QNAP QSW-1208-8C-US 12-Port Unmanaged 10GbE Switch

Gigabit Ethernet is starting to show it's age. With storage devices such as NVMe drives able to transfer data at over 1 gigabyte per second, it's easy to saturate a single gigabit link. 10 Gb/s has been the solution to faster data rates but until recently was cost prohibitive for most consumers. Multi-gigabit networking, which was announced in 2016, is a new networking standard that supports speeds of 2.5 gigabit per second, 5 gigabit per second and is backward compatible with both 1 gigabit and 100 megabit per second speeds. Personally, I've been waiting on consumer multi-gig networking gear since the standard was announced. A few manufacturers have jumped on the 10 Gb/s bandwagon as well, Asus and Netgear both offer consumer level switches with two 10 Gb/s ports and cost right around $200.00. QNAP recently announced their new unmanaged 10 gigabit switch which is also multi-gig capable. This switch will run at 100 Mb/s, 1 Gb/s, 2.5 Gb/s 5 Gb/s and 10 Gb/s. The QSW-1208 unmanaged series of switches come in two options, 8 and 12 ports.  The switch we will be reviewing is the 12 port version. The switches have a mixture of SFP+ (small form-factor pluggable transceiver) ports and ethernet ports, some of which are dedicated and some are combination SFP/Ethernet ports. Simply plug in the devices and you're good to go. The unmanaged switch means there is nothing for you to configure to get the switch up and running. I can't wait for a faster switching network as I have fiber runs for long distances and I do have a lot of devices that are plugged in. I also tend to create large files for some of the projects that I do. However, most people will see a limited benefit depending on their network layout.  I'm going to go out on a limb and say that most networks are going to have a few devices on them. Things like tablets, cell phones, a PC or two as well as a console. For most home networks a 1G network is fine. As more wireless devices become available and new wireless protocols get ratified, moving to multi-gig will help with the congestion. The limiting factor in these particular networks is going to the connection to the internet. Having a multi-gig or 10G switch in your home will not make the internet faster unless you have an internet connection faster than 1G.  The bandwidth increase is all internally. Then you have content creators, photographers, videographers,  and other users that may need to transfer very large files from their PCs to their networks.  These power users need something that's faster than 1g. Some may be able to utilize the benefits of going to a full 10G network.     Packaging Most of QNAP's products ship in a plain box and don't need the artwork that adorns other products that we review. Typically, these products won't be on a retail shelf. The box shows a graphic of the QSW-1208-8C. Near the bottom of the box, the features are called out as well as a sticker showing that 10G/5G/2.5G/1G are all supported.

Internally, the QSW-1208-8C is protected by a rigid foam insert. On the left side of the box are the accessories. A multi-language quick start guide is included as well.

  The accessories for the QSW-1208-8C include a power cable, a quick installation guide, 19-inch rackmount ears and screws, and rubber feet. This switch can be installed as either a desktop switch using the rubber feet or can be installed in a standard 19-inch rack.

  Specifications 10G SFP+ (fiber) ports 4 10G SFP+ (fiber) and RJ-45 (copper) ports (combo) 8 Form Factor Desktop/rackmount Switching capacity 240 Gbps MAC address caching capacity 27K Number of priority queues 8 Jumbo frame support Up to 9K packet size Power Supply Unit 100 - 240 V AC, 50 -60 Hz, max. 2.5 A Power Consumption (W) All ports used, line-rate traffic: 49 W Link-down standby: 21W Fan 2 low-noise smart fans Sound Level @ 25°C: 18.7 dB(A) Operating Temperature & Relative Humidity 0 - 40 ̊ C / 32 - 104° F 10 - 85%, non-condensing Electromagnetic compliance Class A LED Indicators Per switch: Power Per port: Speed, link, activity Dimensions (H x W x D) 43 x 285 x 233 mm Weight 2.15 kg Limited warranty 2 years Supported standards • IEEE 802.3 Ethernet • IEEE 802.3u 100BASE-TX • IEEE 802.3ab 1000BASE-T • IEEE 802.3x Full-Duplex Flow Control • IEEE 802.1p Class of Service • IEEE 802.3az Energy Efficient Ethernet (EEE) • IEEE 802.3an 10GBASE-T • IEEE 802.3bz 5Gbps and 2.5Gbps Ethernet Over Copper Twisted Pair Cable • IEEE 802.3ae 10-Gigabit Ethernet Over Fiber • IEEE 802.3aq 10-Gigabit over Fiber (10GBASE-LRM) • IEEE 802.3z Gigabit Ethernet 1000BASE-SX/LX   A Closer Look at the QNAP QSW-1208-8C The QSW-1208-8C has 12 ports total. Four of those ports are dedicated SFP+ ports and the other 8 can be used with either SFP+ modules or RJ45. The shared ports are labeled with the same port numbers. The switch measures in at just over an inch and a half tall, 11.2 inches wide, and 9.1 inches deep. The smaller size fits well on a desktop without taking up too much real estate. For those that have networking racks, the switch includes ears for mounting it in a standard 19" rack.

On the front left of the QSW-1208-8C is the status panel. LEDs light up beside their corresponding port numbers when connected. SFP+ and Ethernet ports are labeled separately. Each LED color shows the speed at which the connection was negotiated.

  There are a total of 12 ports on the QSW-1208-8C. The 1st four SFP+ ports are dedicated and are not shared with any of the RJ45 ports. The remaining eight ports are shared between SFP+ and RJ45. Only one of the shared ports can be connected at a time. The SFP+ ports are compatible with most SFP and SFP+ GBICs as well as DAC (Direct Attach Copper) cables.

The RJ45 ports support 10G over CAT6a. If the run is shorter than 45 meters (148 feet) then standard CAT6 can be used. Although, I have successfuly run 10G on CAT5e at short distances, it is  best to stick with manufactures recommendations. In order to reduce the total cost of upgrading, multi-gig was designed to run on CAT5e cabling. You can fully utilize 2.5G and 5G on your existing cables.     The left side of the QSW-1208-8C features two 60mm fans. Traditionally with most switches, the fans run at high speed and sound like a jet about to take off. While airflow is necessary in this switch, the fans are designed to be silent. Silent fans are also important as QNAP touts the switch as a desktop switch. The switch is also 802.11az (Energy Efficient Ethernet) compliant which, means that when a connected port is at low utilization, power consumption is reduced as well.

  The right side of the QSW-1208-8C features a large mesh area to facilitate airflow. Through the mesh, you get a peek at the large aluminum heatsink inside. The fins on the heatsink run left to right. This allows the fans on the left of the switch to pull air in from the right side and across the heatsink.

  The rear of the QSW-1208-8C is pretty bare. It has a Kensington lock port to secure the switch to the desktop. There is also a COM port. At this time, I'm not really sure what exactly it does. I've tried to connect to the switch however, I didn't get a response. Power to the switch is provided by a standard power cable.

Removing the two screws on the top edge of the rear of the switch will allow you to access the internals of the QSW-1208-8C.  Towards the front of the switch, there is the mainboard with a large aluminum heatsink covering about 1/3 of the motherboard. To the right are the dual 60mm fans. Under the black cover at the back of the switch is the power supply.   Four screws secure the heatsink to the main board and after removing them, the heatsink comes off very easily. The heatsink is cooling the three Ethernet controllers. There is also a thermal couple on the right side helps control fan speeds.