The TRENDnet TEG-S80g an 8-port gigabit Ethernet switch. We purchased the review sample for $35 on Amazon.com which is about $4.37 per port. Much like the NetGear units we have seen, such as the NetGear ProSafe GS105 we reviewed earlier this year, the TRENDnet TEG-S80g utilizes a metal chassis making it feel fairly sturdy. Since the switch is an unmanaged gigabit switch, it is a relatively simple device.
Look and Feel
Overall the TRENDnet TEG-S80g feels sturdy. The metal chassis is rugged enough for most home and office uses. Like the TP-LINK TL-SG1008D we reviewed recently, the eight RJ-45 ports are found on the rear of the unit. The front of the unit has LED status indicators.
The chassis has a sleek design and has integrated cooling holes. Luckily, there is no need for an additional active fan with this unit so it stayed very quiet during testing. The lack of fan also means the switch will have lower power consumption.
Performance Impressions
The TRENDnet TEG-S80g advertises 16gbps switching which is equivalent to what we would expect from eight full duplex gigabit ports (8 ports * 2 gbps per port.) Conversely the TP-LINK TL-SG1008D we reviewed only advertises 10gbps switching capacity. For some users having switching capacity equal to the full speed of all ports will be important. During switch testing we spend a few days generating “normal” traffic, one port streaming HD Netflix on a PC, four ports backing up files to a NAS that occupied two ports and two servers doing file transfers back and forth. The TRENDnet switch did well.
With a metal chassis we were expecting to see a Kensington lock port. Although this is certainly not the most expensive device, and it may be more expensive than many locks, a lock could be useful. The removal of a switch from a small office can cause business to halt for a period of time until a replacement is found. Certainly this is not a must-have feature but would have been nice to have.
TRENDnet TEG-S80g Power Consumption
Overall power consumption on the TRENDnet TEGS80g was better than expected and only slightly higher than other switches we have tested recently. Boot power consumption peaked at 2.4w on the Extech 380803 True RMS power analyzer. Here are some quick stats:
- Boot power consumption: 2.6w
- Idle power consumption (no RJ-45 active): 1.2w
- Idle power consumption (2x RJ-45 active): 1.4w
- Idle with 8x RJ-45 gigabit links: 2.8w
- Active power consumption with 2x RJ-45 gigabit links: 2.1w
- Active power consumption with 8x RJ-45 gigabit links: 5.8w
Overall, a very impressive showing. The figures were captured using relatively short 2 meter CAT6 cables which generally lowers power consumption on modern switches. With that said, fanless operation certainly did lower overall power consumption. TRENDnet advertises the power saving features of the TEG-S80g in their marketing material.
One other point to note here is that TRENDnet includes a standard orientation power adapter. On standard power strips, most users will want to use this in the bottom outlet. This is important because at this class/ cost of device, it generally makes sense to just purchase a different switch than a different surge protector/ APC to get the power port layout one needs.
The power adapter is a generic affair that is not branded for TRENDnet.
TRENDnet TEG-S80g Features
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- 8 x 10/100/1000Mbps Auto-Negotiation, Auto-MDIX Gigabit Ethernet ports
- GREENnet technology reduces power consumption when:
- Ethernet port is not in use
- Connected device is turned off
- Connected device is in power-saving mode
- Based on Ethernet cable length
- Store-and-Forward switching architecture with non-blocking wire-speed performance
- IEEE 802.3x Flow Control for full-duplex mode
- Back pressure Flow Control for half-duplex mode
- Integrated address look-up engine with 4K absolute MAC address table and 128KBytes RAM data buffering
- Operates and maximizes packet filtering and forwarding rate
- Jumbo Frame support up to 9612Bytes
- Sturdy metal housing
- Diagnostic LEDs and Plug & Play
- 3-year limited warranty
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Conclusion
Overall the TRENDnet TEG-S80g is a simple gigabit switch. The unmanaged nature means that it will not provide many of the advanced features some administrators may want. On the other hand, if the goal is simply to add Ethernet ports to a network this can be a sturdy and low power device to accomplish that task.
