Review: NetGear DS104 Dual Speed Hub
Crucial release a video card for the rest of us
| Product | DS104 Dual Speed Hub |
|---|---|
| Company | Netgear |
| Web | www.netgear.com |
| Price | £60 |
| We like | Build quality, price |
| We don't like | Not as flexible as a switch |
| Rating | 10/10 |
| Requirements |
There are two main ways to network PCs. One is to link them all together via T-pieces and coax cables so that they are effectively all connected together with one long cable. This is fine but has its limitations. A better way is to add a hub which all the PCs connect to. This is more flexible and also adds the ability to run at speeds above 10mbit/sec with suitable hardware.
The Netgear DS104 is a dual speed hub which allows you to run at either 10mbit/sec or 100mbit/sec. Until recently, 100mbit/sec systems were strictly the domain of large corporates with money to burn as they didn't come cheap. Prices have fallen steadily and suitable network cards can now be picked up for well under £20 each. Hubs too have fallen in price and at around £60, the DS104 shows just how affordable this technology has become. The range also includes the DS106 and DS108 which have 6 and 8 ports respectively.
Hardware
The DS104 oozes quality, especially at this price point. The case is made of sturdy metal, looks good and is well finished. It has four ports each of which has two LEDs to indicate which speed that port is running at. You can have some PCs running at 10mbit/sec and others at 100mbit/sec with no problem, the hub will ensure they all work at the best speed they can. The front contains several other LEDs that indicate the current workload of the hub so you can easily see how much data is moving about. The fourth port is switchable between a standard port and an uplink port enabling the hub to be linked to other hubs if later expansion is needed. The unit can be mounted on a wall if required and suitable screws are supplied although most users will probably have it on a desk somewhere. The DS104 uses an external PSU which may be an issue if you are running short on plug sockets.
In Use
Installation consists of plugging each PC's network card in to the hub and powering it up. No drivers are needed. I tried the hub with two PCs running at 10mbit/sec and two at 100mbit/sec. Each performed exactly as expected with excellent throughput between each machine. The difference between 10 and 100mbit/sec is very noticeable especially when copying large files. I tend to backup important data from one PC to another and the increased speed made this much less of a chore. The large number of informational LEDs were useful to see how hard the hub was working and to check what each connection was up to.
The only minor issue I can think of is that if you intend moving vast amounts of data around simultaneously, you might be better off choosing a switch instead of a hub. Hubs share the bandwidth between different connections whereas a switch effectively gives each channel a full speed connection at all times. These have a price premium but this could be considered fairly small if you think a switch is more suited to your working patterns.
Conclusion
There haven't been many times when a piece of kit has impressed me quite so much. The DS104 looks and feels like a quality device. It works perfectly and has the kind of front panel information normally found on more expensive devices. Most of its peers at this price are plasticky affairs with perhaps a power lamp at best. With no bad points that I came across during testing I have no hesitation in giving it full marks.
