NetGear FS605 5-Port Ethernet Switch

The NETGEAR FS605 Switch is a device that allows more than one RJ-45 Ethernet Connection on a single line from a Router. I would call it a signal splitter if I dared but I don't. This is a passive device with no mechanical toggles to forget; everything is done internally and automatically. It has the effect of increasing the number of devices on a Local Area Network (LAN).

Physical Features:
Width/Vertical Height 5.79" x Depth 3.81" x Horizontal Height 1.125"
2 Included Clips provide a vertical stand that is 6" high overall
Weight: 0.424 lbs or 6.8 oz (clips don't count)
Interface: RJ-45 Ports, 5 Total
Power: Included DC Adapter 7.5 Watts Max, 7.5Volts @ 1.0Amps UL+listed

Installation:
Decide whether to connect the clips or not and then figure out how to install them.
(This is a free I.Q. Test; if you fail, dire consequences of an unspecified nature will befall you.)
Connect Cat 5 Ethernet Cable from your Router to Port 5. Ports 1 - 3 for your equipment,  (4 may be reserved for a further and additional Ethernet Switch if your equipment proliferates).
Connect additional (Not Provided) Cat 5 cables from any unoccupied Port to the Components; in this case, a Tower PC and a Blu-Ray Player.
The Maximum recommended length for each Cat 5 cable is 328' or 100 Meters

Turn those Components off.
Now, connect the DC Power

There is no power switch per se, this means another always on-device that seems primitive nowadays.

Operations:
The FS605 has indicator lights that verify connections for power and for the occupied Ethernet Ports.
Those lights are supposed to match the occupied ports but do not. Only #1 and #5 light up. Regardless, the switch worked and I was happy.

For NetGear, there is no particular order in which to plug Ethernet ready peripherals into the RJ-45 ports but there is a lot of confusion abounding. (Some switches have a shared Port that provides uploading to another switch.) One of the five (5) ports must be used by an upload/input cable from the ROUTER. That leaves 4 ports; two of which were used to handle a Sony BD Blu-Ray Player and provide a connection for a PC. Both of these machines delivered content satisfactorily as I had hoped & expected.

There are reports, in other reviews, of overheating; the mounting clips allow vertical positioning which exposes more surface area to air cooling. In the photos, it is usually shown resting on its 'bottom' on which there are 4 soft cushions. I tried it both ways. I did not detect much heat from the switch.

The FS605 is compatible with Windows, Linux, Macintosh, Netware.

It runs at 10 or 100 Mbps: UTP Cat 3 for 10, Cat 5 for 100.
All Ports have auto-speed sensing; Auto Uplink (MDI-MDIX) adjust for the type of cable used.

Network Protocol:
- IEEE 802.3i 10BASE-T Ethernet
- IEEE 802.3u 100BASE-TX Fast Ethernet
- IEEE 802.3x Flow Control


BACK STORY
Although I had resisted wireless; it was welcomed here at "21" when the Dialup Service became intolerable. We hired a local ISP to hard wire the house; install a Rooftop Receiver, 2 PC Stations and a Printer. The installers left a "Router" for our convenience and we were off and running several years after the rest of the world had advanced well ahead. Part of our coming of age was a greatly increased monthly invoice.

Alas, the ISP experienced annoying interruptions and so did we. That bred exasperation and a new ISP.
And a new invoice but service was unreliable. Now it was WAR! Nothing less. Two more attempts with other services; then we thought of asking our neighboring Winery owner. He gave us a name and we were soon enjoying reliable service with a local company. Which had just upgraded us from 1.5 to 5.75 Mbps transceiver, no charge!

Meanwhile, I had tested Sony Internet TV and Logitech Revue, found both could access the internet we already paid for but dismay filled the land when I discovered subscriptions both offered had the potential of bankrupting us. My workaround was a CPU with output to the D-Sub Port on our Toshiba 42" HD ready TV. But we still watch whatever interests us on PBS, Comedy Central, and (ugh!) CNN. We own a modest collection of DVDs that are threatened species; then came the Blu-Ray decision by that arbitrator of taste, WalMart..

Still hoping for a break, I faced Hurricane Obsolescence out in the open. With enormous misgivings, I brought home a Blu-Ray Player and began looking at what Upconverting could do to "Casablanca".

By now, one should be able to live without Cable or Satellite but it was too cumbersome. Meanwhile, I was switching from the Blu-Ray Player to the PC/D-Sub routine by fishing out the single LAN lead from our Router and plugging it into the back of the other equipment. Our ISP heard about that and shouted out as he roared down the driveway: "Get an Ethernet Switch".

And we did.

Fin