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.
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.
Unless there’s some sort of reliability gotcha this seems like a value winner. if you want to convert SFP+s to copper you are looking at 25-$30/port for 2.5Gb or multi-gig modules, and those tend to be finnicky about cooling, so it’s fairly attractive if not desperately elegant to just uplink this puppy to one port instead. And, at this price/support bracket, the fact that there isn’t a management interface listening to the network is probably a virtue.
@justsomeguy: No, metal chassis are not at all unusual in these kind of cheap switches. On the contrary, the vast majority of them have one actually. This was true even for the one that sold for as little as $16 during the Black Friday sale recently as well as the ones that routinely sell for $25-30.
Tested and I can confirm is transparent when processing Ethernet tagged frames. It just ignores the VLAN tag. Acts like all the ports are VLAN truncks.