INTRODUCTION

   Over the years many people have asked why we don't do many network switch reviews and the answer is because up until recently we didn't know that many people who had one in their office or home and so we didn't believe it was a popular category. Still with NAS servers (and let's not leave out the increasing popularity/demand of/for IP cameras) now a must in both most of my relatives, friends and colleagues have started to also use network switches and so our reviews section will become a lot livelier in the following months. Now as many of you know currently there's no shortage of network switches in the market so aside the "outdated" 10/100Mbps models you can find numerous of the popular 1GbE (10/100/1000) ones, many 10GbE ones and even a few 40/56GbE ones. Because 10GbE and 40/56GbE network switches are still quite expensive (especially the 2nd) our initial reviews will be of models featuring 1GbE connectivity and the first of those is the LGS116P by Linksys.

   The Linksys brand has pioneered wireless connectivity since its inception in 1988 with its leading innovation and engineering strategies, and best-in-class technology, design, and customer service. Linksys enables a connected lifestyle for people at home, at work and on the move, and with its award-winning products, simplifies home control, entertainment, security and Internet access through innovative features and a growing application and partner ecosystem. Linksys is part of Belkin International.

   The LGS116P network switch by Linksys is targeted primarily towards office use since it features a total of 16 Gigabit (10/100/1000) Ethernet ports (total bandwidth of 32Gbps) 8 of which also support PoE+ (Power Over Ethernet technology uses Ethernet cabling to transfer both electricity and data) for use with compatible devices like IP cameras, access points, lighting systems, VoIP phones, intercoms and many other network devices (max combined output of 80W). Also since the LGS116P network switch does not belong in the Smart and Managed lines by Linksys it lacks a web UI used to setup/configure a plethora of features manually (such as green Ethernet, link aggregation, PoE modes, DHCP, access control, QoS and more) but not all is lost since thanks to the autosensing technology present on all 16 ports it's ideal for people looking for a plug & play model (unmanaged) with plenty of ports and PoE+ support. Just how fast it is well that's something we're about to find out.