The Tenda SE105 is a 5-port fanless 2.5GbE switch. It is also extremely similar to the BrosTrend S2 5-port 2.5GbE Switch we reviewed. Still, we wanted to keep the refresh of our The Ultimate Cheap Fanless 2.5GbE Switch Buyers Guide going and wanted to validate that this was similar to the BrosTrend, so we bought one to test out even though it was $10 more than the BrosTrend when we did.
Here is an Amazon Affiliate link to the Tenda SE105, and another Affiliate link to the BrosTrend S2.
Tenda SE105 Hardware Overview
The front of the switch has all of the ports that are on the unit, but it is missing something compared to the BrosTrend. The BrosTrend S2 had a big “2.5 Gbps” between the ports and the power input, but here that area is just blank.
Here are the five 2.5GbE ports:
Here is the 12V DC input jack.
Since all of the ports are on the front, there is nothing on the rear.
The switch itself is made in a plastic shell that just snaps together. Some switches in this class that we have reviewed have metal cases instead.
On the sides, we get vents.
On the top, we get vents and the status LEDs.
On the bottom, more vents and mounting points. The cost optimizations are so extreme here that the feet are plastic, not rubber.
Snapping off the bottom cover we can get inside the switch.
Here is the back of the PCB.
Here is the front of the switch PCB. This is something we have seen before.
Here is the BrosTrend S2. You can see both have the 10056368 V1.1 markings and look identical.
We will note that the heatsink is not one we can get off, but given the boards are the same we would assume this is a MaxLinear chip as well.
You can also see that there are unplaced components for an 8-port version.
Next, let us power the switch on and see how it works.
