One would hope that most home or small businesses would be running their networks at the Gigabit level, though it might not be surprising to know that people are still running 10/100 based networks out there. Though with this day and age with technology and digital information storage requirements, what if you are pushing the boundaries of Gigabit (10/100/1000) speeds? Well, there is the 10G standard and thanks to the new ASUS XG-U2008, you can upgrade your local network to support the 10-Gigabit network speeds without breaking the bank.
The ASUS XG-U2008 switch is a stylish but practical and affordable un-managed 10G switch for home and small business networks.
Typically, 10G networking products are enterprise-class and can start at about $800. Not really a dent for a big company but it really isn’t practical for a home or small business environment to spend on such equipment. That’s where ASUS has come in, offering their unmanaged 10G switch for $250 (USD), which is pretty significant savings from what currently exists on the market. What do you get for that though? Let’s take a peek.
- 2x 10GBase-T Ethernet Ports
- 8x Gigabit Ethernet Ports
- Front Panel Multicoloured LEDs for Status indication
- Beautiful fan-less design
- Ability to attach the switch to an existing 19-inch rack mounted system (optional)
Why would one want to upgrade their network to a 10G based one? Well, the main appeal is the increase in bandwidth. With 4K video being common these days and soon to be 8K video, transferring data around your network is going to need some extra help and a 10G Ethernet network offers about 10X the bandwidth of Gigabit speeds. This can also help speed along backing up large amounts of data without slowing down your network too.
You can go out and buy one of these right now, even if you don’t have existing 10G networking equipment. If you want, ASUS does offer some motherboards that have built in 10G support, such as the X99-E-10G WS and the Maximus VIII Extreme.
The price tag may be a bit high if other devices on your network don’t quite support 10G Ethernet, but at the same time, it would allow you to help scale your network when the time comes to add 10G Ethernet devices. The full press release is below with more information.
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- ASUS XG-U2008
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- ASUS XG-2008 Back
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- ASUS XG-U2008 Front
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Introducing the XG-U2008 switch – 10G networking for only $249
Fremont, CA (October 10th, 2016) — Outside the enterprise market, the transition from Gigabit to 10-Gigabit Ethernet has been rather slow. While there are growing small-business and prosumer demands for the additional bandwidth that 10G networking provides, the cost of entry is high. Until now, the availability of compliant devices has been limited to enterprise-class products that are built with corporate networks in mind, with pricing for 10-Gigabit switches starting at $800. That certainly isn’t expensive by corporate standards, but for the rest of us, it relegates adoption to cases of absolute necessity and the upper echelon of enthusiasts.
While it’s advisable to plan ahead and overprovision your network for scalability, paying extra money for ports or features that you’ll never use doesn’t make sense. So, there’s a clear need for 10G networking devices that are suitably tailored for the small business, prosumer, and enthusiast markets. Cue the ASUS XG-U2008, an unmanaged 10G networking switch available for only $249.99.
Read more at Edge Up
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About ASUS
ASUS is a worldwide top-three consumer notebook vendor and maker of the world’s best-selling, most award-winning motherboards. A leading enterprise in the new digital era, ASUS designs and manufactures products that perfectly meet the needs of today’s digital home and office, with a broad portfolio that includes motherboards, graphics cards, optical drives, displays, desktop and all-in-one PCs, notebooks, netbooks, servers, multimedia devices, wireless solutions, networking devices, tablets, smartphones and wearables. Driven by innovation and committed to quality, ASUS won 4,368 awards in 2015 and is widely credited with revolutionizing the PC industry with its Eee PC™. ASUS has more than 17,000 employees around the globe with a world-class R&D team of over 5,500 engineers. Company revenue for 2015 was approximately US$14 billion.
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