TP-Link TL-SG108PE - 8-Port Gigabit Easy Smart Switch with 4-Port PoE

Inna was awesome, the print was awesome, USPS lost the order for over two months and then when it suddenly arrived it looked like it had been dunked in a vat of strong smelling oil. The part Inna sent was perfect, and she sent it right away. USPS... not so much. Thank you Inna!

This is a perfect choice for a budget managed switch with POE capabilities. Whether you have a home lab and want to be able to configure your network with vlans or have a one wire solution for security cameras, this switch does the job. My setup includes a POE access point and I have a vlan set up for my IoT network. The web interface is super easy to set everything up and integrates well with my other tp-link managed switches.

Good Quality, Great Value

I use all 8 ports on this switch with two ports supplying POE. One for an access point and one for a camera. No issues for a month in operation. All devices have had 100% uptime thanks to the switch being powered by a UPS. We live in Florida and lose power for a few minutes close to ten times a year. I am considering adding two or even more cameras because it is much easier to just run an Ethernet cable than also a power a cable, not to mention putting the cameras on separate UPSs. POE makes this more palatable and at the price of this switch, I am ready. More on heat: I have had several (like 20) TP-Link switches over the last ten years or so. I have one setup that has two 8-port switches and they both ran a little hot. One ended up having a few ports fail. I ... MoreI use all 8 ports on this switch with two ports supplying POE. One for an access point and one for a camera. No issues for a month in operation. All devices have had 100% uptime thanks to the switch being powered by a UPS. We live in Florida and lose power for a few minutes close to ten times a year. I am considering adding two or even more cameras because it is much easier to just run an Ethernet cable than also a power a cable, not to mention putting the cameras on separate UPSs. POE makes this more palatable and at the price of this switch, I am ready. More on heat: I have had several (like 20) TP-Link switches over the last ten years or so. I have one setup that has two 8-port switches and they both ran a little hot. One ended up having a few ports fail. I placed the other one on a steel plate for extra dissipation and it is still working today. I replaced the broken one with a newer TP-Link switch that doesn’t generate as much heat. The unit under review does not heat up much even with two POE ports drawing power. Good heat dissipation = lower operating temps = longer life. Except for a few lightning surges, I have never had an electronic device fail that operated cool (or warmish) to the touch. On the flipside, almost every electronic device that operated hot to the touch had a short life. I have had many other brands of switches as well and some of them are just fine, but I can think of three off the top of my head in plastic housings that failed from what I believe to be heat related issues.

Great product

Received this product for review. It arrive undamaged and securely packaged. Installing and setting up a switch is a very easy process. Simply plug it in, connect devices, and make sure it connected to your router. The speeds, and thermals giving off the unit are great. Over the past 5 weeks I've had no issues with functionality. For me the strongest selling point of this switch over other 8 ports switches is the fact that 4 of the ports have POE (power over Ethernet) support. This allows you to power compatible devices without extra power connectors. For my own home setup this has allowed me to remove 3 separate power cables that were running to security cameras in my home, and still have a functioning setup. If you needed a switch with 8 ports for your home or ... MoreReceived this product for review. It arrive undamaged and securely packaged. Installing and setting up a switch is a very easy process. Simply plug it in, connect devices, and make sure it connected to your router. The speeds, and thermals giving off the unit are great. Over the past 5 weeks I've had no issues with functionality. For me the strongest selling point of this switch over other 8 ports switches is the fact that 4 of the ports have POE (power over Ethernet) support. This allows you to power compatible devices without extra power connectors. For my own home setup this has allowed me to remove 3 separate power cables that were running to security cameras in my home, and still have a functioning setup. If you needed a switch with 8 ports for your home or small business this is a great choice. With 4 of the ports having POE support it can make installation so much easier and cleaner, then a switch without POE support.

