NETGEAR MS108EUP Review: 2.5G, PoE++ and Fanless
Eight 2.5 gigabit ports with four PoE+ and four Ultra60 PoE++ outputs sharing a 230W budget, in a fanless metal chassis with VLAN and QoS management. Buy it if you are running cameras or access points as well as a NAS, because PoE at this power level removes a lot of wiring. Skip it if you have nothing to power, because a plain 2.5G switch costs a fraction of this and the PoE budget is most of what you are paying for.
Eight multi-gig ports with a 230W power budget, silent, and priced like the NAS you are connecting to it.
NETGEAR 8-Port PoE 2.5G Ethernet Easy Smart Managed Switch, MS108EUP
~$350
An eight-port 2.5 gigabit smart managed switch with four PoE+ and four Ultra60 PoE++ ports, a 230W total budget and a fanless metal chassis.
Check price on AmazonSpecifications
| Ports | 8 x 2.5 Gbps multi-gig, auto-negotiating |
|---|---|
| PoE | 4 x PoE+ and 4 x Ultra60 PoE++ |
| Power budget | 230 W total |
| Management | Easy Smart Managed, with VLANs, QoS, port monitoring |
| Chassis | Compact metal, desktop or wall mountable |
| Cooling | Fanless |
| Efficiency | IEEE 802.3az Energy Efficient Ethernet |
Specifications above come from NETGEAR's published specifications. Treat pricing as approximate, since Amazon pricing moves.
What it does well
- Fanless is the specification that decides whether a switch can live in an office or a living room. A switch with a fan will be heard, permanently.
- A 230W PoE budget across eight ports is generous, and four Ultra60 ports means it can drive power-hungry devices such as high-end access points and pan-tilt-zoom cameras.
- Two and a half gigabit on every port matches what modern NAS units and mini PCs ship with, so nothing is negotiated down to gigabit by accident.
- VLAN and QoS support means you can separate cameras and guest traffic from the rest of the network, which is worth doing and which unmanaged switches cannot.
- A metal chassis with wall mounting is the right build for something that will sit in a cupboard for a decade.
Where it falls short
- If you have nothing to power over ethernet, the PoE hardware is most of the price and you should buy a plain 2.5G switch instead.
- A 230W budget is a total, not a per-port allowance. Four Ultra60 devices at full draw will exhaust it, so add up your actual loads rather than counting ports.
- Easy Smart management is a web interface with a limited feature set. It is not a full managed switch, and anyone wanting deep configuration will find it thin.
- Fanless switches under a heavy PoE load run warm. Give it air and do not stack anything on top of it.
- Two and a half gigabit is the ceiling. If you are building toward 10GbE, this is not the switch that gets you there.
What owners report
Owner reports on NETGEAR's multi-gig smart switches are consistently positive on hardware and mixed on the management interface, which is exactly what Easy Smart implies. The recurring practical note is heat under sustained PoE load in a fanless chassis, which is a placement consideration rather than a defect.
The question worth asking before buying any switch is whether the network is your bottleneck at all. Our 10GbE versus 2.5GbE comparison makes the case that 2.5 gigabit is more than most spinning arrays can saturate, and our throughput calculator shows what your storage actually delivers. Upgrading the switch when the drives are the limit changes nothing.
If the switch is going into a rack or a cupboard with other gear, our rack PDU versus power strip comparison and the rack unit calculator cover the surrounding decisions, and our NAS networking basics guide covers what to plug into what.
Who it suits
- Homes running PoE cameras, access points or phones alongside a NAS.
- Anyone whose NAS and clients have 2.5GbE ports negotiating down to gigabit on an old switch.
- Installations where switch noise would be audible.
Who should skip it
- Networks with nothing to power over ethernet, where a plain 2.5G switch is far cheaper.
- Anyone building toward 10 gigabit.
- Buyers who want full managed switch features rather than an Easy Smart subset.
Alternatives worth considering
UGREEN NASync DXP4800 Plus 4-Bay NAS
~$620
A 10GbE NAS behind a 2.5G switch runs at 2.5G. If you are buying both, decide the network speed once and buy matching parts, rather than upgrading one end and wondering why nothing changed.
Check price on AmazonAPC UPS 1500VA/900W Pure Sine Wave, BR1500MS2
~$300
A switch on a UPS keeps the network alive during an outage, which is what lets the NAS signal a clean shutdown and lets cameras keep recording. Network gear draws little, so it costs almost no runtime.
Check price on AmazonMinisforum Venus UM790 Pro Mini PC, AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS, 32GB DDR5, 1TB SSD
~$839
Multi-gig networking only pays off with machines that can use it. A mini PC server with fast storage on the other end of a 2.5G link is where the difference against gigabit becomes visible.
Check price on AmazonKeep reading
- 10GbE vs 2.5GbE
- Rack PDU vs power strip
- Patch panel vs direct cabling
- Network throughput calculator
- NAS networking basics
- UGREEN DXP4800 Plus review
- APC BR1500MS2 UPS review
- Best 2.5GbE switch for a NAS
This review draws on published specifications, manufacturer figures and the consensus of verified owner reviews. We have not tested this product ourselves, and we say so rather than implying otherwise. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a 2.5G switch for my NAS?
Only if the NAS and the client both have 2.5G ports. Many current NAS units and mini PCs do, and connecting them through a gigabit switch caps them at gigabit. If everything on your network is gigabit, a new switch changes nothing until the endpoints change too.
What is the difference between PoE+ and PoE++?
Power budget per port. PoE+ delivers up to about 30W and PoE++ delivers considerably more, with Ultra60 ports in this switch sized for the higher tier. Cameras and basic access points are usually happy with PoE+; pan-tilt-zoom cameras, high-end access points and some displays need more.
Is 230W enough PoE budget?
It depends on your devices, not on the number of ports. Add up the actual draw of everything you intend to power and leave headroom. Four Ultra60 devices running near their maximum will consume most of a 230W budget on their own, which is the constraint to plan around.
Is a managed switch worth it at home?
The useful features are VLANs and QoS. VLANs let you keep cameras and guest devices on a separate network from your NAS and computers, which is genuinely worth doing given that cheap IoT devices are a common weak point. Easy Smart management covers those basics without the complexity of a full managed switch.
Should the switch be on a UPS?
Yes, and it costs almost nothing in runtime because network gear draws very little. Keeping the switch up during an outage is what lets a NAS signal its shutdown and lets any network monitoring keep working while the batteries last.
How we choose: we compare published manufacturer specifications, drive datasheets, published reliability statistics and verified owner reviews. We do not test hardware in person, and we are not tied to any NAS vendor. Capacity and power figures here are researched guidance, not a warranty. RAID protects against drive failure, not against deletion, ransomware, fire or theft, so keep verified backups regardless of what any calculator tells you.
Working out your own cost per usable terabyte? The Home Server Build Planner is the paid version of these pages: 8 printable worksheets you fill in with your own numbers, plus the full PDF, $29.