Отзывы о Медиаконвертер TP-LINK MC111CS V6
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TP-LINK MC111CS V6?
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The previous design had green & amber lights to differentiate between gigabit and 10/100. Very useful for debugging issues.
Same model number. Different design. According to the TP-Link website, this new “improved” variant is the “V4” version.
I had two of the good ones already and rebought a third and got this garbage.
The only reason I can think they did this is for cost. Will definitely think twice about buying another TP-Link product.
I mounted the switch to a rack in the basement and ran my cabling to a patch panel. From there, I patched the cables into the switch along with the FiOS router and my NAS. I plugged my PC into my newly installed Ethernet jack (used WiFi for the longest time) and moved my WiFi router to a central point in the house, as well.
After I connected it all up the switch worked exactly how it needed to. No configuration needed as it’s an unmanaged switched (wasn’t looking for anything that complicated). I noticed my speed
I would recommend this switch.
Like all TP-Link products I've purchased, this doesn't disappoint.
But... I'm also a software engineer, and their control panel software to configure settings is not forgivable. Why? Well, for starters, it ought to launch _every time_, no question. But no. It often simply wont appear - no interface, nothing. If lucky, finding and killing the right task in Windows task manager might be enough to get it to launch again. Or not. Who knows. It just depends on how the apps feels on any given day. And then, if it does launch, it will often crash and completely mess with your keys and mouse settings, in particular when you also have the G13 game pad installed too. It's great to have a single control panel app to manage all Logitec devices - this is great, and actually makes me want to sick to one brand for all these devices. BUT... come on Logitec, put some real developers behind this massively critical, flagship app that makes or breaks the entire experience.
That said, It works as a POE switch, and there aren't any packet issues reported by the device, so it works.
- Inexpensive
- Sturdy, well-made enclosure
- Runs cool
Negatives:
- Status LEDs are small and hard to see unless looking directly at front of switch
- Only one status LED per port. Does not show connection speed, just link/activity.
- Power connection is on the back, network connections on the front. For desktop use, this arrangement is very awkward since cables come out both sides of the box. Would be much nicer if status LEDs where on the front and all cable connections on the back. For this reason I would NOT recommend this switch for desktop use.
I crawled around and put about 6000ft of Cat5E witing into my old house, but there was one attic that I only ran two lines to. As a temporary measure I put an 8 port switch up there and used a bunch of individual PoE injectors. The purchase of the TL-SG1016PE is meant to replace all of that, and act as a more permanent solution.
Build Quality
The TL-SG1016PE is standard fare when it comes to SOHO networking products. It's in a metal housing that seems durable enough. The unit it 1U in height, and includes flanges to mount into a 19" rack. The case has hexagonal perforations for ventilation, along with 40mm fans. Thankfully, the power supply is internal, and the power hookup is a standard C13 jack. A straight C13 cable is included.
Setup/Performance
I bought a cheap 4U 19" bracket to mount to a stud in the attic, but it's one of the shallow wiring type brackets for punchdowns. The TL-SG1016PE's mounting brackets support the switch being mounted vertically (where the flanges are rotated 90 degrees). I mounted the switch in the lowest U position, and a punchdown block will go in the top position. The fit is good, and there were no surprises. I think this is a really good mounting option for newer homes that have structured wiring coming back to a closet (usually a master bedroom closet), as it can significantly reduce the practical space/footprint consumed.
The PoE ports of the device work fine, but it's worth noting that the total power budget of the device is 110W. While I will not end up using anywhere near this, it's still good for you to know that the limitation exists. This switch supports 802.3at-2009, which can max out the power budget at 4 devices (even though there are 8 ports). For reference, the 5 cameras that I have on the switch consume about 24W total (and that's at night when the IR consumes more power). When I have the full complement of 8 cameras on the device, I still won't be anywhere near the power budget.
There isn't much to the setup of the hardware portion of the switch, but that still leaves the configuration of the "smart" management of the switch. While the TL-SG1016PE is not a full L2/L3 managed switch, it does have some limited extra functions. In order to access the switch, you can use a TP-Link software application to set the IP address of the switch - it's included on CD, but you can use the one you have installed already if you have any other TP-Link switched already. I prefer to assign static addresses, but DHCP is available, too. Once you've assigned the IP, you can access the web management interface. While I was able to log in with Microsoft Edge, I wasn't able to change the device password unless I used Chrome; Edge seemed to work for all other functions.
