The Nicgiga S25-0802P is exciting and funky at the same time. With eight 2.5GbE ports and two SFP+ 10GbE ports it offers a big upgrade over the older 8+1 or 4+2 models we have reviewed dozens of previously. It also has PoE with a big caveat. When we opened up the switch, we found a few truly exciting things. What is more, this switch, with discounts, is now under $95. We purchased it when it was $110, and so it has new features and is becoming more affordable.
If you just want to find the switch for purchase, here is an Amazon Affiliate link to the switch where we purchased the unit. Note pricing may change and often does on a daily basis. Also, there is a decent chance this one will sell out after we publish this article.
Nicgiga S25-0802P Overview
We first covered a similar switch in our 2024 Mega round-up that you can find here:
We will also add this switch to the Ultimate Cheap Fanless 2.5GbE Switch Buyer’s Guide where we have now listed 50+ models. Bookmark that page to get the latest. We will like all of these reviews from that page.
In terms of 8+2 switches, we reviewed a TRENDnet version that is managed but that costs a lot more. We also reviewed the Gigaplus GP-S25-0802 which is less expensive without PoE, but was a favorite in our last round-up. We did not realize this going into the review, but the Nicgiga S25-0802P has a VERY similar model number to the Gigaplus except for the last P. That should have given us a hint, but we missed it. Part of the reason we are doing all of these reviews is to find things in common, differences, and oddities in this segment, and we found them here. Let us get to the hardware.
Nicgiga S25-0802P Hardware Overview
The front of this switch has eight 2.5GbE ports and two SFP+ ports. That second SFP+ port is really the big change here versus the 8+1 switches we haver seen previously. More bandwidth and more connectivity are nice in a switch.
This version aslo came with rack ears. It would have been cool if it came instead with one long and one short side and some easy way to connect the two for side-by-side rack mounting. That is a missed opportunity.
The switch itself is still a short-depth 1U form factor.
There are vents on either side of the switch, but we do not see fans.
The rear has our AC power input. This switch is different since it has an internal power supply.
On the bottom, we get a label. There are some markings that we did not verify. The GP-S25-0802 label tells us that the switch requires a DC 12V 2A power input. It would have been nice to see some more specs on the PoE side on the bottom of this switch.
Inside the switch, we can see some new and some familiar components.
Here is the Gigaplu internal overview, where we can see the dual-chip solution.
Here is the Nicgiga where if you rotate the above image, you can see that the main switch PCB is almost identical. We have an added PoE board and the DC barrel jack input on the Gigaplus is replaced with a power connector for the internal power supply on the Nicgiga.
Here is where things take a bit of a turn. We can see that we have a PoE board that has a label “8 GE POE-No Isolation.” We did not test the isolation, but many will immediately think about IEEE 802.3at and isolated power supplies. That sticker tells us we likely have some cost optimized board that loses functionality.
Here is a closer view of the board.
Here is the internal power supply.
Next, let us get to performance and power consumption.
A few months back I was looking for a 2.5 GbE PoE+ injector, and the cheap ones were about $35. I stumbled upon the 4-port version of this switch for $50 and thought, “Well, if I pretend the switch is just 4-port poe injector, I’m saving a bunch of money.” Haven’t tried vlans on it yet, but it’s still fine if it doesn’t work.
Oh! This looks like just one I needed! It was a shame the Yuanley TS25-0801P didn’t have rack ears…
Love the name, definitely buying!
The port count and the POE functionality is ideal, I’d buy one for sure if they come out with a version that also have layer 2+ management!
I guess no isolation means if a port shorts out it take every port out
@Lexx I was wondering what the impact would be of no isolation. Would there be any increased risk to the peripherals that are being powered by the PoE or would it just impact the switch?
From the ‘maybe a stupid questions’ section:
Why does none of these cheap 2.5GbE switches ever come with at least one proper 10GbE ethernet port? Is it purely about cost savings or is there something else too?
For me as an end customer in the west a proper SFP+ module is almost as expensive as the switch itself but this can hardly be true in the assembling factory, or?
@Arneby IMO it’s part of the thermal design & target market. These are fanless, cool, compact systems for home enthusiasts. I, the target market, bought a few of this new generation of cheap fanless 10Gbps SFP+ switches for my home because I wanted 10Gbps, but not a hot, loud switch whining away (or self-immolating) in the closet. And because of that, I have no intention of going 10GBase-T except where it’s absolutely required. As far as I’m concerned, 10GBase-T is an anti-feature — if a switch has it, I’m not interested. Clearly there are other opinions, but I think your home enthusiast networking market isn’t as hooked on 10GBase-T as it once was. You’re going to see more switches like this, not less.