INTRODUCTION

   For most consumers and even professionals a modem/router with its rear 4/5 Ethernet ports should be more than enough but if you happen to need more ports or if you have several PoE compatible devices like IP cameras and access points a high performance Gigabit (or faster) switch is your best choice. Knowing you need one however is merely the beginning since switches are not only divided in categories based on the number of available ports, their type (RJ45/SFP) and whether or not those are also PoE (+) compatible but they are also divided in categories based on the needs of the end user. For example, unmanaged switches make up the largest percentage of the market and are clearly aimed towards casual consumers whereas smart switches are aimed towards more demanding users (home/office) and finally managed switches are primarily aimed for professional use (businesses). The somewhat popular TPE-082WS 10 Port Gigabit Web Smart PoE+ Switch by TRENDnet belongs in the smart category and is also what today's review is all about.

   TRENDnet is a global provider of award-winning networking and surveillance solutions to small and medium-sized business and home users. Building networking solutions since 1990, TRENDnet enables users to share broadband access, multimedia content and networked peripherals for true anywhere connectivity. TRENDnet's diverse product portfolio includes Wireless, Internet Cameras (IP Cameras), Switches, Power over Ethernet (PoE), Fiber, Gigabit, Home Automation, Network Video Recorders (NVR), Keyboard/Video/Mouse (KVM), Print Servers, Powerline, NAS Media Servers, Multimedia Accessories, and more. To learn more about TRENDnet, please visit www.trendnet.com.

   The TPE-082WS by TRENDnet is a rackmount compatible model that sports a total of 8 RJ45 Gigabit Ethernet ports and two SFP Gigabit ports with a total switching capacity of 20Gbps. All 8 RJ45 ports also support PoE+ with a maximum output of 75W (up to 30W per port) making them ideal for use with PoE (+) compatible devices like IP cameras, IP microphones, IP/VoIP telephones and of course access points. Now as some of you may know smart switches may not offer quite the same level of features as managed ones but they are getting closer and closer and the TPE-082WS is no exception since it's IPv6 ready and its ports support functions like 802.3az power save mode, 802.3ad link aggregation, asymmetric VLAN, 802.1Q tagged VLAN, Voice VLAN, Loopback Detection, GVRP, 802.1p Class of Service (CoS), QoS queue scheduling, port bandwidth management and IGMP snooping. In terms of monitoring and access control protocols the TPE-082WS supports RMON (remote monitoring), SNMP (simple network management protocol), SNMP Trap, Port Mirroring, ACL, SSL, MAC/port filtering, 802.1X TACACS+ and RADIUS authentication. Also let's not leave out that TRENDnet offers a limited lifetime warranty for their aluminum enclosure switches like the TPE-082WS.