Netgear managed switches - Fiber ports ( does it work without them? )

Question

Silly question but cannot get my head around it. Netgear managed switches all seem to come with Fiber uplink ports these days.

I'm thinking about getting on of these: http://www.ebuyer.com/194792-netgear-prosafe-24-port-gigabit-l2-managed-switch-gsm7224-200eus

But will it only work with Fiber or can it work just like an old 10/100/1000 managed switch via ethernet?

I dont see an uplink port - is it some kind of autsensing thing?

(Sorry last time I purchased a switch was 4 years ago! )

J

score 3 · Accepted Answer · answered Dec 13 '12 at 19:58

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Those fiber ports don't need to be uplink ports. You can really use any port as an uplink. All the newer switches have auto sensing ports on them. Just connect it and the switch and the other switch will figure it out.

answered Dec 13 '12 at 19:58

mrdenny

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so the fiber ports are just use it if you have it avilable? ta J – jason clark Dec 13 '12 at 20:04
Yep. Use it if you want it, skip it if you don't. – mrdenny Dec 13 '12 at 20:41

score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Dec 13 '12 at 20:11

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It will work without Fiber ports, just like a "regular" managed switch.

It really is just an additional interface...use it or leave it.

answered Dec 13 '12 at 20:11

Alex

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score 0 · Answer 3 · answered Dec 13 '12 at 20:25

The technical specs for that switch list auto MDI/MDI-X, so the switch will automatically detect whether or not a port needs to be crossed based on what type of device is connected to that port. You can use any of the ports as uplink ports to your router, firewall or upstream/downstream switch infrastructure without the need to worry about whether you need a crossover cable or not.

Netgear managed switches - Fiber ports ( does it work without them? )

3 Answers3