Tenda TEG2226F — 24GE+2SFP Cloud Managed Ethernet Switch

Buying it, and when not to

The TEG2226F is a cloud-managed Ethernet switch with 24 gigabit ports and 2 SFP slots, and no PoE. It is management and port density without the power supply.

Use it where the devices bring their own power: a floor of desks, a server cupboard, a dealing room, a computer laboratory, the aggregation point behind a set of PoE switches. Because it carries no power stage it is considerably cheaper than a PoE switch of the same size, and on a site where nothing needs powering that is money saved rather than a feature forgone. The cloud console still gives you VLANs, port visibility and remote changes, which is the reason to choose it over an unmanaged switch.

If any of your drops are ceiling access points or IP cameras, this is the wrong switch and no amount of management fixes it - the TEG2220P-16-250W or TEG2228P-24-410W provides the same management with power. If nobody will manage the switch, the unmanaged TEG1016G gives rack-mount gigabit ports for far less. And if the requirement is routing between subnets or a network core, look at the L2 TEG3328F or the L3 TEG5328F, which are built for that role rather than for managed access.