NETGEAR GS116LP Unmanaged Gigabit Ethernet (10/100/1000) Power over Ethernet (PoE) Black

Product Overview

AI-generated summary

If you need a small, reliable PoE gigabit switch and you don’t want to get into managed-switch headaches, the NETGEAR GS116LP is the kind of box that just works. For the money (£141 ex-VAT), it’s decent value as a “deploy and forget” switch for typical office setups—think IP phones, a couple of access points, basic cameras, maybe a Wi‑Fi controller situation where everything’s on the same VLAN situation already handled upstream. The fact it’s unmanaged is actually a plus for many SMEs and field teams: fewer settings to mess up, faster installs, and less time spent troubleshooting misconfigurations.

That said, I wouldn’t buy it if you need traffic control, VLAN tagging, or tighter network segmentation at the switch level. Unmanaged means you’re limited to whatever your upstream routing/network design already does, so it’s not the right choice for more complex or security-sensitive environments. Also, at this price point you’ll want to sanity-check the number of PoE devices you’ll actually power long-term—if you’re planning a growth-heavy rollout, it can be worth paying more for a unit with headroom rather than replacing mid-project. Overall: good for straightforward PoE gigabit deployments; not ideal if you foresee needing management features.