The first thing I did was change the device password. I then created a link aggregation group (LAG) for the two lines that I'd run to the attic, which creates a higher bandwidth connection back to a switch (or computer) on the other end, provided that the other end supports it as well. The last thing I did was to create a VLAN for the cameras, which I think is a smart idea for anyone that has externally mounted cameras. Some of my cameras are mounted high up on the house, but others are low enough that someone could access the ethernet cabling with a stepladder... if they do, the VLAN limits the LAN access that the person would have.
The web management includes PoE configuration and usage details. You can set a switch-wide power limit, as well as per-port power policy. I just left everything at auto. The usage details are comprehensive, displaying exactly what the negotiated power level was, along with the instantaneous usage.
Something worth noting is that the TL-SG1016PE, like the switch I was using before it, will be operating in environmental conditions that are out of spec for the unit. The switch has an operating temperature limit of 40C, and the attic routinely gets hotter than that. The robust cooling of the unit, along with the relatively low power draw I will have (compared to the 110W max), should give me at least a few good years of operation. I'd consider that to be a great result.
Conclusion
There are a few things I would change about the TL-SG1016PE:
1. It would be nice if the unit shipped with the current firmware (it doesn't). There are a couple notable differences between the 5/18 firmware and the 5/17 firmware that ships on the device. I recommend loading the new one ASAP
2. I would prefer foam filters on the vents. This is not something that most people wouldn't want or need, but I've got my unit in an attic...
3. It would be nice if the unit (which uses temp-controlled fans, I think) would have hall-effect RPM monitoring of the 40mm fans, and could notify the admin of fan failure
4. It would be nice if there was some syslog or SNMP support
Ok, so that's out of the way... none of the items above are absolutely necessary. As it is, the TL-SG1016PE is performing flawlessly. The VLAN and LAG are functioning correctly, and the PoE hasn't had any faults with my cameras. I highly recommend this item.
The TP-Link 8 port gigabit switch (TL-SG108) is a good solid performer for desktop use. There are lots of similar switches out there. I've used a bunch of different ones over the years in my IT Practice, but consistently had good luck with TP-Link.
Things I like are:
+ Plug & Play
+ Metal Housing
+ Compact Power Adapter
+ Indicator LED's Part Of Each Port
+ Auto-Sensing Ports For Speed/Crossover
+ Fairly Compact
+ TP-Link Has Worked Well For Me In The Past
Things I don't so much:
- Wish the power adapter were built-in so just a power cord
These small unmanaged switches are pretty much a commodity these days. TP-Link has been a good brand for me and I've used several of this model without problems. Just plug it and go makes this 5 stars for me.
OK fine, I'll use chat. But wait, what's that??? Oh I'm number 12 in line??? 25 minutes later I finally get an agent who provided answers at glacial speed. Obviously, he was handling several customers at once. Long story short he leads me through this insane troubleshooting rigamarole
One
Question
At
A
Time
with at least 2 minutes between segments.
Finally, after 45 minutes I realized I'd be a complete fool to hang on any longer. I cut my loses and I was outta there.
So now I'm spending even MORE time telling you about my experience. This product has a zillion reviews already so mine probably wont' make dent, but I feel I have to do the right thing to help my fellow users. You can thank me by up-voting this review. Oh... and you're welcome.
Construction of the switch is solid. The finish is smooth and the metal is thick enough that you do not have to worry about any damage through normal use or with kids.
Pros:
1. Plug & Play. No configuration needed as it is an unmanaged switch
2. Solid and dependable
3. Sturdy metal case
4. Very easy to install
5. Great price and works exactly as expected
6. Can't beat the limited lifetime warranty
7. Excellent throughput
Works exactly as advertised
Cons:
None for me. People may not like the power and the ports being on opposite sides, but with a little cable organization it works fine.
Final thoughts: Great switch for the money. You should definitely get one, especially if you need to expand on your personal home or small office. Very impressed TP-LINK
I had expected this switch to fail the first summer it was in the garage because of the harsh conditions that it certainly was not engineered to tolerate. I am impressed it is still working. If or when it does fail, I will replace it with the same model.
BONUS it pays for itself from the savings ~$40 for each POE injector!
WARNING this isn't a router or modem or WiFi access point! You'll need a modem to get your internet signal, some modems have a couple of ports and WiFi, but I don't like devices that claim to do everything, multitasking devices typically suck! You'll need a router to direct internet traffic to the correct device, but they usually only have ~4 ports, some have WiFi antennas for an access point, but I don't like them because the best location for your router is not typically the best location for WiFi coverage. You should get a secondary WiFi access point that is dedicated to that job, it will give better connection speeds, and you can locate it in the best stop for covering your home and property (I can move my lawn and snowblow the sidewalk without losing connection). However your WiFi is going to slow down if you try to run everything wirelessly.
