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Forum Discussion

AliKelman's avatar
Dec 01, 2022

Suitable upgrade for an EN108

I've got a patch panel in my home (!) with CAT5 wiring running into various rooms from the patch panel. The patch panel is served by a Netgear EN108 switch.  I want to upgrade this to add extra wired connectivity so what would the community recommend that I upgrade to. I would like to have power over internet and also put in some CAT5e connectivity.  Could I also daisychain from my unit

15 Replies

  • While many questions about routers are generic and could be answered anywhere, some things need specialist knowledge. That includes switches, which don't have much in common with the routers covered here.

    You might get more help, and find earlier questions and answers specific to your device, in the appropriate section for your hardware. That's probably here:

    Switches - NETGEAR Communities

    You might like to search there for messages related to your issue .

    I will ask the Netgear moderator to move your message.


  • Do you have cat 5 or cat 5e? 

    The en108 is a really old (22years) 10 base-t switch. So 10mbps switch. 

    Pretty much any modern gigabit switch is going much faster than it (provided your wiring supports gigabit speeds) 

    • AliKelman's avatar
      AliKelman
      Guide
      I'm not sure but I think it is probably Cat5 and not Cat5e. But the cable runs are pretty short. So which Netgear switch should I replace it with? Also would the replacement unit cater for power over Ethernet and what extra Netgear kit should I get for this? I am thinking of putting some webcams on this network.
      • plemans's avatar
        plemans
        Guru

        You can go through and select the ones that hit your requirements. 

        https://www.netgear.com/business/wired/switches/

         

        just keep in mind, again, a lot depends on your wiring and what you're going to do. some security systems use their own poe setup. Plus your cables might not meet their minimum requirements. 

        so I don't have a simple "buy *** switch" .  You need to figure out what you're actually doing and if you're wiring will support it. 

        If it was me? for the time being I'd snag a cheap $20 gigabit switch. you can find 8 port ones all over amazon

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