Perfect solution for a home/small business with PoE needs

This Power over Ethernet (PoE) switch from TP-LINK is a great bargain for those using PoE devices (such as IP cameras) in their home. This TL-SG-108PE replaced my older, unmanaged TL-SF-1008P from TP-LINK with several upgrades. In the box was the switch, power brick, quick setup guide, mini CD (which is about worthless nowadays), and rubber feet. I was pleasantly surprised that TP-LINK decided to get with the program and put the ports on the front of the switch like 95% of Ethernet switches out there (and unlike the unmanaged version it replaced). I also like to see that they went to gigabit Ethernet speeds. Also unlike the previous version, this one has mounting holes. Great overall design. If I painted this sucker black you might mistake it for the Netgear GS308P ... MoreThis Power over Ethernet (PoE) switch from TP-LINK is a great bargain for those using PoE devices (such as IP cameras) in their home. This TL-SG-108PE replaced my older, unmanaged TL-SF-1008P from TP-LINK with several upgrades. In the box was the switch, power brick, quick setup guide, mini CD (which is about worthless nowadays), and rubber feet. I was pleasantly surprised that TP-LINK decided to get with the program and put the ports on the front of the switch like 95% of Ethernet switches out there (and unlike the unmanaged version it replaced). I also like to see that they went to gigabit Ethernet speeds. Also unlike the previous version, this one has mounting holes. Great overall design. If I painted this sucker black you might mistake it for the Netgear GS308P which is nearly the same price but is unmanaged and only 100Mbps. Upon powering up and connecting, I followed the directions to connect to the management web page, which was intuitive and easy to use. I highly recommend changing the switch’s IP address to one for your own network, or DHCP, otherwise the management page won’t be accessible once you get it on your network. Though no real setup is needed, the switch is 100% plug and play with no setup required. The switch has tons of great features you’d expect in a managed switch, though many people need to ask themselves whether they need those features. The firmware included with my unit was the latest at the time according to TP-LINK’s website, version 2016/05/26. Overall this is a great device from TP-LINK. It’s a reasonable price and gives you some great managed features. The key on this is whether you need these features or not and if you really need gigabit Ethernet. IP cameras do just fine with 10/100 and you can find competitors that are 10/100 unmanaged for significantly less money, or get twice as many ports for not that much more. Ultimately though, if you run a home or small business network with a few wired PCs and a few IP cameras or other PoE devices, this switch is absolutely perfect. I am increasingly impressed with TP-LINK products.

Pinch me I'm dreaming right??? I get all this for that price???

I have used TP-Link unmanaged switches for a long time, and loved every minute of it. (But really all I needed was more ports, so if it worked- it worked). This is a stand out product. Not only does it have a metal case and does not feel cheap, but it’s packed with features for cheap. How much better can it get! First thing I did was just plug it straight into my home network. It didn’t work. Like not at all. Lights came on but no one was home. I got to thinking and remembered that it was a managed switch and that it had an IP address. Opened up the manual to find it…. And it just so happened to be the same IP as my default gateway of my home router. Instant conflict and no-workie. Once I loaded the provided software on my laptop and changed the IP, everything went ... MoreI have used TP-Link unmanaged switches for a long time, and loved every minute of it. (But really all I needed was more ports, so if it worked- it worked). This is a stand out product. Not only does it have a metal case and does not feel cheap, but it’s packed with features for cheap. How much better can it get! First thing I did was just plug it straight into my home network. It didn’t work. Like not at all. Lights came on but no one was home. I got to thinking and remembered that it was a managed switch and that it had an IP address. Opened up the manual to find it…. And it just so happened to be the same IP as my default gateway of my home router. Instant conflict and no-workie. Once I loaded the provided software on my laptop and changed the IP, everything went smooth. So just a heads up if you use this at your house, change the IP first to make sure there won’t be a conflict on your network. Here is my honest take on this device. I you don’t know what Port Mirroring is, or bandwidth control, QOS, VLAN, Loopback prevention or any of the other stuff is, then this might not be the best choice for you. If you still need this for POE, then it’s still a great choice at this price. What I mean by this is that if you are just looking at this because it turns one port into 7 more, then you can get that from TP-Link for far cheaper than this and it’s still a great product. If you need this for POE cameras, it’s a great choice at the price. But if you have POE needs and want to VLAN some cameras off into their own private network, want to limit that pesky ROKU in your kids room to 5mbps to keep it from taking too much bandwidth, use a legacy device that only works on 10kbps, or trunk some ports, then you have hit the jackpot. Just the ability to port-mirror kills me, I have never seen this feature on a consumer device for under $100, much less all the other stuff. My final thought is that this is a great device if you need it. If you don’t then just get an unmanaged switch and save your money. But this switch and its features make for just a flat out incredible value matched with a great quality product. This is almost identical in shape and feel to the other unmanaged TP-LINK switches I’ve used, but the features, ohh the features. If you know you need it, then get it.

