Sometimes you just need to put power over an Ethernet cable and that is what the Netgear GS516UP is all about. This is an unmanaged gigabit switch, with a twist: it is both a PoE+ and a PoE++ switch. One item we wanted to point out was what we found in the unit we purchased off of Amazon since there was something strange with our unit. Let us get into it.
Netgear GS516UP Overview
The switch itself is 1U in height but is nowhere near as wide as a standard 1U rack. Dimensions are 330 x 207 x 43 mm or 12.99 in. x 8.15 in. x 1.7 in. This makes the unit versatile enough that it can be rack-mounted but can also be a desk/ shelf top unit.
On the left side of the switch, there are obligatory LED markers. What is a bit different is that there are two DIP switches. Before PoE++ 802.3bt in 2018, there were a number of products that needed higher power output but were built to previous standards like UPOE. Typically these days you would not use the “re-802.3bt mode, but that option is here and is selectable on blocks of ports 1-4 and 5-8. Those are the PoE++ ports.
Since this has the DIP switch, it also has a little PCB and cable behind the faceplate. This is a simple and nice solution.
When it comes to the ports, we have two blocks. Ports 1-8 are the PoE++ ports with up to 60W each of power. Ports 9-16 are PoE+ 30W ports.
The total power budget is 380W. If you take 60 x 8 and 30 x 8 you get 720W of port power. Effectively one cannot use each port simultaneously up to its maximum.
The rear of the unit has a Kensington lock slot. There is a sticker with serial number and MAC address information.
The big feature is probably the power input. Many lower-end and small PoE switches have external power supplies, but at this level, we see an internal power supply. Still, this is not a hot-swappable PSU putting it somewhere between those solutions.
On one side we see a copious vent.
On the other side, we see three sets of circular cutout patterns.
This is a bit strange. As we look at the Netgear product page, we see an interesting spec mentioned. Netgear says this is a unit with silent operation. The product page says “The fanless design means zero added noise wherever its located, making it ideal for your home or business environment.” This is strange because the cutout pattern looks as though it is for multiple fans (and the data sheet says the switch has fans.)
As we transition to the internal view, let us just cut to it, there are three fans in this fanless design. They spin and make some noise.
Many users rely on company product pages and descriptions rather than going all the way to data sheets, especially on lower-end switches like this, so it is disappointing that the web description is clearly incorrect.
There was something else that was quite strange. The switch rattled. Upon opening this switch, we found this that had landed in the space between the power supply and the switching board:
We also found an empty mounting hole at the edge of the switching board.
The screw and washer assembly fits well here. It seems like perhaps we got a “Friday at 4:59PM” production unit that the person assembling did not finish on their way out of the door and that any quality control process missed. It is still a bit scary that this metal assembly absent its hole and rattling in the switch could have passed quality control. Years ago we saw something similar in our Ubiquiti EdgeSwitch ES-16-XG Review: Quality Control Absent (also purchased from Amazon like this unit.)
Moving to the interior of the switch, with that screw replaced, we can see the majority of the switch is actually the power supplies and fans on the right side.
Here we can see the ports and power delivery along with the switch chip below.
On the bottom, we can see the power input along with the three 4-pin fan connections.
The star of the unit is the power supply.
Here is where things get a bit exciting and strange. The power supply is actually well-known in the networking world. These were used in some of the old Cisco switches usually with power supply ratings in excess of 500W.
Finally, just as a quick one there are rackmount ears that are provided with the switch.
Overall, the switch worked well. It powered the various APs and cameras we had. As an unmanaged unit, we do not have a management interface to show.
Final Words
For an unmanaged switch, we actually found quite a few interesting items. Patrick, our Editor-in-Chief sent a video of the rattling screw to Netgear and they are investigating.
On one end of the spectrum, we found a completely loose screw and washer. That is dangerous enough that it has us questioning quality control on these switches. It is perhaps some strange twist of fate that the unit we purchased from Amazon was one without the final screw installed. We would say we are shocked, but given what we have seen with a Ubiquiti switch in the past, it does not seem completely out of place in this segment.
Circling to the positive, we found a Delta power supply that is found in higher-end Cisco PoE switches. PoE+ and PoE++ switches carry enormous price premiums over their non-PoE counterparts for adding larger power supplies and distributing that power. It was refreshing to see Netgear source a higher-end unit here rather than go with a barely capable unit from a lower-quality vendor than Delta.
Both of these extremes make the 16-port unmanaged Netgear GS516UP more interesting than the specs would indicate.
Having a screw loose inside an electrical device like a switch is a problem. My guess is that it came loose during shipment and was likely in place during QA and inspection.
One solution to fasteners falling out due to vibration later is to secure them with a bit of glue during manufacturing. If the manufacturing process has systematically skipped the step where tiny amounts of glue are applied to secure things from vibration, I see no reason to blame one of the factory workers. Instead blame the accountants who saved money on glue and the engineers who went along with it.
How loud was the switch with the fans on? Seems like a pretty important detail, considering the home/office segment that the marketing targets.
