2. Product Tour

The SMC 8 Power EZ Switch 10/100/1000 is not a small device, measuring 12.99 x 7.99 x 1.73 inches and weighing 4.54 lbs. The reason for its size is simple: it can be either rack mounted or it can be used on a desktop shelf. SMC includes the rack mounting brackets if you need them as well as rubber feet if you want to simply deploy the switch on a desktop.

An SFP port if you need it.

The device has eight clearly marked Ethernet ports and one SFP transceiver for an optical link. None of the Ethernet ports are specifically designated for uplink, which is typical for a switch of this class. In reality, it doesn’t matter since all the ports that are auto sensing the EZ-Switch can differentiate which ports have the uplink. For network deployment, it’s often a good idea to know which cable is which. As such, a best practice is typically to use one of the outside ports (either 1 or 8) for the uplink, but hey, it’s up to you.

It’s a switch so you’ve got to have flashing lights (otherwise how would you know it’s on?). Amber lights on the Link/Acct indicate a 10/100 connection while green indicate a 1000 Mbps connection. The EZ-Switch display lights do not differentiate if you’ve got a 10 Mbps connection. The lack of 10 Mbps display has become typical of most modern switches. There are still plenty of older networks with the odd 10 Mbps device or NIC out there that will work with this switch; you just won’t know the actual speed from simply looking at the LED lights though.