Recently, we saw a $49 switch that has five 2.5GbE ports and a SFP+ 10G port that we had not tested. As a result, we purchased the UGREEN UM106X / CM753 because we wanted to add it to our The Ultimate Cheap Fanless 2.5GbE Switch Buyers Guide. We also wanted to use our big network testing tool on this to see if we could generate a traffic pattern since we have the new capability since the last time we reviewed this class of switch. One really strange one with this is that it seems to have one label that says it is the UM106X, and the other says CM753 as the model number.
We purchased this one at Amazon (affiliate link).
UGREEN CM753 Hardware Overview
The switch is very similar to the YuLinca 2G06110GS, Nicgiga S250501, MokerLink 2G05110GS, and Sodola SL-SWTG015AS switches that we reviewed previously. You will see that next to the UGREEN we get the UM106X model number.
The UGREEN has five 2.5GbE ports. Two of them (ports 4 and 5) can be set for link aggregation via a switch.
There is a SFP+ port that gives us 10GbE capabilities.
On the other side, we get a toggle that changes the personality of the switch. The Nicgiga S25-0501-M would be an example of a switch in this class that is also web managed, but we have seen these physical toggles on a number of models.
The chassis is made of metal, which gives it a decently solid feel.
On both sides, we have vents.
On the rear, there is not much going on.
There is a 12V DC input and a grounding point.
On the bottom, we get a label and the screw mounting points. We also get a Model: CM753 label. It is fun that the label on the bottom and the model number printed on the faceplate are different.
Inside, we get a slightly different construction than the others we have seen in this class, but a familiar layout.
A small difference is that the SFP+ port gets a little heatsink, which we have not seen in other models.
We saw a Realtek RTL8221B, which is often used as a PHY for 2.5GbE ports in this class of switches.
All of the switches that we have tested in this class have had glued heatsinks on the main switch chip. Our guess is that this is a Realtek chip, but the heatsink was glued on.
Another small note here is that the main PCB says UGREEN CM753. Some other PCBs we have had unbranded markings on them.
Next, let us get to management.
UGREEN UM106X CM753 Management
This is an unmanaged switch, but there is the front toggle.
The VLAN position gives us port isolation. The Link Aggregation position turns the two ports into a link aggregation mode. These days, most folks buying in this class will use SMB3 Multi-channel, so this is less exciting than it would have been several years ago. This is not management, but there are some extra functions here.
UGREEN CM753 Performance
With this switch, we wanted to take out Keysight CyPerf machine and test the switch. Specifically, we wanted to see what would happen if we took four 2.5GbE ports on one side to the 10G SFP+ port on the other and get full performance. A small quirk is that we now have six 400GbE ports on our traffic generation machine, but only four 2.5GbE ports. Adding a 5th 2.5GbE port is possible, but it requires a non-standard configuration. Still, we just went for the four and one test.
Here we got Layer 2/3 throughput of around 19Gbps, which is bi-directional traffic across those ports. An interesting note is that as we crossed 512 users, we saw the switch start to run into challenges.
One item we wanted to see was how that 19Gbps or so was distributed across ports. We wanted to know if there was a 2.5GbE port that was slower, or if this was an even split. It looks like the 2.5GbE ports were hitting 2.37Gbps and the 10GbE port was at 9.48Gbps which is nice to see. It was not like ports 1-3 were fast and port 4 was slow. This is what we would expect.
UGREEN CM753 Power Consumption
The power adapter is a 12V 1A unit.
We hooked this up and saw a 1.0W result.
Adding a 2.5GbE connection pushed us to 1.3W.
This was the same as the other 5+1 switches we have seen previously.
Final Words
UGREEN is a brand that offers a range of accessories, including adapters, low-cost NICs, USB hubs, and more. There are some minor oddities here. An example is that the model number on the front is the UGREEN UM106X, but on the bottom label and on the PCB it is CM753. For these low-cost 2.5GbE switches, that is not a huge finding. Still, UGREEN has done some small things like adding the SFP+ internal heatsink and having the toggle switch. While those may seem like small touches, they might make this the best 5+1 switch we have tested.
Generally, we prefer the 4+2 switches over the 5+1 switches since they offer a bit more performance. If you just need five 2.5GbE ports, then this makes sense. So far, it has worked well, so perhaps this is going to take over our top 5+1 spot in our Ultimate Cheap Fanless 2.5GbE Switch Buyers Guide.
Where to Buy
We picked this one up at Amazon. Here is an Affiliate link.
In your Final Words, you don’t mention the metal chassis. That seems unusual in this price class (from what I’ve seen of your other reviews- I haven’t bought any of these dinky switches) and probably worth mentioning. I don’t care that it feels nicer, but the better heat dissipation is probably meaningful for at least some users.