NETGEAR FS105 ProSafe 5-Port 10/100 Desktop Switch

The NETGEAR FS105 ProSafe 5-Port 10/100 Desktop Switch offers: Five 10/100 Mbps auto-sensing UTP ports. Simple installation with no software to install. Fanless design for silent operation.

LEDs let you check the status of connections at a glance. View larger.

Simple Setup and Stellar Performance
Plug in your Ethernet cables and connect a power cord, and you're ready to go. There is no software to install or settings to configure. The switch features auto negotiation, which automatically obtains the fastest possible connection, and Auto Uplink takes care of the MDI/MDI-X connection. There are no toggle switches or special crossover cables. If your network has existing 10BASE-T devices, they will work seamlessly within a higher bandwidth environment with each port achieving its full speed.

Every port supports up to 200 Mbps in dedicated bandwidth. Automatic flow control ensures smooth traffic. The FS105 has 64 KB of buffer memory and an address database size of 1,000. The switch has status LEDs for power, and link, speed, and activity for each port.

The NETGEAR FS105 ProSafe 5-Port 10/100 Desktop Switch has a Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF) of 390,000 hours and is backed by a lifetime warranty. The power adapter is backed by a 2-year warranty.

What's in the Box
FS105 Desktop Switch, wall-mount kit, power adapter, quick installation guide, warranty/support information card.


Product Description
The FS100 series Fast Ethernet switches bring the 100 Mbps switching technology in a compact form factor to the small office marketplace at an aggressive price. These switches segment networks for improved performance, enabling the most demanding multimedia and imaging applications. Since each port is auto-speed-sensing, individual hubs or directly attached servers can easily be upgraded from 10 to 100 Mbps.

As most 5-port 10/100 switches have the same capabilities and cost about the same, there's not much to distinguish one from another. Still, I particularly like the Netgear FS-105 5-port switch. Like other products from Netgear, this switch is a little nicer than the competition because it has:

- Nice sturdy metal construction instead of plastic. The case also has a grounding tab in case you're using the switch in a (electrically) high-noise environment.

- Connection status indicators built into the jacks, so you can easily tell which cable is connected and is active. (The "vistajack" feature.)

- Right-angled barrel power connector which reduce the likelihood of disconnecting power accidentally.

- An easy-to-access switch to toggle port 1 between station mode and uplink mode. Unlike some hubs where two jacks are wired together, this design prevents accidentally shorting a station to an uplink.

- Screw-mount notches on the underside allows for easy attachment to the wall, underside of a counter, etc.

With a 1000-MAC address buffer and 200 Kbytes-per-port packet buffer, this switch can easily handle the typical traffic load of small- and medium-sized networks.

The Netgear product is not the cheapest 10/100-switch (check out the D-Link Fast Ethernet Switch, for example), but for overall design and value-for-money, I still like the Netgear the most.


Fast router, flexible, design is a bit uncomfortable for me.   August 1, 2000
Heath L. Buckmaster (Sacramento, CA USA)
16 out of 18 found this review helpful

I originally had a hub, and when I realized that I wasn't getting anywhere near the throughput I would get with a switch, the obvious choice was netgear. the switch is fast, slick looking, and has LED's to tell you everything about your connections. the downside? design. the ethernet cables plug into the front of the unit, while the power cord plugs into the back. the problem here is that if your ethernet cables are as flexible as warm butter, they get in the way of the led's or each other. when i plugged three cables in, the box sat to the side because the weight of the cable held up up. if you are going to wall mount the unit (it comes with screws to do so) then that might help, but if you are going to set it on your desk, the ethernet cables have to run from the front of it, instead of behind... the unit also gets warm, so make sure you have clearance on all sides so it gets air. otherwise, despite the design issues, the product is slick. has led for 10/100mb, full duplex, collisions, and the 5th port doubles as an uplink.... for fast networking netgear makes a quality product.


FS-105 is a Poor Product.   August 9, 2000
Alexander Davis (Boise, ID)
6 out of 15 found this review helpful

This product needs a larger backplane to handle a network. I have encountered delays and lost signals with this switch. I asked tech support why this was happening and they told me that this switch could not handle large file transfers. That's too bad because now I'm going to return this product.


A very nice switch   January 22, 2002
Bill Catambay (Santa Clara, CA USA)
6 out of 6 found this review helpful

I have been replacing my ethernet hubs with switches (because the throughput on a switch is much better than on a hub). After extensive review, I decided to get one D-Link 5-port switch and one Netgear 5-port switch, both auto-sensing for 10/100 rate. The truth is, they both work great! They both perform well, and were equally easy to hookup (no software to deal with). I will add one thing, and that is that the D-Link box was a much nicer design than the Netgear. First of all, it is much smaller (the picture of the D-Link here is deceiving). Secondly, the Netgear has the LED lights and the ethernet ports on the same side. For my setup, I prefer the ports on the back and the lights on the front. I think the Netgear switch was fashioned more for a rack. Style aside, a big thumbs up for both of these switches!


Great for Home Network!   December 13, 2000
tim747 (Glenview, IL USA)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful

I have bought two of these for home and office use. They work flawlessy and for the price you cannot beat the functionality. I was running at least Windows 98 on all computers I hooked up to the ethernet hub. Windows makes it easy to set up file and printer sharing.

After you are hooked up to a network you will not need to swap disks all the time in order to exchange information or to move files for printing. You can transfer a hundred megabytes in a minute or two depending on the kinds of files.

Setup is a breeze if you have ethernet cards installed already. Even if you do not have cards installed already there are instructions to walk you through step by step. By the way, if you are just using this for a home network, pick out the Netgear hub combo that gives you the most stuff for the cheapest. I have bought at least 3 different ones and the all provide the same functionality as far as I can tell. It is just that sometimes they come with one more port, or an extra cable, or multiple speed compatibilities.