Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)Our office used to use a handful of the EN-104 4-port hubs and some of the EN-108 (the 8-port version of the same product).
As 10 Mbps hubs go, the EN-104's are really nice.
The quality of NetGear equipment has always impressed me:
- Nice sturdy metal construction instead of plastic.
- Status indicators built into the jacks, so you can easily tell which cable is connected and is active.
- Right-angled barrel power connector which reduce the likelihood of disconnecting power accidentally.
- With an easy-to-access switch, Port 1 toggles between station mode and uplink mode. Unlike some hubs where two jacks are wired together, this design prevents accidentally shorting a station to an uplink.
- Screw-mount notches on the underside allows for easy attachment to the wall, underside of a counter, etc.
If you want to set up a network without spending much, these hubs work well. However, I suggest you buy a 10/100 Mbps hub instead.
Here's why:
Practically all new networkable devices today support 100 Mbps (FastEthernet) as well as 10 Mbps (Ethernet). The EN-104 hub (and other 10 Mbps hubs) will limit you to the slower speed.
As 10/100 Mbps hubs are readily available today, and are quite affordable, I think your money is better spent on the faster hub.
Is there a noticeable difference between 10 Mbps and 100 Mbps? It depends on your usage, but if you regularly work with files larger than about 300 KBytes or larger, you'll notice a tangible difference. For truly large files (like graphics/movies, or when installing an application via a network drive), a 10 second transfer at 100 Mbps will take well over a minute at 10 Mbps.
If the NetGear 10/100 hub (DS-104) is a bit too pricey for you, you might consider the Linksys EFAH05W 10/100 hub. Though not as "nice" as NetGear equipment, the Linksys 10/100 hub is only a few dollars more than this NetGear 10 Mbps hub.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Netgear EN104TP 4-Port 10 Mbps Ethernet Hub RJ-45 with Uplink Button
The Netgear EN104TP is an Ethernet hub supporting four 10Base-T ports and a push-button uplink port for network expansion. Connecting multiple PCs, this device provides a speed of 10 Mbps for information exchange, resource sharing, and client-server or peer-to-peer applications solutions with simple unshielded twisted-pair (UTP) wiring. Built-in LED indicators clearly display port status. Plug-and-play installation with no software to configure makes this device easy to use.
Note: The EN104TP version of the EN104 provides no BNC or AUI connection.
The Netgear EN104TP Ethernet Hub comes with a limited lifetime warranty.
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