Netgear ProSafe GS724T-300 24-port Gigabit Smart Switch

I've been using Netgear switches reliably and happily for about 6 years now. I started out using their Pro Safe 4-8 port switches in the home and had nary a problem with them. I did have an 8 port switch burn out after 3 years of heavy use (GS108), and even though it was a model that was released before they offered lifetime warranty and I was 6 months out of mine, they went above and beyond and volunteered to replace it with a new unit that came with a lifetime warranty, even though I didn't bring up any complaint. Their customer service and support division is outstanding and Netgear really does stand behind their products, which is something I can appreciate. Dealing with their customer service was a fast, friendly and zero hassle affair-- within 5 minutes I had a return label emailed to me.All of their switches carry a lifetime warranty, so these switches are a fairly safe investment for your infrastructure needs. I've since upgraded my office with two of their 24 port switches and they have worked flawlessly. Everyone i've recommended them to has been very happy with them, as well as being very happy with the price, compared with comparable unmanaged switches by other manufacturers.

This has worked well in our home. I wire instead of using wireless whenever possible - which isn't easy in a house that wasn't pre-wired. But the reason I went to this type of switch was to isolate misbehaving devices. Every once in a while one our our DVRs (DirecTV) would act up and bring the entire wired network to it's knees. I'd have to restart everything after having restarted the misbehaving device first. This has fit the bill perfectly.Besides doing exactly what I wanted I can now sub-net some devices so the consumer devices that sniff networks they reside upon can see each other and the internet but not our phones, tablets, PCs, etc.I have no specific reason for not giving it five stars other than the fact I have no other devices to compare it with!

This thing is junk. It worked great initially, but after 6 months half my ethernet connections failed. Why, I wondered? After a bit of testing, I deduced that the ports on the smart switch had become inoperative. I can't log into the browser interface to find out why since it doesn't come up anymore.To top it off, calling Netgear for technical support costs money. That's no fun either. So I'm going to give up and take it into the back and smash it with a baseball bat, Office Space style.

The switch works well enough, but the Smart Control Center Software (the Smart part of the Smart switch) will not function for some reason. The level one support said they would pass the problem on to their "genius group". That's been a couple of weeks ago, with multiple calls from me to the level one group as a reminder, and so far the Geniuses haven't called me back.It's a nice enough piece of hardware, for a decent price. But don't buy it if you may need assistance from Netgear support. And do not buy it for the "Smart Control Center" software.

If you haven't setup a device like this in the past, there are a few details in the documents that you will want to have at hand before you get to it. Go ahead and look through the manual. The 'quick setup' card that came with it left out one or two items that aren't killers, but will help smooth over a couple of the kinks you may notice later. A few items to note: factory default password (it isn't blank), SNTP server config info (who is your time server = internal or external), and if you aren't on a Windows machine you will likely find it easier to have your network information handy that you wan't to assign to the server. I am not sure how many Windows/Microsoft admins will/would use the included discovery disc... maybe more than I think, but I am thinking not many unless it is their first time. I have worked with *nix and Mac for quite a while so I am used to not having helpful first-timer utilities.A very fine product for the price with plenty of features that compete with more expensive brands/models. Good warranty too!

Using this switch to create VLANs in our DC for various networks. Smart Control configuration software does allow not selection of any interface on the local computer other than the first listed. If you are trying to discover over a VPN for example, you can not switch to the VPN in the Smart Control SW even though it is listed. Going directly to the device via IP works much better, from there it is an easy setup and just works.

Product: GS724T-300 ProSafe 24-port Gigabit Smart SwitchPros:- Works out of the box without configuration if you aren't using any advanced features.- You can disable unused ports and set short-run ports to low power level. So you can get more ports than you currenly need without the extra power utilization.- Silent. No fans- No power brick.- Block DHCP servers from unautorized ports.- With optional fibre inserts you can use fibre on up to two of the ports.- Supports VLAN, QoS, LAG- Comes with Management SW and provides also MIBS.- PriceCons:- Some of the LAG configuration is not very intutitive.I considered going with the 16-port version but for the minimal price difference decided on the 24 port instead. also with port deactivation feature I don't even have the additional power utilization for the currently unused ports.I have read some review which state the fan is louder than they would like on this switch. And even the netgear product specs list a noise rating on it. However mine has none.I am considering buying two more for other small sub-nets.