Netgear's new ProSafe XS716E is a 16-port 10GBase-T switch that can be found at less than $2000.
10GbE is becoming increasingly popular, due in part to the way the growing use of 802.11ac Wi-Fi and GbE connections to static devices such as desktops adds to the load on core networks.
Netgear's ProSafe XS716E is described as an affordable (RRP $2549, though we have seen it advertised for less than $2000) 16-port 10GBase-T switch, joining the existing XS708Ev2 eight-port model.
One of the copper ports is shared with a 10G SFP+ fibre port.
{loadposition stephen08}Features include VLAN support, QoS, IGMP snooping, port trunking/link aggregation, rate limiting, and traffic monitoring.
“The potent combination of big data applications, cloud services, mobile devices, and the deployment of 802.11ac Wi-Fi is putting severe stress on networks, and not only at the enterprise level,” said Netgear vice-president of product line management, Richard Jonker.
“We’ve designed our 10-Gigabit Switching products like the XS716E 16-port Ethernet web managed switch to help price-sensitive small and medium-sized customers who are eager to implement 10-Gigabit solutions to improve network capacity, speed and performance, but who have been shut out by cost until now.
"Essentially, Netgear is breaking the price barrier for 10Gig switches, we are offering management capabilities unseen before at this price category.”
The XS716E comes with Netgear's ProSafe lifetime hardware warranty, including next business day shipping for part replacement, and "lifetime technical support where available".