As you can see in the hardware specifications above, the switch can do multiple things, including QoS, creating VLAN, Port mirroring, and so on. Standards-based technology, ensuring interoperability with any standards-based devices in the existing network Clearly, if you already have a Multi-Gig router or switch, you want to use one of its two 10Gbps as the uplink connection. The Netgear GS110EMX's web interface has excellent context-based instructions.

The GS110EMX is a compact desktop switch that has no internal fan -- it's silent, more the most part. This is a very small unit overall. It measures 236x102x27mm or 9.29×4.02×1.06 inches which is very compact. The front of the switch is the most exciting part. It starts off as a simple 8x 1GbE port switch which is not too exciting in the 2020’s. Netgear GS110MX 8x 1GbE Ports As for a genuine 10Gbps connection, the GS110EMX was fast, but it was farther south of 10,000Mbps than most other switches I've tested -- so far, none could deliver real 10,000Mbps. Port trunking/ link aggregation (LAG) allows for increased throughput beyond 10G or to provide redundancy across the link(s) Unmanaged: These are plug-n-plug switches for the home. They do no more than adding more ports (Fast Ethernet, Gigabit, or Multi-Gig) to an existing network. Some support PoE, too.

Netgear GS110MX Power Consumption and Noise

This thing worked great. I do have to say that I had a 30 foot run downstairs. I ran a brand new, fancy, CAT7 cable down there, seemed to work fine with the gigabit switch, but I only got 100mbit. Being the first time I've ever set up 10G, the troubleshooting process was a bit tough. I spent an hour or two, looking at the drivers and configuration of the new 10G nics I put in, everything. I, kinda, went nuts working on it. In the end, I figured it must be the cable, but I wasn't sure. As a last ditch effort, I plugged in an old blue CAT5E cable that I already had run there. CAT5E isn't supposed to work, and it's a 50 foot cable on top of it. Thing is, it just came up. BAM! 10G. The other 2 Linux machines I connected just worked. No issues, and now my Xwindows pop up like they're native. Everything just works beautifully. Plug-and-play, automatic connectivity to your router or modem of 4 or 7 additional wired connections. No need for an IT expert!

If your goal is complete simplicity, then the Netgear GS110MX makes sense, especially if you want up to 8x 1GbE ports and 2x 10GbE or multi-gigabit ports. For many small offices that have a workstation or server, a NAS, and several clients this type of device makes sense. What would have, of course, made this a stronger recommendation is if the eight ports supported 2.5GbE. Together, they would match the speeds of the uplink ports. We are also seeing more client devices and even low-end NAS units support 2.5GbE so it would make the switch more future proof.

Netgear GS110EMX Overview

As such, it's a well-made device. It's compact, and quiet with excellent Gigabit performance in my testing. There's also a great set of networking features, and the lifetime hardware guarantee is hard to beat.