Really good, solid business class switch for the price

Managed switches are great, even if you don't need all the features available. Build quality appears and feels great, as one would expect from a "business class" switch. Having PoE capability is always a nice addition to any switch. I have 2 PoE wireless access points connected. In all, I'm utilizing 5 of the 8 ports (2 PoE). The TL-SG108PE gets warm, but not as hot as my Ubiquiti EdgeRouter PoE. It does mention this in the included instructions, but like my Ubiquiti EdgeRouter, in order to connect, you must manually set a static IP on the host computer to the same subnet (192.168.0.x) as the switch to be able to connect to it via the web interface; minus the default dedicated LAN IP the switch is set to (192.168.0.1). If using a Windows OS (depending on OS version, ... MoreManaged switches are great, even if you don't need all the features available. Build quality appears and feels great, as one would expect from a "business class" switch. Having PoE capability is always a nice addition to any switch. I have 2 PoE wireless access points connected. In all, I'm utilizing 5 of the 8 ports (2 PoE). The TL-SG108PE gets warm, but not as hot as my Ubiquiti EdgeRouter PoE. It does mention this in the included instructions, but like my Ubiquiti EdgeRouter, in order to connect, you must manually set a static IP on the host computer to the same subnet (192.168.0.x) as the switch to be able to connect to it via the web interface; minus the default dedicated LAN IP the switch is set to (192.168.0.1). If using a Windows OS (depending on OS version, your path may be different), go to Control Panel -> Networking and Internet -> Network and Sharing Center -> Change Adapter Settings. Right-click on your active adapter (e.g. choose your Wi-Fi adapter if you are using Wi-Fi) and select Properties. In the list, select "Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4)", then click Properties. In the next dialogue, check the radio button to "Use the following IP address". Add the following: IP Address: 192.168.0.100 Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0 Default gateway: 192.168.0.1 Click OK. In web browser, type in the IP address of the switch: "192.168.0.1" (this assumes that the connecting device is wired to the switch). The default username and password is admin/admin. The interface is usable and organized, not fancy like Linksys'. As for any network device, highly recommend changing the default username/password.

Robust and reliable

These switches are built like tanks. I use these in electrical boxes outdoors to power IP Cams and they last a long time. They tolerate extreme humidity and temperatures ranging from 4 deg C to 40 deg C and don't miss a beat. The last switch that failed ran 24/7 for 8 years and when it failed, it was only small issue of one PoE port occasionally losing power. The best thing about these switches is they provide 55 watts of power so you can power 4 devices. Other PoE switches from other big brands I have considered fall short at 48 watts which is the difference between being able to use all 4 PoE port or just 3.

TP-Link TL-SG108PE woes and poor performance

Product is quite limiting and buggy, below are a few of the pain points with the product.1. does not support LACP, only supports static LAG, which is very limiting2. does not support firmware upgrades from http sessions intitiated from LAG/8.2.1Q tagged interfaces.3. the management IP DHCP client always fails to send dhcp discover packets after reboot or power cycle, you can only reliably use static ip address for management interface.4. the switch consistently add's an excessive amount of letency in switching packets, always approx 5 ms, even on latest F/W...The switch is of poor software design and implementation, save your money and buy a cisco switch...!