TP-Link TL-SG105-M2 review

The TL-SG105-M2 is a five-port unmanaged switch. Every port is RJ45 and auto-negotiates 100Mbps, 1Gbps or 2.5Gbps, with auto MDI/MDIX. There is no PoE, no SFP slot and no management interface listed. Power comes from an external 12 VDC / 1 A adapter.

It is a switch for adding 2.5GbE links to a small setup without configuring anything.

The speed list is the main reason to look at this model. All five ports run at up to 2.5Gbps, so a NAS, a workstation and other 2.5GbE devices can share one switch at that speed. Because the ports also list 1Gbps and 100Mbps, gigabit and older devices can connect to the same unit.

The listed switching figures are 25 Gbps switching capacity, an 18.6 Mpps forwarding rate, a 16K MAC table and a 1.5 Mb packet buffer. With only five ports, the 16K MAC table is unlikely to be a constraint. The switch uses store-and-forward switching and supports 10 KB jumbo frames.

There is no 10GbE or SFP+ port. The ceiling here is 2.5GbE.

This is an unmanaged switch. There's no web interface, no VLAN support and no other configuration options listed. If you need to separate traffic into VLANs, this model does not list the feature.

The datasheet does list 802.3x flow control and 802.1p/DSCP QoS.

Five RJ45 ports and no SFP slot. With no SFP uplink listed, any link to another switch takes up one of the five copper ports, leaving four for devices. That suits a single desk or a small cluster of devices more than a growing network.

There is no PoE, so access points, cameras and similar devices need their own power or a separate injector.

The switch is fanless. Since it has no fan, it makes no fan noise, which suits a desk, a shelf or a room where people sit. The spec sheet lists a maximum power consumption of 12.11 W and a maximum heat dissipation of 41.32 BTU/h.

The operating temperature range is 0–40 °C. If you plan to put it in a cupboard or a closed rack, check that the space stays inside that range. The unit is CE and FCC certified.

TP-Link provides a support downloads page for this model. For a switch with no listed management interface, that matters less than it would on a managed model, but it is still a gap.

Retailers list a limited lifetime warranty. The manufacturer page did not state the term when it was fetched, so confirm the warranty terms with the seller before you buy.

The specifications point to a narrow use case. It fits someone with several 2.5GbE devices who wants a quiet, low-effort switch and has no need for VLANs, PoE or fibre uplinks. The fanless design and the 12.11 W maximum draw make it easy to place in a living or working space.

It fits less well if the network is likely to need VLANs, PoE devices or an SFP uplink. The spec sheet lists none of these, and an unmanaged switch gives no way to add them later through settings.