NETGEAR GS752TP-100NAS 48-Port Gigabit Ethernet Smart Managed Pro Switch, 4 SFP GbE Fiber Ports, Poe/PoE+, 384w, ProSAFE Lifetime Protection (GS752TP)

We recently took the plunge into the world of PoE - mostly in order to power the IP phones in our office. With that in mind, we started looking into a good PoE switch to power everything, and almost settled on the Cisco SG200-50P Switch . Fortunately, we decided to give this Netgear a try - and it's been a great choice! I was new to PoE, so some of these items may be obvious to others; but, here are the things we like about this switch: 1) The performance is excellent. We're running 14 IP phones as well as computers and servers through this switch without any hick-ups. 2) It auto-detects whether a device needs power or not, and automatically supplies power if needed. There isn't any problem with running PoE and non-PoE equipment through the same switch. 3) The GUI isn't perfect; but, it isn't bad either. I could only access it using Internet Explorer in 'Compatibility Mode', so keep that in mind - Chrome didn't work at all. 4) We spent some time with Netgear support when we were trying to setup our VLAN stuff - and they were very helpful. Even though I'm definitely giving the router a well-deserved 5 stars, there are some issues to be aware of: 1) The VLAN stuff isn't very intuitive, and it's spread between several different menus - which makes it even more complicated. Even the Netgear support people had trouble figuring out what the settings should be to get it working... 2) This switch absolutely did NOT like Netgear's own Prosecure UTM-9 Router . Originally, I thought the problem was with the switch; but, we ended up moving over to a Peplink Balance 305 Router , and the problems completely went away. With the UTM-9, our IP phones were almost unusable with this switch; but, they're working better than ever with the Peplink 305. (We did work with Netgear support on this, but they couldn't figure out what the problem was either.) I know this switch is expensive (at least compared to the switch we were using); but, if you're looking to get good bandwidth, combined with reliable PoE capabilities, I would highly recommend it. This has been well worth the money for us - and we're able to discard all those irritating power bricks that came with the phones. :)

This is a modified review original 3-star review and comments are preserved below: I originally reviewed this unit and gave it 3 stars because it was really loud- see below. Netgear saw my review and proactively followed up with me. They swapped out my unit with a GS752TPv2 that is whisper quiet, no questions asked. Superb customer service wins my vote! Nice job Netgear! Original review below: The switch works flawlessly but the fans are crazy noisy and run at 100% all the time. Not very energy efficient and annoyingly loud. We've run ours for about 18 months and am looking to replace it with a quieter model with variable fan speeds (like every other piece of IT equipment should).

Like the three other one star reviews (at the time of this write-up), I’ve had the same PoE issue where the PoE function is not working on any ports. The first unit I received PoE on all of the ports was nonexistent. A call to tech support on the “Special ProSafe” support line (in the Philippines) and an hour plus yielded no results. Instead of Netgear replacing the unit they now deemed defective (they would only send a refurbished unit according to the tech and it would take days) the tech suggested I contact Amazon since they would replace the unit quickly and it would be a new not refurbished unit. I went to the Amazon order page, filled out the request and as usual, Amazon was quick to respond with a new unit being shipped out overnight and with no less than Saturday delivery as well. I of course was now suspicious, re-reading the other one star reviews and then checking the Netgear support forum confirmed the fact. This units PoE is not working and Netgear has been aware of it for months! Totally unacceptable. The second unit arrived on Saturday and as with the first unit, all the PoE ports were dead (what a piece of junk). Returning to the Amazon order page and this time requesting a refund, virtually as I hit the enter key an email from Amazon was in my inbox with return instructions and the UPS shipping label; now that’s customer support. Amazon was stellar in their customer support and Netgear was abysmal both in support and fielding a product like this with known major functional defects. One other negative point, the browser interface to the Netgear unit wouldn’t function with any Internet Explorer versions, I could only get it to work with Chrome or Safari (another - are you kidding me!). As reviewer “Mel” noted in his review, Netgear finally replaced both his defective units with the GS-752-TPS model. That model is more than twice the cost of the GS752TP-100NAS and if Netgear had offered that to me, I would have declined. Half my network is still down and I can’t waste any more time, after further research I’ve ordered overnight delivery on a Cisco SG200-50FP.

This is one of the best and most reliable switches I've ever purchased. The amount of power it provides over all 48 to 52 ports is amazing. Right now I have 46 POE devices connected, six of them are 802.3at. I have purchased four of these devices over the last three years and not one of them has giving me a single problem. If you're looking for a rock solid, reliable, PoE, managed switch then look no further this is the one. Just as a sidenote it can go unmanaged as well and just be a normal switch that offers PoE.

My review is of the Netgear ProSAFE 48 port gigabit PoE switch. It'd get 3.5 if possible. The switch has impressive PoE capability, but management is weak. Mostly managed via browser, it takes a long time for the switch server to load any screen, no real time or auto update feature is provided. The information once presented is useful, it is possible to easily see which ports are PoE and which are not, non-PoE ports can go up to gigabit speed. Devices power up well, aggregate power demand is available as is demand by each port. Use per port is expressed in terms of volt, milliamps and watts. Aggregate use is listed only in watts and percentage of total available watts (these are on different screens and take a while to load. Management is mostly for PoE, not L2, L3 stuff. There is some IP 4 and IP 6 configuration (DHCP, Static, etc). Some limits can be put on ports, such as broadcast only, there is a timer to turn PoE ports on and off at different times. The clock mechanism is weak, there is no NTP clock setting available, local time conversion is off by 4 hours for me. Thus it never has the correct time. On the other hand 47 PoE ports plus a gigabit port isn't bad. My home will never have even half that many devices.

UPDATE:11/10/2014 The switch has been running 24/7 loaded with poe cameras and ip phones!!! Purchased a second one for other floor in building and connecting with fiber Gbic sfp ports. Yes i know its over kill to use fiber for short distances but i think its cool to avoid copper. LOL Original Review: If you just want to supercharge your network with out calling the IT guy(save big dollars on install). This is the SWITCH!! 106GBPS Backbone. I am pumping IP cameras through it and IP phones and Computers with gigabit Nics and multi-data displays and this thing does not even break a sweat. Netgear support is Great for 90 Days (great for setting it up and ironing out the kinks) They walk you through any setup you need. After 90 DAYS you pay. It has a lifetime warranty (yippy). I am very happy with my purchase from Amazon and the price was awesome. Other manufacturers sell this type of fucntionality for alot more.

It works as stated but the noise of the fan is too loud for a wiring closet. I had to return it and order one without the POE and fan noise.

We bought this switch to replace an existing Dell PowerConnect Gigabit switch as my client was getting a VOIP phone system installed from their local cable ISP. This was a small business, there were about 12-15 phones. The switch installed without issue, out of the box PoE is enabled so you don't even need to login to the management interface unless you want to setup some of the more advanced features. It worked great, the IP phones powered right up. Install was simple rack and stack. No problems with this device, good price point for 48 port PoE switch.

Excellent quality, fast delivery and overall great experience