Netgear unveils 10 gigabit switch to help SMEs meet growing tech demands

Firm touts ease of management and high-speed connections

Network management firm Netgear has launched its latest management switch designed to provide gigabit connections and easier set-up and configuration for SMEs.

The GS752TXS ProSafe 52-Port Gigabit Stackable Smart Switch offers a simple management interface that allows smaller firms to easily set and maintain security policies and ensure throughput and quality of service, the firm said.

Netgear product marketing manager Peter Airs told V3 that the demand for switches enabling high-speed connections will increase as small businesses start to use networks to host new technologies.

"As SMEs begin to use more technologies like VoIP phone services and stream multi-media content such as video there's a growing need for network equipment that can offer high-speed connections," he said.

"A lot of large enterprises are actually shrinking at present, but the demand from the SME space is rapidly expanding and our first 10Gb switch for the mid-market launched last year is already our third-biggest revenue generator."

The switch offers 48 gigabit ports for connecting devices to the network and four 10G SFP+ ports for stacking or uplink servers.

Airs explained that the switches can also be stacked to a total of 288 ports with management settings applied across all switches without the need for reconfiguration, an important point for many businesses.

"Most small organisations don't have dedicated IT professionals to easily manage and maintain their networks and don't want to have to go on training courses to learn this, so the ability to use a simple interface to manage policies is ideal," he said.

The switch will retail for around £980 in the UK and is available now.