10 Port 2.5G Umanaged Ethernet Switch, 8 x 2.5G Base-T Ports, 2 x 10G SFP, Compatible with 100/1000/2500Mbps, Metal Fanless, Desktop/Wall Mount YuanLey 2.5Gbe Network Switch for Wireless AP, NAS, PC

Solid Value & performance
Network switches are not the most exciting of things, so writing any kind of review isn’t easy. Unless you’re a network professional, a switch like this is likely all you’ll need. Now, I am by no means any kind of networking expert. No! I’m in the camp of: Plug it in an I want it to just work. For those interested, and very new to all this stuff, there are two basic kinds of network switches: managed and unmanaged. Most switches at the lower end of the price range, of which this is one, are unmanaged. What does that mean? The likelihood is that if you have to ask, you don’t require a managed switch. What I do know is that a managed switch allows much greater control of the connections, including the ability to link aggregate, AKA bonding, I think, groups of Ethernet ports to act together at a hardware level. Beyond that, there are other things you can do, but that is way beyond my needs or abilities.For most regular consumers who find themselves needing a switch, there are two metrics. Speed and number of ports. By far the most common speed for network switches is still the 1 Gigabit AKA 1 GbE variety. pretty much any computer that has an Ethernet port will offer at least a 1 Gbe connection speed. One of the most common errors I hear from people is the confusing of Gigabyte and Gigabit. They are two vastly different speed ratings. Even ISP’s when pushing their Internet speed option will often substitute Gigabit/megabit with Gigabyte/Megabyte. Be aware the actual speed differences are significant. A Gigabit translates to a theoretical max throughput speed of 125 Megabytes/sec. A Gigabyte per second speed translates to approx 1,000 Megabytes/sec. For most home users, a 1 Gigabit Ethernet network switch is plenty enough for their needs. however, a newer, faster speed, 2.5GbE has become increasingly mainstream and, as it’s name suggests, offers up to 2.5x the speed of 1 GbE Ethernet.The most relevant metric for most home users will be the number of Ethernet ports offered. Of course, this depends on your needs, but it is useful to opt for a switch that has more ports than you think you will need right now.If you’re looking at this review and are still wondering what a network switch is and why you might need one, stay with me. I am someone that believes a review should also encompass those just starting out and may not know the things others do. The easiest way to think of a network switch is like a power bar adaptor. You know, those plug bars you use when you’ve run out of available power sockets next to your TV. Network switches perform the same basic function. They allow you to connect multiple Ethernet cables into a single box with one of them going to a computer or your router etc. With a router connected to one port, any devices connected to the other ports on the switch will also have access to the Internet over a wired connection. Unmanaged switches, like this one, are just plug and play. You connect your Ethernet cables and it all just works, and that’s the way most home users want it.This switch is an eight port model that offers eight 2.5GbE standard RJ45 type Ethernet ports and a 10GbE SFP port (likely never used by most people, but really nice to have).Now, bear in mind that a switch offering up to 2.5 Gigabit/sec is of little value if all your devices only support 1GbE. A 2.5GbE switch like this isn’t going to magically turn your existing 1GbE network into a 2.5GbE one. So, for example, my main PC has a 2.5GbE Ethernet port which I have a standard Cat 5E cable attached to (Cat 5E will work with 2.5GbE connections, so no need to spend more on CAT 6 or 7 Ethernet cables) and now connects, via this switch, to a second PC that has recently had a cheap 2.5GbE Network card installed to replace the built-in 1GbE one. Transferring large files across between these machines sees transfer rates of up to around 240 Megabytes/sec. This compares to around 110 Megabytes using standard 1GbE connections. However, another machine connected to this new switch, but only fitted with a 1GbE Network adaptor will not benefit from the faster switch.So, given that currently there is quite a price premium on 2.5GbE switches compared to standard 1 Gig offerings, it might be worth bearing the above example in mind. Still, I opted for this switch due to a Black Friday sale and the fact that it was significantly cheaper, even when not in sale, than more readily recognizable brands, such as TP-Link, Netgear etc. So, for me, to have an eight port switch capable of 2.5GbE on all eight ports and a 10GbE SFP port too, and all for under £90, was a bit of a bargain I couldn’t resist.The switch itself is a long, rectangular box that has LED’s above each port and a power jack on the opposing side. This may be a negative to some who prefer all connectors, including power, to be on the same side. For me, though, this worked out quite well with my cabling arrangements. While on that subject, what was awkward was the power plug supplied with this unit. It has an overhang that can potentially block other nearby power sockets, but has the overhang raised a little to help avoid this. Alas, my switch is connected into a APC UPS that has two rows of sockets that are staggered opposite one another. I was not able to seat the supplied plug with other plugs inserted in an opposite socket due to this overhang. Fortunately, my old 5 port switch I am replacing had a very similar shaped plug of the same voltage, but its overhang was just a fraction higher and cleared the other connected plug. Manufacturers need to think a little more about the shape of their power plugs to avoid such things. If you had a similar issue, you could likely get around it by using a double adaptor plug block to raise it up, but it’s not the tidiest of solutions.As most of my devices are operating at 1 GbE speed and I only have one port using 2.5GbE speeds of the five I have connected, the switch runs very cool, only slightly warm to the touch. What this does lack, like so many other modern devices, is a set of rubber feet to elevate the unit a little off the surface if not wall mounted to facilitate better air flow around the unit. In addition, rubber feet prevent my switch from slipping under the torque of the various connected cables tugging this way and that. So, I had to purchase a cheap set of pads and stick them to it to fix this. Not a big problem, but one that is common place these days on appliances.Other than that, there is not a lot more to say about this switch. It works and works well. Switches are not fancy or glamorous, they just sit there doing their job and we forget about them. This is as it should be and so far after a month or so of use, this switch has performed flawlessly.

Great little switch
This is a great little switch. Easy to set up VLANs. Just works and a great price for what you get.

Can’t beat the value!!!
Had this in production since January, and it hasn’t missed a beat. The old addage of you get what you pay for….. Is it a ‘pro’ managed switch – no? But for consumer kit at this price point, you’ve more features that you can realistically use.I’ve got this as the backbone to my network, connects to my NAS at 10gb, then provides 10gb backhaul to my other Yuanley 2.5gb managed switches.The web management is easy to use, and understand – and provides VLAN, spanning tree etc etc. I even see options for it to do PPPoE and BGP, although I doubt that would be a experience anyone would want considering the hardware.The need to ‘Save’ the configuration after making a change, is a feature, and not a bug-as if you play around with something you shouldn’t and lock yourself out of the management, a quick reboot will get you back in without a factory reset.Be aware of the defaults though – you’ll likely see that the ports aren’t set to auto negotiate, so you might find issue connecting a 1G or 2.5gb SPF+Would I recommend to a random consumer, probably not, but then is that the target audience for a device like this? If you’re a home labber looking at a 10G sfp+ switch, and you’re not bothered about getting into a Mikrotik / Unifi world – go for it.

I have one that is working great, and it’s one that is branched in my mess of wiring, full file transfer speeds. I am also using the SPF connection with a cheap 10G SFP+ Copper Cable, SFP+ DAC, to connect from one switch to another.

Product as advertised. Timely arrival, easy install. Got 802.1Q VLAN to support 3 VLANs on 6 Untagged ports, 2 tagged ports carrying all VLANs. Stable for over 6 days. Speed and performance will improve as I build a fully 2.5G capable network.