INTRODUCTION

   One of the many questions people ask us quite often is what's the most efficient way to setup a home or office network with several computers attached to it (some even want to throw some LAN events). Well like we already talked about in our last switch review since high-end modem/routers have a total of 4 RJ45 Gigabit Ethernet ports they should be more than enough for home use (sometimes even for office use) but if you're looking to connect even more then a Gigabit switch is the easiest way to do it. Now for home use even an unmanaged model should be sufficient (you can find models with 5/8/16/24 available ports) but for more demanding applications such as office use an smart or a managed model (smart switches lack some management capabilities and fine-tuning found in managed switches) could provide many useful tools/features not found in unmanaged models. Last time with us we had the unmanaged LGS124P 24-Port Business Gigabit PoE+ Switch by Linksys (which as expected from a business model packed quite a punch) so today we decided to take a look at their LGS326P 26-Port Smart Gigabit PoE+ Switch.

   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 Linksys LGS326P is a smart switch (the end user can control many of its functions through a web GUI) that features a total of 24 RJ45 Gigabit Ethernet ports and 2 RJ45/SFP Gigabit combo ports adding to a total switching capacity of 52Gbps. All 24 RJ45 Gigabit Ethernet ports are PoE+ compatible (192W maximum output power) and fully support advanced functions including link aggregation (up to 4 groups of 8 ports per group), 802.1x RADIUS authentication, RMON (remote monitoring), port mirroring (packet analysis), port authentication/security, DHCP snooping, STP (spanning tree protocol), QoS (quality of service), SNMP (simple network management protocol), power save mode (802.3 EEE+ plus short reach with energy detect) and up to 128 active VLANs (802.1Q). On paper the Linksys LGS326P really looks like a beast so let's move forward to see exactly what you can expect from this Smart Business Gigabit Switch.