Review on EnGenius EWS5912FP 8-Port Gigabit PoE+ Layer 2 Managed Ethernet Switch With 130W Budget, 2 SFP & 2 Uplink Ports (802.3At/Af), Up To 30W Per Port, Remote Monitoring by Luis Estrella

EnGenius is best known for it's access points and rightfully so. Now, it is making a stab into the switched controller market and I like what I see. To be transparent, EnGenius sent me a review unit of the EWS5912FP as well as an EWS310AP (access point.) From the packaging to the details of the web administration interface, EnGenius didn't miss a thing. I was impressed with the build quality of the switch upon removing it from the box. Set-up was quite easy and with a few clicks, I had the IP changed to a static address to accompany my network. In fact, when I did this, the interface immediately issued a warning of the change and when I clicked OK, it reloaded to my newly configured IP. Nice! The little things really do matter. I then removed the EWS310AP from it's even more impressive packaging. I was surprised to find that EnGenius even included zinc self-drilling drywall anchors for the screws. Brilliant! My only disappointment was the inclusion of a short patch cable but in truth, if you're mounting an AP, you will most likely have a long run cable or a terminated jack nearby. Makes sense.What I love about the EWS5912FP is the centralized web admin interface. Configuration is a breeze and yet powerful. Adding the access point was stupid-easy. I plugged in the AP to one of the seven available ports (the eighth was used for the cross-over connection) and in the upper-right corner a large blue box appears with "1 AP(s) Detected". Adding the AP is so simple it almost makes you question if it actually worked! There's no need to know the password, the IP, or anything else. The controller simply adds it to your manager and from there, you can change the administrator password of the access point as well as the IP and all other access point related tasks. Every aspect of the web interface is intuitive and rich with visual information. The status of the AP from applying changes to restarting to ready state is easily seen in the Status column which updates with colored circle icons in realtime. Again, full administration from simple to advanced tasks for the AP can be all done from within the switches web interface. In fact, you can even changes to the Captive Portal, a section for guest wireless access, in which you can specify the users log in type selecting from just a splash screen sans any authentication, to requiring authentication via a local database or an external RADIUS server. You can pass the user to a local web page or an external one or simply redirect them. Other options include session and idle time out and a Walled Garden. In short, EnGenius gives you some extreme power on what you allow your access points to do.This extensive control isn't just for the access points but also for the switch itself. EnGenius drops a bag of tricks for diagnostics such as ping (both IPv4 and 6,) trace route and even cable checking! Port settings such as PoE control are but a click away. Layer 2 features like VLAN are easily accessible. The VLAN management is sectioned out between 802.1Q, PVID, and Voice. Slick. You can manage your ACLs via MAC, IPv4 (ACE, ACL) and 6, as well as ACL Binding. Now days if you don't have QoS on your switch your not worth racking. In the QoS menu, you'll find CoS or DSCP mapping, port settings, bandwidth control and even "Storm" control. In short, you have a lot and very powerful settings. Security is jammed packed with 802.1x, RADIUS, DoS, and options for HTTP(s), Telnet, SSH, Port, and console. My only complaint for this switch is that telnet is enabled by default which is a security hazard and HTTPS as well as SSH are off by default. Seems a little backward to me; however, I suspect it may be for a bare-minimum need if there is a network failure of some sort and you are desperately attempting to connect to the switch. The monitoring section gives you a crazy look at the ports along with RMON and a hefty log so if there is failure somewhere, you'll have plenty of statistics and information.The switch passes traffic quickly and easily. I had no problems with my network while testing this switch and found the wireless traffic speedy with use of the EnGenius access point. Updates are easy with a simply click to both switch and access point. Really, this switch is just so stinking simple to use and powerful that it makes you wish everything in your network was by EnGenius!