So you'll want a good switch to hard wire anything you can. Desktop computers, printers, digital storage, game consoles, security cameras, WiFi access point, smart home controller. You'll get less WiFi interference, and better security if devices aren't WiFi connected with the default password for any drive-by hacker to steal, or neighbor to leach off your internet.
So i had to RMA it. Talked to TP-Link support and they sent out a replacement. I got a TL-SG108 Version 1 switch. The original one i bought had a higher version number. I got a downgraded replacement from what i originally bought. I talked to support about this and spoke with someone who didn't even know that there were feature differences between the product versions. Kept getting the same repeated line about how even though the replacement was a REFURBISHED unit that it was "an upgraded version that our engineers worked on & ensured to work" and that there was "No difference between this older version & the newer V3 one".
I had to literally direct the support person to the TL-SG108 product page on their own TP-Link website and point out the line that said "Support 802.1p/DSCP QoS¹ and IGMP Snooping function¹". They didn't get it so i had to spend another few minutes explaining how superscript numbers worked & pointing out that the number was referring to a sentence at the bottom of the page saying those features are only found in V2 and later. "1. For V2 and later version". Ridiculous.
The support person kept repeating over and over how this was upgraded by their engineering team whatever that means. I asked if they meant that even though the product says its a version 1 that they changed the insides to be a later version, they never gave a straight yes or no. Just kept repeating the line about how the engineering team upgrading it. I asked if it was upgraded to have the features of the later versions why is it listed as version 1. They told me the same line again with no explanation, that "it's been upgraded".
The support person seemed to think if they said the same thing enough times i would eventually buy what they were trying to sell me. That i would somehow be convinced that i didn't get back an inferior product to what i bought & sent to them.
So to summarize, the device stopped working properly. I did an RMA. I got back a REFURBISHED AND INFERIOR product to the one i originally bought. The support kept telling me over and over that the features of the later ones didn't matter & wasn't a big deal. That's ridiculous.
The product itself feels solid. Sturdy metal chassis and great out-of-the-box perception of quality. This is not a cheap feeling piece of hardware. I connected it to my network and had my first issue. Now, anyone setting up a 48-port smart switch should know where to look... as I did... but that doesn't change the fact that the engineer who decided that it's default IP address should be 192.168.0.1 (or really, anything ending in 0.1) needs to be fired... then stoned. Needless to say, when I plugged it into my existing network, everything in my network stopped working because I now had TWO 0.1 devices. No issue... I logged in as admin | admin... changed it's IP to 192.168.0.2... upgraded the firmware... hitting APPLY after each change.
Here comes the next issue - and again, it's a VERY SMALL issue. I then realized I had it in a bad spot on my desk, so I unplugged it... moved my stuff around and plugged it back into power. And all of the settings I changed were back to the defaults???? I made all my changes again... unplugged again... and yes, they reset again. Not wanting to bother troubleshooting, I fired up a CHAT SUPPORT window with TP-LINK. Less than 90 seconds later, the issue was explained by by rep - Camille. As it turns out, there is an APPLY button near every setting (which I used) but there is also a master SAVE CONFIG menu item. I assumed that meant EXPORT (like, to save the .BIN file locally) - you can do that too, but the SAVE CONFIG option is a "COMMIT" of your changes. Theory being, let's say you make a bunch of up-front changes... apply them all... then SAVE CONFIG... 4 months from now, you want to TEST some new changes... you can make them, test them, make more, test those, etc... all without COMMITTING them. And you have the option of removing power to go back to your last COMMITTED set of changes. Great concept... Cisco's have a running config like this... my issue is, TELL ME THAT when I click APPLY. Once you know, it's great. Again, just sloppy engineering.
Those small items aside... so far the options seem limitless. The device does QoS, VLAN, has a neat CABLE TEST option, reports on length of cables in each port... some pretty high end stuff, for not a lot of $$. Every port is gagabit, unlike some switches that SAY gigabit and only 2 or 4 ports are. Device looks and feels great. I only question the documentation, but from a technical aspect, it seems extremely promising so far. It will get put to the test starting Tuesday - this client site is pretty large, so I'll get to see how it handles over the next week or two.






