koldfront

TL-SG105E - a little switch with a twist #hardware

Working from home, I needed some network ports at my desk - I had stolen the network cable from the printer and used that for the work laptop, but that's kind of annoying when I need to print, and then have to re-log on to the VPN after moving the cable back to the laptop.

Also, I might want another laptop for video-conferencing, and I didn't want to have multiple cables going from the router (creating more blinking lights) across the room to the desk like a savage, so I went looking for a little cheap switch.

Sorting by price ascending I started going down the list and found the TP-Link Easy Smart TL-SG105E - it looked a good size, has cutouts for mounting it on the wall/table, and what looked like a pretty low power consumption, so I ordered one.

When it arrived I drilled a couple of holes on the underside of the table and mounted it there, next to the power strip, and plugged in some network cables.

The manual said that the switch would request an IP-address by dhcp, so after a quick inspection of syslog on my home network server, I got the IP and logged in.

The switch immediately asked me to change the password, good, and I then looked through the menus. It is impressive how much can be configured in a basic 5-port switch costing 161 DKK!

One option intrigued me: "LED On/Off". It defaulted to On, so I switched it Off, expecting that the power LED would be turned off and that the LEDs on the network ports would keep blinking.

BUT THEY DIDN'T!

Much to my delight, all the LEDs turned off, no light pollution at all. I wish my ISP's router could do the same.

The TP-Link SG105E? After a whole day of experience - recommended.