Netgear MS105-100NA Performance
In terms of the overall 2.5GbE performance, we were able to get fairly normal 2.5GbE speeds from each of the five ports.
To be frank, we have considered whether to even include this portion in our series.
Netgear MS105-100NA PoE and Management Capabilities
Since we are going to be doing this as part of a series, we will note that this is an unmanaged switch. Also, we did not find PoE capabilities when testing this switch.
Netgear MS105-100NA Power Consumption
Here is a quick shot of the 12V 1A power adapter. One difference between the Netgear and some of the other switches on the market is that the power adapters and switches have regulatory markings and other certifications.
We saw idle power consumption of around 4.0W.
Adding each successive 2.5GbE link also included an additional 0.4W or so of incremental power consumption. Our sense is that given the 12W power supply, this is expected to be a very low power switch.
The switch itself is a fanless unit so we did not notice any noise. Not using fans also helps with power consumption. Netgear will be one of the lowest-power switches in our round-up.
Final Words
The Netgear MS105 retails for somewhere around $150. One may immediately ask, what is the difference between this switch and the $135 Netgear MS305? In this case, both are unmanaged switches, but the MS305 has a 3-year warranty while this MS105 has Netgear’s limited lifetime warranty.
Overall, this will not be the least expensive, fastest, or most capable switch in this price band that we will review. There is, however, a segment of the market that buys Netgear because they want a large company behind the product and a long warranty. For those folks, this is a 2.5GbE switch for them.
Stay tuned for the rest of this series.
Where to Buy
If you want to check the current pricing, here is an Amazon affiliate link. Note, we may earn a small commission if you buy using this link.
 review, we see how this unmanaged 2.5GbE switch performs and compares to other switches like the MS305.){kind=link}
Solid review on what seems to be a solid little workhorse switch. Now once the prices come down on 2.5Gb it might make sense vs going straight to 10Gb.
All I’m knowing about STH is that they’ll never review the best one first
And once again, netgear continues it’s stranglehold on multiGbE switches, artifically keeping the prices high.
Considering it’s a standard, I wonder why 802.3bz standard stuff is a) seemingly so rare outside of Netgear equipment, and b) so artificially pricey. Like more expensive than straight 10Gb gear.
I really wish there was a decent priced managed option. I need vlan support.
Grandstream has a 5 and 8 Port Multigiblet unmanaged coming in the next 60 days. Looking closely at that and they also plan to have Layer 3 Multigiblet switches by years end.
I agree with Samir…may as well just spec 10g equipment and be done with the nonsense.
L3OG, for home use, 2.5 is built in to modern motherboards and cards are $20. 10Gb RJ45 switches are not cheap either unless you want EOL, hot, loud enterprise switches and not all PCs can accommodate SFP cards, especially if it’s a gaming PC with a video card. For server use yeah, SFP+ setup would be similar cost as 2.5.
Late, expensive, useless. 3-4 years ago for $50, maybe. Today, without a SFP+ port, useless even at $50, the Mikrotik CRS305-1G-4S+ is nuking it from the orbit (a lot cheaper, 4 times the performance).
One thing that bugs me about this “desktop” switch design is that if you’re truly going to use this on a desktop, then either you’re going to see the cables or the power connector facing you. This is really more or a wall mounted design and not desktop design. Put the RJ45s on the back along with the power connector and give me the LEDs on the front.
With 1 Gig ISP does MS105 have any benefit over GS105? Router to MS108UP (for POE++ devices) and remore located GS105 to non POE devices.