I have a difficult time believing that a Netgear product shipped with a loose screw in it. I have bought Netgear products for over a decade now and I’ve NEVER seen a loose screw. If anything I have noticed that Netgear product packing and construction are consistently dependable.
I wonder about the product acquisition policies at STH; we have already seen in a previous article that questionable product installation practices have taken place at STH. So another sub-standard reseller? Maybe a reseller that opens products before the customer gets them? I mean, what do you expect when buying from Amazon and not sharing with us the actual seller’s name? Amazon tells the buyer the name of the seller and the name of the shipper. If it were “Sold & Shipped by Amazon”, then I would suspect a possible repackaged product return (“B stock”); yeah, that never happens. Or was this “Sold by X and Shipped by Y” case where ‘Y’ could be Amazon or a 3rd party and ‘X’ is a seller that is not Amazon? In that case I would suspect the seller before the shipper unless they are the same.
As for the power supply, perhaps Netgear decided they needed to bump up the quality in this part of the product. I doubt that some 3rd party slipped in a Delta brand power board “just because”. Netgear products are built to economize on every aspect of the product, from steel cases to internals to pre-packaged (if standardized) product accessories. Netgear does not built “carrier class” or “over the top” hardware, but Netgear generally offers a very good warranty for “consumer & SMB grade” products. Warranty life is dictated by product & design quality, and both of those factors are part of what drives the product price. When a product like this offers POE on every port and various flavors of POE at that, then a good quality power supply is ‘de rigueur’ when a long warranty is commonplace for that vendor.
And those fans in a fanless product! Oh the hilarity of that! Are you sure that you bought this product from a reputable seller? Seriously, in the Netgear products that I have bought that have a fan, fan noise is generally not a problem…unless you are sitting right next to the switch. Most Netgear products that I have evaluated have a fan noise ratings around 30 dBA or less which is fine for a SMB setting where the switch might be in a back room or tacked to the wall of the coffee nook.
Overall, a good product overview apart from “the loose screw drama”.
In all of my decades in the network equipment industry working with products that ranged from “consumer” & SMB through Enterprise & “Carrier Grade” I cannot remember seeing, hearing customer complaints or co-worker stories, or even unboxing a product (either “A or B stock”) that had a loose screw INSIDE the chassis. Such an error should have failed Assembly and Final QA steps by shorting out the product or causing some other reportable fault. So I smell the following here: “clickbait” article (say it isn’t so STH); or “dubious reseller” (it was bought through Amazon, admitted in the article); or “B stock goods” (remanufactured , ‘open box’, or customer returns) slipped back into the retail chain by persons unknown.
@sleepy, that’s a lot of words to defend netgear, a low-end, middling at best, network gear manufacturer that’s definitely subbing out to the lowest bidder on a low-margin product.
The questions about the differences in spec sheet vs delivered product and the loose screw, while concerning, are FAR more easily explained by oversight rather than malice, either on the side of STH or Netgear.
Sleepy – I am not sure where that aggressiveness is coming from. This was purchased via the Netgear store on Amazon. Amazon Services LLC was the seller. The seals were still on the product, and it was not an open box.
Poor Sleepy living in that world of delusion. Netgear has an official storefront on Amazon that they’ve used for years. Just drop containers off with Amazon and they handle the sales and distribution for you.
Our company had a loose screw without a washer happen on a cheap $350 Netgear switch two years ago. It isn’t frequent but it happens. We did the same since we heard it clank in the case.
It’s always a good practice to check items shipped from far away IF anything came loose BEFORE plugging them in. Even more so when I see how USPS, UPS etc handle package dropoffs in front of my door!
Shouldn’t they use loctite on the screws to prevent that?
Sleepy you need some rest. That’s some really sad conspiracy flaming.
@Elijah Agreed
@Sleepy SSRIs are effective
@Rohit A dB measurement or subjective measure of how loud the fanless fanned unit was would have been interesting. Nevertheless, thanks for the well-written article. I’m considering this unit and I still may have a screw loose.
I enjoyed this review. “This fanless switch has 3 fans …. and they spin and make noise.” Ha ha ha ha.
Also, I missed it I guess. Approximate cost? Are the POE ports 1G or 2.5G or a mixture? Thanks and keep up the great reviews.
Why does an unmanaged switch have a MAC address?
Netgear seems to have lost the meaning of the phrase “DIP Switch”. Dual Inline Package refers to the form factor, pin spacing, and placement on a circuit board; that is why the banks of switches found *on* circuit boards are referred to as DIP switches. These external switches are anything but that.
@Ken Drummond: even without management, a switch needs a MAC address for things like Spanning Tree Protocol. It does things at layer 2 even if you can’t speak to its switch engine directly.
I had a Crucial m4 SSD purchased from Newegg that arrived with a broken/chipped chuck of solder bouncing around inside the SSD making so much noise that I eventually opened it up to see what the heck it was. It was like one half of a BB – much bigger chuck of metal than I would have thought.
that sleepy guy must be trolling to get a rise out of people. Even as Netgear fan they dropped ball. they have some pretty good mid range stuff that beats out ubiquity for 2/3rds the price or even half price at times. Netgear really dropped the ball here. nothing a call to the factory and web team can’t fix i guess.