share files like the family photo album, or back up files to a number of devices at once. But do you know how to select the best Gigabit switch for home network since there are so many types of Gigabit switches on the market?


Figure 1: A network switch is used for home applications.

Why Do You Need a Gigabit Switch for Home Network?
Implementing a Gigabit switch for home network would ensure your network security. Since a Gigabit Ethernet switch can work at the Data Link Layer of the OSI model, it will recognize what devices are connected to it by learning the device’s MAC address, which aids in keeping data secured by preventing unwanted access. Besides, most network switches support VLAN, so users can set up one VLAN for their houses and one VLAN for the wireless. And users can allow both VLANs to talk to the router but deny the ability to talk to each other. Users could even lock down the wireless VLAN and only allow it to browse the web but nothing else. Thus in these cases, you can use the network switch to manage your network and ensure its safety.

In addition, if you are a professional gamer or videographer, then you must have lots of computers and network devices to run. Therefore, you need a Gigabit switch to manage and connect your equipment.

How to Select the Best Gigabit Switch for Home Network?
Here are some considerations to help you to choose the best Gigabit switch for home network.

How Many Ports Do I Need?
Network switches come with varying numbers of ports. The more ports the Gigabit switch has, the more devices you can connect to the network. When choosing a switch, you need to consider that whether the interfaces are enough to support the future upgrade. It’s better to have a switch that has more interfaces than the actual need. For home use, a 16 port Gigabit switch or 24 port Gigabit switch is a wise choice.

How Much Speed Will the Switch Provide?
To satisfy different demands, the Gigabit switches support up to 15Mpps, 95Mpps, and 130Mpps forwarding rate. So users can choose one based on the required forwarding speed.

What Level of Technical Support Do I Need?
How easy is it to configure the switch and is there a local support team if I run into any problems? If the switch breaks down, you can contact the local technical support immediately. Thus, have a good understanding of the level of support, you can save hassle and improve uptime.

Best Gigabit Switch for Home Network Recommendation
Considering all the factors, I recommend some 24 port Gigabit switches as follows that are made by FS.COM. FS can provide local support in the USA, UK, Germany, Australia and Singapore.


If you want a PoE switch, S1600-24T4F is a good choice. If you want a stackable switch, S3800-24T4S and S3900-24T4S both are the ideal products. Note that S3900-24T4F uses the fanless design, which can provide a quiet environment for you. Therefore, with the same switching capacity and forwarding rate, S3900-24T4S is the highly cost-effective choice.


Figure 2: Recommendations for best 24 port Gigabit switch for home use.

Conclusion
Choosing the best Gigabit switch for home network allows users to enjoy the smooth gaming and streaming. If you are looking for a home network switch, FS is ready to offer you a wide range of network switches including 10GbE switch, 40G switch and even 100G switch.

DSL vs Ethernet Cable vs Fiber Optic Cable Speed

Wifi is excellent, we all love it. But under the wireless work, there are serious cabling, and data travels through DSL, Ethernet cables and fiber optic cables. The question is, which one performs better? And what’s the difference between DSL, Ethernet cable and fiber optic cable speed? Don’t worry, we are here to help you understand the key differences among the different cables.


What Is DSL?
DSL stands for Digital Subscriber Line. It’s a communication medium used to deliver digital signals via the copper telephone lines. DSL service functions much like dial-up Internet service. However, unlike dial-up service, the “two-wire” technology of DSL makes it possible for users to connect to the broadband internet and make or receive phone calls at the same time. Because DSL utilizes the existing telephone lines which means there is no requirement for extra cabling for DSL service. Thus, it allows users to download files, watch online videos and support cloud backups.

What Is Ethernet Cable?
Ethernet cable is the most common network cable type in our daily life, which is specifically designed to facilitate the communication between different electronic equipment such as computers, fax machines or scanners. Cat3, Cat5, Cat5e, Cat6, Cat7 are the different Ethernet cable types. Each new promotion of category supports increasingly faster bandwidth speeds and improves upon the signal-to-noise ratio.

What Is Fiber Optic Cable?
The fiber optic cable contains strands of glass fibers inside an insulated casing. Compared with the wired cables, fiber optic cable speed is faster which is designed for long distance and high performance data networking. Single mode fiber and multimode fiber are the primary types of fiber optic cable. Both of them can support the world’s Internet, cable television and telephone system.

DSL vs Ethernet Cable vs Fiber Optic Cable Speed
When we buy the cables, the speed is always an important consideration. Now we’ll compare DSL, Ethernet cable and fiber optic cable speed.

DSL speed
Download speed of DSL is generally in the 1-35Mbps range, while the upload speed ranges from 1Mbps to 10Mbps. When the DSL packages speed is around 1 megabit per second, it’s suitable for basic web browsing and sending or receiving emails. If the cable speed is up to 6Mbps or 7Mbps, you can enjoy online music and standard video streaming but may be a little slow for HD video.

Ethernet Speed
Ethernet cable download speed usually starts from 10Mbps to 500Mbps, and the upload speed is 5-50Mbps. Note that these ranges are the criteria you can achieve for home use. And for the specific areas, internet providers offer much higher speed which can be 1000Mbps. With a faster data speed, you can enjoy HD audio streaming and VoIP services.

Fiber Optic Cable Speed
Fiber optic cable speed is the fastest. Download speed of a fiber patch cord could be anywhere from 250Mbps to 1000Mbps. And fiber providers commonly provide “symmetrical” service, which means the upload speed is as high as the download speed. Though fiber optic cable price is usually a bit higher than DSL or Ethernet cable, it’s always worth buying it. You are free to enjoy heavy web browsing, file sharing and online backup, superior download and upload. And it’s a great option for hosting servers and complex cloud-based services.

Conclusion
As described above, fiber optic cable speed definitely wins. If you want a connection that can move at lightning speeds, fiber is the best choice. If you care more about the budget, both DSL and Ethernet cable can offer plans that allow you to get a decent network speed at a reasonable price. DSL is for lower speed plans, while Ethernet cable is for higher speeds. So choose the best Internet cable service based on your needs.