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 Now as many of you know currently there's no shortage of network switches in the market so aside the "outdated" 10/100Mbps models you can find numerous of the popular 1GbE (10/100/1000) ones, many 10GbE ones and even a few 40/56GbE ones.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.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

Linksys used a plain cardboard box with their logo on it and a small sticker with a product picture and a description to ship the LGS116P.

That sticker also has several certification logos on it (some are also explained in-depth).

Two foam spacers and a plastic bag are used to keep the device safe during transport.

Contained inside the box are the LGS116P network switch with its power adapter and two power cords (EU/UK), small plastic pouch with wall mount hardware, documentation CD and the quick install guide.

THE LGS116P

In terms of size the LGS116P is quite compact and so it measures just 280mm in length, 120mm in width and 25mm in height (weighs just 822g).

To get a better idea on just how compact it is we placed it over the TRENDNET TPE-S44 8-Port 100Mbps switch, the LINKSYS LGS308P Smart 8-Port Gigabit switch and the NETGEAR PROSAFE XJ712T Smart 12-Port 10GbE switch.

Unlike some higher end switches the LGS116P doesn't feature any exhaust fans and instead it's just perforated on both sides.

All 16 Ethernet ports are placed at the front (along with the system and PoE max LEDs) and as you can all see the 8 ones with PoE+ support are tagged and placed on the left (all ports have link activity LEDs).

The only thing at the rear of the LGS116P is the power port.

Turning the device over we see 4 rubber round feet (removable) and two holes which can be used for vertical mounting.

TESTING METHODOLOGY

   Network switches are pretty much identical to routers so we’ll be using roughly the same testing methodology. So aside the usual networking benchmark by Passmark (v8.0) this time we will start our tests with the latest versions of ATTO (v3.05), Crystal Disk Mark (v5.1.2) something which we couldn’t do in the past since these versions have updated testing methodologies and thus are not compatible with the results we’ve gathered over the years. Also as you’ve already noticed we decided to replace the QCheck by Ixia with Crystal Disk Mark since we feel it’s a more complete choice. To test all network switches we are using two of our desktop systems outfitted with two Kingston HyperX Predator 480GB PCIe SSDs (these SSDs combined with two XT540-AT2 PCIe cards will enable us to also fully test 10GbE network switches). Our systems are placed 15m away (connected with CAT7 cables) from the switch in hand and each test is repeated a total of 6 times after which the average scores are recorded into our charts. Both systems have Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 installed with all the updates until the 25th of April 2016.

   Also just like with Modem/Routers we will also be recording power consumption is these reviews during all our tests and both the lowest and highest numbers will be available in our charts. Finally when testing network switches with built-in fans (like the XJ712T) we will also record noise levels using our high precision ExTech HD600 Decibel Meter placed about 5-10cm away.

TEST RESULTS

CONCLUSION

   Since this is the first network switch review we’ve done in almost 3 years I feel we need to point out 3 things. First we didn’t perform 10GbE tests with the Netgear XJ712T in this review since on one hand we wanted to see how it would do with 1GbE while on the other we want to have another 10GbE switch in our charts for a more “proper” comparison (soon). Second we also benchmarked the D6300 Modem/Router again by Netgear so people can check and see how modem/routers compare with switches. In the long run we may “merge” these two categories but for that to happen we need to wait until we upgrade our main test rig (Core i7 6930 where is thy?). Finally the reason we equipped our two desktop rigs with Kingston HyperX Predator 480GB PCIe SSDs is because we wanted to be 100% certain that they can handle 10GbE tests with ease when we finally start such tests for good (although obviously for future 40GbE these will not be enough). With these out of the way the LGS116P produced solid numbers and although it even managed to surpass the many times more expensive XJ712T in some tests it’s just a tad more power “hungry” than the 10/100Mbps TPE-S44 by TRENDnet. The lack to control aspects of the switch via a web interface (like the LGS308P or the XJ712T) is something that may turn away some professionals and enthusiasts but for regular use we all feel that the LGS116P delivers.

   Whenever we publish a review about a Linksys product we always find that the pricing on their websites is far from what distributors and retailers ask. The same thing happened today but although the USD195.99 listed on their USA page is a bit more than what we’d like currently it’s available for USD164.99 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for 177Euros inside the EU (Amazon.co.uk) a price tag which is quite good considering that slightly less costly solutions by other manufacturers don’t offer PoE+ with a maximum output of 80W. In the end many people will choose to go a different route and get either a smart or a managed switch to have more “control” over the device itself but since for regular use the LGS116P with its 16 Gigabit autosensing ports, PoE+ with a maximum power output of up to 80W and relatively low power consumption should be more than enough for most cases it gets our Golden Award.

PROS

- Quality
- 16 Autosensing Gigabit Ports (Speed/QoS/Sleep)
- 8 PoE+ Ports
- 80W Maximum Power Output (For PoE+)
- Power Consumption
- Lifetime Warranty
- Size
 

CONS

- No Control Interface / Unmanaged (For Some)