But a wireless connection introduces several variables. Protocol compatibility, interference, signal-obliterating wall materials, or even poorly-designed radios and antennas can slow a speedy gigabit connection to a comparative crawl. For much more on this, see our how-to choose a gaming router feature. Conversely, a good wired connection can cut out these and other shortcomings of an over-the-air signal, while providing faster speeds and a reliable, stable connection. But with most mainstream routers only offering just four Ethernet ports -- or sometimes fewer -- the best network switches step in to fill the gap, giving you more ports to plug your wired devices into. Not only that, they can also spread out some of the load on your network, freeing your router up to carry out its primary mission of getting internet service to all the wireless devices on your network that need it. The one notable omission from this network switch is loop detection, which prevents your network being slowed to a crawl or disabled entirely by looped network traffic. This can be a very important troubleshooting tool in a complicated network, with visual indicators on a switch that tell you which Ethernet ports to investigate for issues. Convenient built-in wire speed 10/25/50GbE uplinks, high-density SFP+, and choice of HPE Smart Rate multi-gig with 90W PoE on every port. Scalable growth made simple

Safety UL (UL 60950-1); CB (IEC 60950-1:2005 + Am 1:2009 + Am 2:2013); CE-LVD (EN 60950-1:2005 + Am 1:2009 + Am 2:2013) After what seems like an eternity, network devices are finally beginning to embrace faster-than-gigabit connections. From routers to modems, computers to NAS, big data pipelines are starting to enter the mainstream. And that’s a good thing, particularly as we now use more data than ever before. It’s even possible to get a 2 Gbps connection now if you live in one of the cities where Google is now offering the service.EMC FCC (47 CFR Part 15, Subpart B),CE-EMC (EN 55032: 2015+A11: 2020, EN IEC 61000-3-2: 2019, EN 61000-3-3: 2013+A1: 2019, EN 50130-4: 2011+A1: 2014, EN 55035: 2017+A11: 2020),IC (ICES-003: Issue 7:2020),RCM (AS/NZS CISPR 32: 2015) This switch supplants our previous choice for best 5-port switch, the QNAP QSW 1105-5T, for a few reasons. First, the TP-Link just has a bigger pipe for data, pushing a consistent 2.34 Gbps where the QNAP, in our testing, only barely got over 2 Gbps in real world use. It also has a slightly more space-friendly form factor. And perhaps most importantly, where the QNAP’s warranty ends at 2 years, the TP-Link TL-SG105-M2 falls in the company’s business class of switches, giving it a generous limited lifetime warranty. Lastly, the TL-SG105-M2 sports QoS - a feature typical of most unmanaged switches that is conspicuously absent on the QSW 1105-5T. Number of Ports: You can get anywhere from four all the way up to 48 or more Ethernet ports. Some also have USB ports. Why you can trust Tom's Hardware Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test. EMC FCC (47 CFR Part 15, Subpart B); CE-EMC (EN 55032: 2015, EN 61000-3-2: 2014, EN 61000-3-3: 2013, EN 55024: 2010 +A1: 2015); RCM (AS/NZS CISPR 32: 2015); IC (ICES-003: Issue 6, 2016)

Two field-replaceable, hot-swappable fan trays (included), no empty slot. Supports JL761A Pwr2Prt Fan Tray only The switch did well in testing, putting up numbers slightly better than the QNAP on its 2.5 Gb ports, while its gigabit ports performed very well. Under heavy traffic, we saw no performance loss, which is to be expected given its total bandwidth of 66 Gbps. The ZyXel was the second-hottest of the switches tested, peaking at 100 degrees Fahrenheit under load - which is definitely going to be warm to the touch, but not concerningly so. Just make sure the box has a bit of ventilation. High-performance 880 Gbps system switching capacity, 660 MPPS of system throughput, and redundant, hot swappable power supplies and fans. Speed and power for users and IoTAlong with its 8-port sibling - the TL-SG108-M2 - the TL-SG105-M2 is low-profile, easy to set up, and features a fanless design and metal enclosure that will keep it as quiet as it is fast. And because it’s a 2.5 GbE switch, you might not need to buy new cabling; as long as you’re already using Cat 5e cabling in your network, you’re good to take advantage of the 802.3bz network protocol, which promises 2.5 GbE or 5 GbE connections over 100 meters of cable. In testing, this bore out, with super fast file transfers that didn’t even blink when we loaded the network down with as much traffic as we could muster. The switch ran a little warm though, topping out at about 115 degrees Fahrenheit.