The Right Switch for the Job

The D-Link DGS-2205 is a five-port, 10/100/1000-megabit-per-second switch that supports jumbo frames, has a five-year warranty and provides power-saving green technology. Because the DGS-2205 was designed to be compatible with most standards, it has 802.3x Flow Control, supports IEEE 802.1p Quality of Service and has media access control address learning and aging. Considering what you get for the price, this is a perfect switch for your small office/home office.

End-user Advantages

The design of the DGS-2205 is compact and simple, which is what users want in a desktop switch. It could easily be stored unnoticed under a desk or off to the side. The switch auto-senses connection speeds, displayed by an LED on the front. The DGS-2205 also has built-in medium dependant interface/MDI-crossover, which averts the need to use crossover cables. The switch is perfect for anyone who needs five or fewer Ethernet ports for a home network. With the size, performance and price point of the D-Link DGS-2205, it is a best buy for the home and small office user. 

Why It Works for IT

Green thinking is new to the switching world, but it works. The DGS-2205 applies some of the same ideas that makers of desktops and notebooks use, reducing power requirements wherever possible. The switch ships with a 5-volt AC adapter instead of the standard 9-volt and can reduce power to ports that are idle. As soon as a computer is turned off, the switch shuts off power to that port until there is renewed activity. According to D-Link, this can provide energy savings of up to 44 percent. The DGS-2205 can also analyze the length of any Ethernet cable and adjust the power according to that measurement. These green techniques reduce power consumption, create less heat, extend product life and reduce operating costs. These energy reductions alone are not going to save you a tremendous amount of money, but they will add their two cents as part of an overall energy-efficient approach. 

Disadvantages

To run a bandwidth test, I used Lenovo X200 and T400 notebooks and a Lenovo M57 desktop. I tried several tests with various files sizes, and the throughput was very good — there were bottlenecks on the hard drives but not on the network. However, it’s unlikely that network administrators would use the D-Link DGS-2205 for more than a small project or to expand a single network jack into five. They can’t manage the switch and it has few ports, and an enterprise network can be very complicated with virtual LANs and port trunking. But in a small-office environment, the DGS-2205 will shine.