Netgear is supposed to have a 5 year warranty (2 on the power supply). I had one of these for about 18 months. Over the last months it's been increasingly flaky, every week or two it just hangs and needs to be unplugged and started again. It doesn't matter how much it's in use (it's done it when we've been on vacation with minimal network traffic).
I called Netgear to get it replaced, but they told me that it's not meant to be plugged in all day, so they won't fix it. Unless you actually unplug all your network equipement when you are not actively using it (I didn't think so), then I highly recommend avoiding Netgear products. NETGEAR GS116NA Giga Switch 16Pt Metal
Im with Bjorn, after 2 weeks of use i noticed that i had to unplug the thing after 72hrs of use. Now after 7 months i have 8 dead ports. I have always trusted Netgear, but the last 3 items i have bought from them have failed in less than a year. I don't mind tossing paper cups, i don't expect them to last very long, but swithches and routers, i expect to at least get 3 years out of them.
Right from the start, it could not be easier! If you are looking for an economical 16-Port GB switch the GS116 is an excellent choice. Simply plug it in and it works! I have installed the switch down stream from my 4-port cable router. The auto-sensing port configuration works as advertised. No problems intermixing 10,100,1000 devices. Further, the automatic uplink to the router was completely seamless without the need for a turn-over cable.
Again, if you are looking for a dumb 16-port GB switch, I highly recommend this one.
I've used several Netgear products, including this 16-port 10/100/1000 switch as well as the Netgear 4-port 10/100/1000 mini-switch, and I've never experienced any problem. I suspect that some of the failures you're reading about have to do with inadequate ventilation. This is a fanless switch, and if you don't have it located in an area where it can dissipate heat, you'll see that it gets very hot. This can also occur when you pile stuff on top of the switch, as might happen if you locate it in a closet, or put another heat producing device on top of it, like a cable or DSL modem. This caveat is also included in the setup instructions, so it's ultimate location should be taken into consideration prior to your purchase.
Many other switches, e.g. the D-Link 16-port 10/100/1000 have an internal fan, and have less of a problem staying cool. The problem with the fan is that in a small office, the noise can get very annoying. In addition, the fan also needs room to vent the hot air that accumulates inside the switch, but at least it can have small other heat-producing items rest on top of it. In my old network setup with a D-Link, I have a cable modem and a Vonage router resting on top of the D-Link with no heat problem. I can't do that with the Netgear switch as it immediately gets too hot, and transfers the heat up into the other devices. Not good!
This switch has the right features for most users, most notably auto-sensing on each port to figure out whether it's a straight-through or cross connect. One LED on the port indicates a Fast Ethernet connection and two LEDs indicates a 1GB connection. I no longer have any 10 MB devices, but presumably the LED on one side would be amber.
I think this switch is a good value for the money. If you can leave it in an environment where it has adequate ventilation, the Netgear 10/100/1000 desktop switch is an excellent, quiet, space-saving choice for a home network that offers a lot of room for expansion. I'm glad I bought it.
RELIABILITY
Out of 6 Netgear GS line switches, I've had 2 fail outright and one requires reboots.
2 GS108 isolated for iSCSI. One requires a reboot every few months.
2 GS108 switches at a different site. One failed such that all of the link lights flash at the same time, network drops each time, completely unusable. Power cycle doesn't help. Power it off and unplug it for an hour, and it will work for 20-30 minutes. It took 12 months to fail, but I had swapped it in the middle with the working switch during a facilities move.
One GS116 uplinked to a JGS116 and used to feed the back office PCs and laptops failed the same as the one GS108 failure above. This is in a different city than the GS108. This worked fine for 6 months.
One GS105 which works fine after 2 years, but is not left on full-time.
One JGS116 (bigger case, has heat sinks and fans) works fine for several years.
All switches have plenty of ventilation.
In summary, the GS1xx line seems to have a 50% failure rate after 6 months of power-on time. The retail versions have a lifetime warranty, but cross-ship is $20. The JGS1xx switches (with fan) seem to be much more reliable.
PERFORMANCE
iperf 94-96MB/sec - Source Linux (Lenny), Celeron D 2.0, Broadcom NetXtreme BCM5754
iperf 45MB/sec - Source WinXP SP3, P4 3.2GHz, Intel Pro/1000
Summary: Pretty good for a desktop switch. - Switch - Netgear - Gig Switch - 16 Port'
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