16-port Switch with VLAN 

The EP-716x is the latest Ethernet switch from Surecom that can be used by small offices or departments of large companies. It has 16 ports and an Uplink port, which can auto-sense 100 or 10 Mbps (full or half duplex) network connections. The key feature of this switch is its VLAN support, which let’s you divide your network into different logical segments. You can configure 15 of its ports to form their own separate VLANs. The 16th port can be configured as a shared port. You can connect a resource like a printer or server, which needs to be shared. The switch also supports port trunking, which allows you to aggregate the bandwidth of multiple ports to form a 800 Mbps connection. It also supports the Spanning Tree Protocol, which prevents path redundancy while preventing loops in the networks. 

Setting up the switch is quite simple, as it’s compatible with both 100/10 Mbps networks. We tried out most of its features, which were quite easy to use. It can be managed and controlled using a Web browser or Telnet. Web-based configuration lets you view the switch status, change port settings, create VLANS also and assign an IP address, username and password to the switch. The switch also lets you create Web-based reports on each port’s activity. Another useful function is that you can configure any port as a sniffer, which would then collect all network traffic from nine other ports at a time. You can then connect a network-traffic analyzing software to this port to monitor your network traffic. On the management front, it supports SNMP, RMON and QOS to manage the switch using any network-management software.

The Bottom Line. Considering the management capabilities of this switch and its price, it’s a great buy. 

Sanjay Majumder at PCQ Labs