Today we are delving back into the networking world by looking at the TRENDnet TEG-S380 8-Port 2.5Gbe unmanaged network switch review. TRENDnet was founded in Southern California in 1990 and has gone from strength to strength in networking and surveillance products. Their unmanaged switches are great for homes or small offices. The great thing about this switch is, it has 2.5GbE connectivity on all ports. It can be found on Amazon (UK) for £97.97 and Amazon US for $97 as well. Just watch out if you are buying from elsewhere as the current hardware version is V2.0R, so this is the one you want to be buying. Older models have been discontinued in favour of the V2.0R
Specification
- 8 x 2.5G RJ45 Ports
- Fanless design for silent operation
- All metal enclosure
- 40Gbps switching capability
- Backwards compatible with 1000Mbps devices (auto-sensing ports)
- 453g weight
- Dimensions 159 x 110 x 25mm
- Supports Jumbo Frames (Up to 12KB)
TEG-S380 Switch Packaging & Accessories
Looking at the front of the packaging, you get the usual Blue and Black themed box with a clear representation of the product. The TRENDnet logo is in the top left-hand corner. Underneath the picture, you can see a brief mention to some of the features of the switch.
Looking at the rear of the box you can see an example of how the switch might be used in the typical home, as well as a bit more detail of the spec of this switch. There is a mention of the 2.5G ports, the fanless design and the fact that this switch, is indeed wall mountable. Over on the right-hand side, the specification is also listed in 4 different languages.
Unboxing the product, you can see the switch, power plug, quick installation guide and a safety note from TRENDnet. You can also see the TRENDnet logo nicely engraved into the top cover of the switch.
A Closer Look
Okay so looking at the ports on the switch, something I needed to get out of the way was the way they are numbered. They go from right to left 1-8. Rather than left to right. I’m not 100% sure why and my OCD didn’t like it. I just kept looking a it and thought it would have looked slightly better if they’d gone from left to right. Maybe that’s just me, but if you’re going to be labelling or documenting devices to ports, then just bear this in mind. On the far right is also the DC In for the power supply.
Now one thing I do love is that the ports are on the back of the switch and the LED indicators are on the front. This means, you can do a better job of cable management and makes the immediate area look much more presentable, rather than there being a rats nest of cabling on display. Now TRENDnet aren’t the first to manufacture a switch like this but boy do I wish this would become the default design style.
Green LEDs indicate that the connected devices are connected at 2.5Gb and Amber indicates that the devices are connected at 100/1000Mb link speed. It just looks so much more aesthetically pleasing when presented this way. Normally most switches will have the LED indicators on the ports themselves. So I guess it depends on what you prefer as the consumer. But for me, this is a big plus.
Underneath the switch, you can see the switch serial number, model number and usual certification markings, as well as the holes if you were wanting to wall mount the device. All the information you could possibly need should you need to RMA the device down the line.
One thing I do like to do with these switches is to do a little teardown and investigate the cooling. Undoing the two screws underneath and the top cover simply pops off. You can see two larger heatsinks as well as the vents in the chassis design. The PCB looks nicely finished and by using the heatsinks, this will naturally dissipate any heat generated by the device without noisy fans being needed.
Please note though, that really unless you’re cleaning the device, you should not need to remove the cover. It’s just something I like to check as TRENDnet generally designs their switches in a user-friendly manner. Just bear in mind that capacitors can still hold a charge, even when the device is powered off, so please be careful when undertaking any maintenance on any electrical product. If in doubt, contact a professional as/when required.
Now onto the testing. We used a utility named JPerf to explain and visualise the test. JPeft is a network performance and measurement tool with a graphical interface.
We ran the same test multiple times throughout our testing period and every single time the switch was averaging 283 Mbytes per second which is bang on where it should be. Not once did it drop or stutter and there was no latency recorded. There wasn’t any real increase in the heat being dissipated through the switch either thanks to those heatsinks and ventilation.
Another thing to mention is that the TEG-S380 supports jumbo frames up to 12KB in size. But you are reliant on your network card supporting this. Chances are if you’ve already upgraded to a 2.5Gb network card, like the TEG-25GECTX , you’ll have this feature automatically available to you, it’s a case of going into the advanced settings of your network card and enabling it. Jumbo frames are extremely useful when moving a lot of data around (backups, transfers etc) or when streaming as they allow larger chunks of data to be transmitted at once.
Final Words
Value
Given that 2.5Gb networking is slowly becoming the new standard, the TEG-S380 is great value for money at £97. Whether your device already supports it, or whether you are looking to upgrade older equipment. You can’t really go wrong with this switch. It certainly was the cheapest brand name 2.5Gb switch I could find from any reputable retailer. When compared to the TP-Link equivalent you can save yourself almost £40.
Design & Performance
The switch looks great, the design of having the ports on the back and LED indicators on the front is a big plus for me. I dislike trying to do cable management but this makes it so much easier. The plug, play and forget aspect of this switch means it will make a great addition to any home or small office. Performance was spot on with every test and file transfer we did. So why not save yourself some money but still get amazing performance by choosing the TEG-S380?
We have decided to award the TRENDnet TEG-S380 the EnosTech value award for being incredibly great value for money whilst not compromising on design or aesthetics.
We’d like to thank TRENDnet for sending in the TEG-S380 for review, and we look forward to working with them again in the future.
