Tenda SM105 — 5-Port 2.5G Ethernet Switch

Buying it, and when not to

The SM105 is a 5-port 2.5G Ethernet switch. Every port runs at 2.5 gigabit, which matters in exactly one circumstance: when something on the network can genuinely exceed a gigabit and a gigabit switch is capping it.

Use it where a fast feed, a modern router and a high-throughput device meet - a 2.5G router such as the G500-F or TE6L Pro, a NAS, a workstation doing video, an uplink between two switches that carries everything. On a small site, putting the handful of devices that actually move data onto a 2.5G switch and leaving everything else on gigabit is the cheap, correct way to remove a bottleneck.

Most installs do not need it. If nothing in the building exceeds a gigabit - and on the majority of Nigerian connections nothing does - an SG108 delivers identical real-world performance for a fraction of the price, and the money is better spent on coverage or on a UPS. If you need more than five 2.5G ports, the SM108 is the eight-port version. And note there is no PoE here: access points and cameras still need a PoE switch such as the TEG1105P-4-63W behind or alongside this one.