Enos Tech Verdict
The TRENDnet TPE-LG50 is the little network switch that packs a punch. It stands out from the crowd for it’s size, feature-set and POE+ abilities. This is a perfect gigabit network switch for those long CCTV runs or VoIP telephony solutions. With the ability to provide Power Over Ethernet on ports 1-4 you can use it to power devices up to 32 watts, Great for home or small office alike. With an additional ability to extend the POE delivery to 200 meters at 10Mbps by adjusting the built in dip switches. This really makes the TPE-LG50 a great all rounder device.
Pros:
- POE+ on ports 1-4
- Extendable up to 200 meters
- VLAN Isolation
- QoS abilities
- Affordable
- Portable
Cons:
- Extending the POE to 200m comes at cost of speed
Pricing
TPE-LG50 Specifications
| Make/Model | TRENDnet TPE-LG50 |
| Ports | 4x POE+ ports and 1x Standard Gigabit Port |
| Dimensions | 12.1cm Length x 7.5cm Width x 2.5cm Height |
| Weight | 227g |
| Voltage | 54 Volts |
A Closer Look
So looking at the packaging you get the usual TRENDnet Blue and Black colour scheme with the TRENDnet logo in the top left corner, an picture of the product and a brief description of a few of the features underneath this.
Now turning over and looking at the rear of the box. The features are listed in more detail. You can see reference to the POE+ power delivery abilities, as well as the 5x gigabit ports with 10Gbps switching capacity as well as mention to specs in several different languages.
Unboxing the product, we can see the switch itself, the power adapter (54V output) as well as a quick installation guide and a safety note.
Looking underneath the switch, the different settings for the DIP switches are listed pre-attached to the case. This means no last minute Googling required, or hunting down for the manual which you’ve probably already thrown away. That’s a good idea, it means you can take the switch with you and deploy it easily in any location.
Now looking at the front of the switch, you can see the 5x gigabit ports and the DIP switches themselves. It’s nice and easy to use as leaving the dip switches down leaves the device working in it’s default configuration.
A feature I did want to touch on was the VLAN Port Isolation. Say you are installing a few POE CCTV cameras or VOIP handsets. If you flip the 3rd dip switch up, this will immediately isolate devices on Ports 1-4 from the rest of your network. Great if you want a quick plug and play solution without having to worry about config files, or management ports etc. I could see this working well in small satellite office.
Another neat feature is the QoS (Quality of Service) support. This is handy when you are configuring a router to prioritise different types of packets and traffic. So as an example, you might want to prioritise voice traffic over general browsing. Obviously, if you need to configure to an advanced level then there might be other more suited products out there. But the switch does indeed support QoS. It’s becoming less needed in this day and age but it’s still a fantastic feature to have.
Power Over Ethernet – What is it?
In a nutshell, PoE can be used to provide power to multiple networked devices, without having to worry about physical power sockets for those devices. An example of PoE-enabled devices would be Wireless Access Points, Certain routers, CCTV cameras, VOIP or digital telephony devices (such as a Yealink or Avaya handset). The power is provided via the switch over an ethernet cable. So imagine you had 4 wireless access points, all needing power. This means ordinarily you would need 4 additional power sockets to power those devices. The switch needs to be plugged into the mains power, but then by plugging in the ethernet cable to the corresponding device, you can then power that device without a plug socket.
The TP-LGE50 can provide up to 30 watts of PoE power per port (on ports 1-4). So that’s 4 individual devices that can be powered from one tiny network switch. Now you can see the benefits of PoE and why many businesses are adopting it.
PoE normally works up to 100 metres but thanks to the clever technology inside the TPE-LG50, you can extend the distance up to 200 meters by adjusting those dip switches. This does mean however that the speed will drop to 10Mbps on those devices, which would work well for a phone as an example. But if you are reliant on high-quality recording or transfers then there might be other options out there that you need to consider. But for anything else, this is a fantastic feature to have. Especially on such a low-cost device.
Taking a quick look at the ports and general size of this device, it’s tiny. The ethernet ports, power supply, and DIP switches are all accessed from the front of the switch. Given how compact it is, it really is going to fit well into any environment.
Final Words
Priced under the £50 mark, this switch is great value for money. If you need quick POE+ connectivity without losing sleep and breaking the bank, then this is one to go for. The ability to extend the POE+ range up to 200 meters is not something you see often but in this case, TRENDNet has his the nail on the head. Those long cable runs aren’t a problem with one of these.
Likewise, if you’re a field based IT engineer, I’d recommend having one as your disposal, because let’s face it, you never know when you are going to need a quick fix, easy win solution. Not only is it a great gigabit switch but with VLAN Isolation and QoS support, there’s not much more you could ask for at this price point.
Yes, it’s only a gigabit device, however, 2.5GbE on cameras, desk phones, etc isn’t mainstream yet and isn’t going to be needed for the foreseeable future. So this is really a device you can install and forget about. The only exception to that is that some access points are now coming with 2.5GbE at a premium, but it’s not an overall concern just yet.
We have chosen to award the TRENDnet TPE-LG50 our Enos Tech Useful Award for its practicality, portability, and rich features. Everybody should get one.
